• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • meet the team
  • blogger resources
  • Contact Me
My Account
Member Dashboard
40 Aprons Premium (Ad Free!)

40 Aprons

Delicious, Healthy-ish Meals for the Whole Family

  • All Recipes
  • Most Popular
    • Cheryl’s Favorites
    • 30-Minute Recipes
    • Creamy Soups
    • Copycat Recipes
    • Casseroles
    • One-Dish Wonders
  • Method
    • Air Fryer
    • Baking
    • Crockpot
    • Grilling
    • Instant Pot
    • Sous Vide
  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Cooking Basics
    • Breakfast
    • Condiments
    • Dessert
    • Main Course
    • Meal Prep
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Cuisine
    • American
    • Asian
    • Indian
    • Italian
    • Mediterranean
    • Mexican & Latin
    • Southern
Home Blog Course Side Dishes

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

Sam Guarnieri
Sam Guarnieri Posted: 11/07/22 Updated: 02/02/23
Leave a Comment
Jump to Recipe
GF Gluten Free VG Vegetarian

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

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!

Overhead view of a large oval dish holding fluffy, creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes topped with cheddar cheese.

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.

More Cheesy Recipes You Have To Try!

Cheesy Ham and Potato Casserole

Easy Cheesy Salsa Chicken

Extra Cheesy Instant Pot Egg Bites

Cheesy Spinach Casserole

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.
Side view of a scoop of cheesy mashed potatoes being lifted out of a large casserole dish with a spoon.

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

Hey – you’ve made it this far, so now we’re basically best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook, too!

Overhead view of a large dish of cheesy mashed potatoes. A large silver spoon rests in the potatoes.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

Prep:15 minutes
Cook:1 hour
Total:1 hour 15 minutes
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.
Print Save Saved! Click Here to Remove Ads
8 servings

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

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

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.
    Overhead view of cubed potatoes in salted boiling water in a handled baking dish.
  • 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.
    Overhead view of lightly mashed boiled potatoes in an oval baking dish with handles.
  • 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.
    Overhead view of creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes in a large oval baking dish with handles on each end.
  • 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.
    Overhead view of creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes topped with cheddar in a large oval baking dish with handles on each end.
  • Carefully remove baking dish from oven. Let stand 5 minutes then serve warm.

Notes

  • 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.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 471kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 18g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 84mg, Sodium: 345mg, Potassium: 1047mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 996IU, Vitamin C: 45mg, Calcium: 191mg, Iron: 2mg, Net Carbs: 38g

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.

© Author: Sam Guarnieri

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @40aprons on social and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!

Rate Recipe Tag Me on Instagram
Sam Guarnieri

Meet Sam Guarnieri

Sam is a travel, food, and fitness enthusiast from the New York metro area who loves creating new and inventive recipes. Her love of food goes all the way back to her early childhood, cooking alongside her mom and Nonna – the two best cooks she knows! She's a big believer that good-for-you food can still explode with flavor and (most importantly) be easy to make. When she's not in the kitchen, Sam can usually be found planning her next vacation, spending time outdoors, or bingeing the latest Netflix docu-series.

Read more...

You may also like...

  • Overhead view of a bowl of dairy-free mashed potatoes on a white table top. A silver spoon rests in the potatoes.
    Creamy Dairy-Free Mashed Potatoes
  • Overhead shot of fingerling potatoes on a white plate
    Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
  • Crockpot mashed potatoes
    Whole30 Crockpot Mashed Potatoes (Vegan)

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Have a question? Submit your question or comment below.

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

What’s Popular?

Side view of a glass of cucumber margarita with cucumber garnish in front of a pitcher of margaritas.

Cucumber Margarita on the Rocks (By the Glass or Pitcher)

Overhead view of a fish taco bowl with mango salsa and red cabbage slaw.

Blackened Fish Taco Bowls with Mango Salsa and Cilantro-Lime Rice

Overhead view of 4 salmon fillets in a large silver saucepan with red pepper parmesan sauce.

Pan-Seared Salmon in a Creamy Red Pepper Parmesan Sauce

Close up, slightly overhead angle of apple salad in a large bowl, with whole apples in the background

Crisp Apple Salad with Raisins and Pecans

In Season

Three paleo lemon bars stacked on top of each other. A bite is missing from the corner of the lemon bar on top. Other lemon bars surround the stack, just out of focus.

Paleo Lemon Bars

Top-down, overhead view of a Crockpot-cooked marry me chicken breast with sauce atop a bed of mashed potatoes in a large white bowl.

Crockpot Marry Me Chicken

Side view of two wine glasses holding POG juice mimosas with a carafe of pog juice in the background.

POG Juice Mimosas

Overhead view of a long oval salad boat with strawberry goat cheese salad and balsamic vinaigrette.

Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

As seen on:

More Goodies + NO Ads!

Become a 40 Aprons Premium Member!

All the 40 Aprons content you love - now even better.

  • Member-Exclusive Recipes
  • Meal Plans & Grocery Lists
  • eBooks
  • NO ADS!
Join now

Privacy Policy

Accessibility

Disclaimers

Contact

© 2023 40 Aprons
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled
Back to Top
9 shares