Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes – The absolute best, easy to make, mashed potatoes! These cream cheese mashed potatoes are perfectly creamy, buttery, and full of cream cheese flavor with a hint of garlic!
Ok, so, disclaimer: this is NOT health food.
We’re not talking about “light” mashed potatoes made with skim milk here.
These potatoes are rich, decadent, and sinful in all the right ways!
I like to refer to these as “holiday” or “company” mashed potatoes, because they’re sure to impress your guest.
But, they’re really easy to make for any old weeknight if your craving some comfort food.
If you don’t mind peeling a few taters that is.
I never mind doing the peeling, the prize at the end is totally worth it!
I had a friend introduce me to mashed potatoes with cream cheese in them a few years ago.
I’ve never gone back to plain ol’ butter/milk mashed potatoes after that day.
Actually, I’m pretty sure everyone in my house would complain if I even considered leaving the cream cheese out.
These potatoes take an entire stick of butter, a good 8 ounce chunk of cream cheese, plenty of garlic, salt and pepper, and some milk (I use whole milk to keep them nice and rich, you can use what you like!).
And, I promise you this simple ingredient list will give you the most satisfying “special occasion” mashed potatoes that you’ve ever had the pleasure of putting in your mouth!
Speaking of special occasions, let chat about how to always have mashed potato success AND how to make these ahead and keep warm for company!
Ok, a few tips here:
- Always place your potato cubes into an empty pot. Cover them with COLD water, then place on the stove and turn on the heat. Potatoes added to hot/boiling water cook unevenly.
- Simmer, don’t boil! If you boil your potatoes on very high temperature, they are likely to fall apart, and be watery – yuck.
- Make them ahead! If you want to make mashed potatoes ahead of time, simply cook them as directed. Then, add them into the crockpot and stir in an additional 1/4 -1/3 Cup of milk to keep them from drying out. You can keep them on warm this way for 3-4 hours.
Enjoy!
These ultra decadent mashed potatoes are an amazing side with these Crispy Chicken Thighs and with my Slow Cooker Meatballs & Gravy!
~Nichole
Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 Pounds Russet Potatoes
- 8 Ounces Cream Cheese
- 1 Stick Butter
- 1/2 - 1 Cup Milk
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- Chives for serving, Optional
Instructions
- Wash and peel potatoes, then cut into 1 inch cubes. Place the potatoes into a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a gentle boil and cook for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain the potatoes and return to the warm pot, or to a mixing bowl.
- Add the cream cheese, butter, milk, and seasonings to the potatoes. Mash slightly to break the large potatoes up. Beat the potatoes with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy.
- Serve immediately garnished with chives if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was shared at The Weekend Potluck!
Looking for other great holiday side dishes? Try these:
Love it!!! I substituted garlic powder with 2 Tbs of Minced garlic but kept everything else. My daughter does not like mashed potatoes but she loved these!!! Great recipe ❤️
Mashed potatoes will never be boring again… These are fantastic!!
Recipe is great. I do variations with some sour cream as well. Garlic salt is good. Some minced cooked garlic is always a plus if you like garlic. The biggest change I recently made with my mashed potatoes after reading an article is to buy and use a ricer vs. mashing them. There is no need to whip. The ricer is super easy to use and makes them come out perfect. Then all you do is add the rest of your ingredients and stir till mixed and voila!!! No need for small cubes either. I use yellow potatoes and chop the bigger ones in half.
Thank you for the tips! My ricer came yesterday and I too am using yellow taters.
Shelly
Dallas, TX
Holy sh*t
Can you make these in the instant pot? What would the instructions be for that?
I just did. All I did was make mashed potatoes first in the insta pot and then added the rest of the ingredients. Peel and cut up your potatoes, no need to cube and then throw them in the insta pot and barely cover with water. Set for 12 minutes and then release the pressure, drain and then mix the remaining ingredients. Came out great
My family loves these. They are very easy to make and the taste is phenomenal. Could you make these ahead of time and freeze them to reheat later?
This is now my go to mashed potato recipe! My family love this! I’ve always been looking for the perfect recipe and this is definitely the one☺️
Very delicious ! Thanks for sharing!
Delicious made them for dinner the family LOVED them!
Just made these mashed potatoes. They are delicious!