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Buttery, fluffy, cheesy mashed potatoes are irresistibly delicious. Made with cream cheese, milk, sour cream, and butter, and topped with melty shredded cheddar cheese, they’re the perfect dish to accompany a holiday turkey, a comforting meatloaf, or sweet and smoky grilled ribs. Guaranteed to be a favorite around the dinner table!
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- There’s mashed potatoes with cheese… and then there’s cheesy mashed potatoes. This dish combines starchy, fluffy potatoes with tangy cream cheese and sour cream, creamy milk, and bold cheddar cheese. They’re rich and delicious and full of flavor and really just the ultimate comfort food.
- Usually with mashed potatoes, you just boil the potatoes, add some butter and a little milk, and mash them until you get your desired consistency. We’re taking things one step further, baking the mashed potatoes to ensure they’re nice and warm, that everything’s smooth and fully incorporated, and the cheddar on top is perfectly melty.
Chef’s Tips
- For the very best cheesy mashed potatoes, you need to peel the potatoes completely. You can leave the skins on, and believe me, I love mashed potatoes both ways. But to get really smooth, creamy, fluffy potatoes here, you don’t want to include any of the potato skins.
- You can use mild, sharp, or white cheddar, but whichever you choose, heed this advice. Take the extra time to shred your cheddar cheese yourself, especially if you’re making this dish for the holidays or a special occasion. Prepackaged shredded cheeses use starches and fillers to keep the cheese from clumping in the bag, but those fillers keep the cheese from melting like it should. Freshly shredded cheese melts SO much better.
- Be careful not to overwork the potatoes. If you mash them too much, they’ll start to get gummy and gluey rather than creamy and fluffy. There’s not a lot you can do to salvage them at that point, short of turning them into mashed potato pancakes.
What To Serve With Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
- Sous Vide Prime Rib with Au Jus
- Garlic Herb Butter Chicken
- OMG Chicken
- Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf
- Grilled Spatchcock Turkey with Gravy
- Mesquite Grilled Chicken
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
These delicious and fluffy cheesy mashed potatoes are mashed with of a mix of milk, sour cream, cream cheese and butter, then topped with shredded cheddar, and baked in the oven.
servings
Equipment
- Large pot no lid needed
- Fork
- colander
- large mixing bowl
- Potato masher
- Small microwave-safe bowl
- Oven
- 2-quart baking dish
- Silicone spatula
- Aluminum Foil
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes or russet potatoes; peeled, cut into 2-inch cubes
- cold water enough to cover potatoes
- 1 big pinch salt plus more to taste
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened, see Notes
- ½ cup milk of choice at or near room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream at or near room temperature
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- Add cubed potatoes to large pot, then fill pot with enough water to fully cover potatoes. Waterline should sit approximately 1-inch above top of potatoes. Salt water with 1 large pinch salt.
- Heat pot over high heat. When water begins to boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are very tender. Use fork to check doneness – tines of fork should pierce potatoes with no resistance.
- Carefully pour water and potatoes out of pot and into colander. Drain well, then transfer potatoes to large mixing bowl. Use potato masher to lightly mash potatoes.
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Place butter in small, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds or until butter is melted but not bubbling or burnt.
- Add melted butter, cream cheese, milk, sour cream, and ½ cup shredded cheddar to mixing bowl with potatoes. Resume mashing until potato mixture is light and fluffy, being careful not to overwork potatoes. Taste potato mixture and add salt if desired.
- Transfer mashed potato mixture to baking dish. Spread potatoes out to cover bottom of dish evenly and smooth top of potatoes. Sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese over top of potatoes, then cover dish with aluminum foil.
- Place baking dish in preheated oven and bake potatoes, covered, 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, carefully remove foil and return dish to oven, baking potatoes another 10 minutes or until cheese on top is melted and bubbly.
- Carefully remove baking dish from oven. Let stand 5 minutes then serve warm.
- Cheddar Cheese: For best results, shred your own cheese from a block of cheddar. Prepackaged shredded cheeses contain starches and other fillers to prevent clumping, which keeps them from melting like they should.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 471calProtein: 11gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 345mgPotassium: 1047mgTotal Carbs: 43gFiber: 5gSugar: 4gNet Carbs: 38gVitamin A: 996IUVitamin C: 45mgCalcium: 191mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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