I live with some serious mashed potato connoisseurs. Ok to be honest, my boys are mashed potato snobs. It’s all my fault though. I’ve created potato monsters. Mashed potatoes have to be creamy, fluffy, with no lumps, and salted to perfection. Apparently only mom’s mashed potatoes will do. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas morning you will find me in the kitchen peeling ten pounds of potatoes so I can make fresh mashed potatoes to serve with dinner. I must confess, I do make some of the absolute best mashed potatoes on the planet. Not bragging or anything, well, maybe just a tad…LOL.
Over the years I’ve been searching for a mashed potato casserole that would get a thumbs up from my mashed potato loving boys. My girlfriend Sabrina shared this recipe with me and told me it was her family’s favorite side dish for the holidays. Favorite side? I knew I had to give it a try! Not only can you make it up in advance, which saves you loads of time on Thanksgiving day and Christmas day, but it’s absolutely, delectably, divinely, arguably the best mashed potato casserole I’ve ever eaten. And my boys agree!
Start by peeling and cutting the potatoes into quarters.
Add the potatoes and 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot of water, making sure the potato chunks are completely submerged in water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook potatoes until fork tender, about 20-30 minutes.
Drain potatoes and allow them to steam dry. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the softened cream cheese with half of the softened butter.
Whip on high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the still warm potatoes to the mixing bowl.
Turn mixer to low speed and slowly add half & half a little at a time.
Once combined, add the minced garlic, parsley, Ranch dressing mix, pepper, and salt to taste.
Now crank up the speed and whip until blended. Don’t blend for too long or they will turn gummy. Just whip them long enough to combine everything together and they are light and fluffy.
Spread the potato mixture into a greased casserole dish. Be sure to use a casserole dish with tall sides. This recipe makes a lot of mashed potatoes.
Cover the dish with foil and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days.
When ready to bake, set out casserole for 1 hour to allow it to come to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350°F. While oven preheats, remove foil from casserole dish.
Using the back of a spoon create divots in the top of the potatoes.
Place pats of softened butter into the divots.
Recover casserole dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes until just ever so slightly toasted along the edges and heated through.
Garnish with minced chives if desired.
TIP: To keep warm, cover casserole with foil and place in a 200°F oven for 1-2 hours until ready to serve with your meal.
I was a little nervous serving this casserole in place of regular mashed potatoes. Would I have anarchy on my hands? How dare I mess with everyone’s favorite side dish? But to my surprise, it got a thumbs up from everyone at Thanksgiving. Even my mashed potato loving connoisseurs gave it a double thumbs up! This will be making an appearance on the holiday menu every Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and any other holiday I can make an excuse to whip these potatoes up! Seriously decadent, utterly delicious, definitely not low calorie, but a delectable, indulgent splurge for the holidays.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Sabrina for sharing this amazing recipe with me. It has been filed in my “Family Favorite” holiday recipe files. A true keeper!!!
Baked Mashed Potato Casserole
Equipment
- 13×9 inch oven safe casserole dish with high sides
Ingredients
- 5 lbs potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 tbsp Kosher salt
- 1½ sticks butter, softened, plus more to grease casserole dish.
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cups half & half, or whole milk, warmed
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tbsp Ranch dressing mix
- ½ tbsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- ¼ cup chopped chives, optional
Instructions
- Add the potatoes and 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot of water, making sure potatoes are submerged under the water.
- Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until fork tender, 20-30 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and allow them to steam dry. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine softened cream cheese and half the softened butter. Whip together on high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the still warm potatoes to the mixing bowl. Turn mixer to low speed and slowly add half & half, a little at a time. Once combined, add the minced garlic, parsley, Ranch dressing mix, pepper, and salt to taste. Whip until blended.
- Spoon potato mixture into a greased casserole dish.
- Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days.
- When ready to bake, set out casserole for 1 hour to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- While oven preheats, remove foil from casserole dish.
- Using the back of a spoon create divots in the top of the casserole.
- Place pats of melted butter into each of the divots you made with the spoon.
- Recover casserole dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes until slightly toasted along the edges.
- Garnish with minced chives if desired.
Notes
Did You Make This?
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What if I want to make this and serve it right away? What is the oven protocol?
Do I need to place it in the oven?
Bri, you could most certainly serve it right away since it will be hot but I would bake it in a casserole dish just long enough to get the potatoes a light golden brown along the edges and the pats of butter turn onto golden pools of yumminess.