After years of experimenting, soul searching, mashing, and whipping, this recipe for chive mashed potatoes is my perfect mashed potato recipe.
Perhaps it’s too soon to say forever, but for me, there’s no reason to go back to the drawing board with this recipe in hand!
After Decades of Tinkering, Our Favorite Mashed Potato Recipe
In our family, we’ve always been an all-hands-on-deck house when it comes to Thanksgiving. Mashed potatoes were always my job—largely because I cared about them the most!
As a kid, I was the chunky pipsqueak chiming in to say that I didn’t think we had enough mashed potatoes relative to turkey. (The leftover turkey to leftover mashed potato ratio was vitally important to me, you see.)
And in the rare outing to Roy Rogers (the 90s fast food fried chicken chain, for those of you who grew up outside the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic United States), it was hard to say what I enjoyed more—the fried chicken or the styrofoam container of perfectly peppery mashed potatoes and gravy we got with it.
In short, I was always informally searching for ways to make sure that I had the best mashed potato experience possible!
It started with boxed mashed potato flakes. (Yes we were big users of Idahoan back in the day. There was even a jingle that I would screech periodically. To be clear, it was my own jingle. The company’s own advertising was apparently inadequate.) And eventually, I progressed to from-scratch mashed potatoes.
I would say I was maybe 11 or 12 when this mashed potato journey began. I am now 32. It has been a 20-year odyssey, folks.
Why Chive Mashed Potatoes Are Best
From the basic formula came the twists and addins: Garlic mashed potatoes, parmesan garlic mashed potatoes, cheesy scallion mashed potatoesbuttermilk mashed potatoes, and cream cheese mashed potatoes, wherein a block of cream cheese fell with a thwump and a splash onto a swirl of golden, slowly melting butter.
Over time I realized that the only “add-in” I need is a handful of fresh, very finely chopped chives. These chive mashed potatoes aren’t overly onion-y. They have just enough chives to give the potatoes the perfect little garlicky/onion-y edge and an extra dimension to whatever you’re eating said potatoes with.
Then there were all the other variables to contend with. There was the tinkering with milks—our very 90s childhood choice of skim milk became whole milk, which then became buttermilk, then back to whole milk, followed by a dalliance with heavy cream, followed by another return to whole milk. (More on that in a bit.)
There were the skin-off, then the skin-on chapters. The wonderings about mashers vs. ricers, the realizations that yes, you CAN over-mash your potatoes, followed years later by the realization that you can also over-boil your potatoes. (Quelle nightmare!)
My Mashed Potato Guiding Principles
Now that these crazy mixed up years are behind me, I’ve planted my flag firmly on all of these issues, and they are as follows:
- Regular chives are the only “extra” I ever need in my mashed potatoeswhich is why we’re gathered here today. There’s a reason why dolled-up Hollywood potatoes are always shown with a sprinkling of chives!!
- Whole milk is perfect. Buttermilk has too strong or polarizing of a flavor. Sometimes you don’t want that tanginess distracting you from all the butteriness and the potatoeyness. Skim milk does not have enough fat. Half and half is fine, but needlessly caloric—and we’re all so health-conscious these days. Save your heavy cream quota for making whipped cream for pies or Pumpkin Dinner Rolls!
- Rich additions like cream cheese and sour cream don’t add as much as you think. Forgoing these also means that I can have an extra wedge of pie later. Hehehe!
- Old school mashers are great. Ricers are tough to wash, and we simply don’t have the room. To be fair to ricer fans out there, I have for now chosen to live in ignorance on this matter. If you don’t have a masher, use a whisk!
- Once the potatoes are adequately mashed, switch to a wooden spoon or rubber spatula that you can stir with to prevent your potatoes from taking on a gluey texture.
- Preheating your milk and butter is essential. This is not an indulgent extra step. It not only keeps your potatoes at the right temperature, it also helps to prevent them from becoming gluey, which can happen if you’re overmixing or over-mashing—i.e., trying to push cold milk and butter around your hot potatoes.
- Mashed potatoes are easy to make, but not to be neglected. You’ve got to watch to make sure they don’t over-boil! When they’re just fork tender, get them out of the water, drain them in a colander, and then transfer them back to the pot they cooked in for ye olde mashing. They can sit covered like that for an hour or so until you’re ready to mash.
Chive Mashed Potatoes: Recipe Instructions
Peel the potatoes, and rinse them in cold water, transferring them to a pot of cold water as you go. Once you’ve peeled all the potatoes, cut them into large 2-inch/5cm chunks, and add them back into the pot.
Place the pot of potatoes on the stove, and bring to a boil (it’s important to start the potatoes in cold water for even cooking). Simmer for about 15 minutes, or just until fork tender.
Drain the potatoes in a colander, shaking off excess water. Transfer the potatoes back to the pot. (You can cover them to keep warm in the pot for up to 1 hour, until you’re ready to mash them.)
About 20 minutes before serving, add your milk and butter to a pot, and set it over low heat until the butter is melted.
When the milk and butter are heated, use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until there are no chunks of potato remaining. Be careful not to over-mash, as the texture can turn gluey. It’s best to mash the potatoes before adding any of the liquid.
Using a rubber spatula, stir in the milk and butter mixture in 3 batches, gently folding it into the potatoes before adding the next batch, until you reach the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper (adjust seasoning to taste if needed), stir in the chives, and serve!
Fast Facts
For six people, 2½ pounds of potatoes should be enough, with not too much left over. If you want leftovers or are serving a bigger crowd, use this information as a gauge for how much more you need!
Mashed potatoes are best hot and fresh. We’d rather make things like the stuffing ahead of time and reheat that! Reheated or microwaved mashed potatoes are good, but they’re never as great as they are fresh.
You can do the straightforward thing of putting your mashed potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator. But you can also freeze that container and reheat them in a covered dish in the microwave two months later!
I will put a frozen block of mashed potatoes into a bowl, cover it with a plate to get some steam going, and microwave it for 3 minutes or so or until they are fluffy and hot again. If you’re doing this, it helps to store it into smaller portions, so it’s easier to reheat.
My sister uses an ice cream scoop to scoop cooled mashed potatoes onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover them, and transfer the tray to the freezer. Once frozen, store your individual scoops of potato in a freezer bag or container for individual meals!
Chive Mashed Potatoes
After years of experimenting and soul searching, this simple recipe for chive mashed potatoes is my perfect go-to mashed potato recipe.
serves: 6
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
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Instructions
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Peel the potatoes, and rinse them in cold water, transferring them to a pot of cold water as you go. Once peeled, cut the potatoes into large 2-inch/5cm chunks, and add them back into the pot.
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Place the pot of potatoes on the stove, and bring to a boil (it’s important to start the potatoes in cold water for even cooking). Simmer for about 15 minutes, or just until fork tender.
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Drain the potatoes in a colander, shaking off excess water. Transfer the potatoes back to the pot. (You can cover them to keep warm in the pot for up to 1 hour, until you’re ready to mash them.)
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About 20 minutes before serving, add your milk and butter to a pot, and set it over low heat until the butter is melted.
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When the milk and butter are heated, use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until there are no chunks of potato remaining. Be careful not to over-mash, as the texture can turn gluey. It’s best to mash the potatoes before adding any of the liquid.
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Using a rubber spatula, stir in the milk and butter mixture in 3 batches, gently folding it into the potatoes before adding the next batch, until you reach the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper (adjust seasoning to taste if needed), stir in the chives, and serve!
nutrition facts
Calories: 98kcal (5%) Carbohydrates: 2g (1%) Protein: 2g (4%) Fat: 9g (14%) Saturated Fat: 6g (30%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g Monounsaturated Fat: 2g Trans Fat: 0.3g Cholesterol: 26mg (9%) Sodium: 370mg (15%) Potassium: 83mg (2%) Fiber: 0.05g Sugar: 2g (2%) Vitamin A: 360IU (7%) Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) Calcium: 66mg (7%) Iron: 0.03mg
