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Cheesy Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Ready In: 55 minutes
- Serves: 16
- Main Ingredients: Yukon Gold potatoes, Colby Jack cheese, ranch dressing, Greek yogurt, sour cream, and a handful of seasonings.
- Dietary Info: Vegetarian & Gluten-Free.
- Why You’ll Love It: These aren’t your run-of-the-mill cheesy mashed potatoes. They’re flavor-packed with ranch dressing and seasonings, extra creamy, and there’s no peeling in sight! They’ve become a decadent holiday side dish at our house that never has any leftovers.
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Why You’ll Make These
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes For Every Holiday
- No Peeling: The worst part about making mashed potatoes is the peeling. Which is why we left the peels on! Yukon Gold potatoes have a thin skin that can be left on and adds a subtle texture to the overall dish.
- Made For The Holidays: Our instant pot mashed potatoes are what we turn to for a busy weeknight. But when we’re celebrating a special occasion or getting ready for the holidays, these cheesy mashed potatoes rise to the occasion with their rich flavor and decadent cheesiness.
- Make Ahead: A holiday menu is all about the logistics, which is why we provide instructions on how to make these ahead of time so that you can pop them in the oven when the timing is right!
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
Be sure to see the recipe card below for a full listing of ingredients, instructions, and estimated nutritional information.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes: The creamy texture and buttery flavor from these potatoes make them perfect for this recipe. Plus, the skins are so thin that they don’t even have to be peeled! Russet potatoes can be used as substitutes, but will provide a more earthy flavor than Yukon golds.
- Greek Yogurt & Sour Cream: These provide creaminess and the right amount of tang to balance out the richness of the potatoes and cheese.
- Ranch Dressing: A little goes a long way, adding a subtle flavor boost of dill, chives, and onion that give these mashed potatoes another layer of flavor.
- Colby Jack Cheese: This mild yet creamy cheese melts beautifully and adds cheesiness without becoming overpowering. Swapping with cheddar cheese will add a sharper flavor.
How To Make Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Step 1 – Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes and boil for 15-20 minutes or until tender.
Step 2 – Add cooked potatoes and remaining ingredients (except for the colby jack cheese) into a large bowl.
Don’t Over-Mash
Mash the Yukon Golds just until they’re soft and creamy—a few small lumps are fine. Overworking the potatoes releases too much starch and can turn that creamy texture dense and gummy, especially since you’ll continue mixing as you add the cheese.
Step 3 – Use a potato masher to combine all of the ingredients until you’ve achieved a light and fluffy texture.
Step 4 – Fold in half a cup of Colby Jack cheese to the potato mixture.
Step 5 – Transfer potato mixture to a casserole dish, sprinkle on remaining cheese, cover with foil, and bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melty.
Step 6 – Let cool slightly and serve alongside other holiday classics like a holiday turkey, the best stuffing, green bean casserole, and apple cranberry sauce!
Alternate Cooking Methods
- Instant Pot – Place the potatoes and enough water to cover them in the metal pot of the Instant Pot. Place the cover on top, seal, and cook on high pressure for 9 minutes. When the time is up, manually release the pressure immediately (according to manufacturer’s instructions). Drain the potatoes and return to the Instant Pot. Add the rest of the ingredients and follow the baking instructions below.
- Slow Cooker – Place the cut potatoes and 3/4 cup of chicken broth in the crockpot. Cover and let them cook on the high setting for 3-4 hours or low setting for 6-7 hours. Remove the cover, add the rest of the ingredients, and then follow the baking instructions below.
What We Learned Testing this Recipe
- Mix By Hand – It’s tempting to throw all of the ingredients in your trusty food processor, but please don’t. This will yield sticky/gummy mashed potatoes that lack the fluffy and light texture that you get by hand mixing.
- Colby Jack vs. Cheddar – We tested this recipe with both cheese varieties and we noticed that Colby Jack melted better than cheddar cheese. Colby Jack cheese also had a more mild flavor that didn’t overpower the mashed potato flavors.
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes Recipe FAQ & Tips
Yes, you can make cheesy mashed potatoes ahead of time. Just follow the recipe card and after you cover with aluminum foil, stop, and place it in the fridge instead of the oven. Store in the fridge for 3-5 days. When you are ready to bake, let the casserole dish come to room temperature, and then bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.
Yes, you can freeze cheesy mashed potatoes. Once the mashed potatoes have been put in the casserole dish, instead of baking them, let them cool to room temperature. Then cover and place in the freezer to store for 2-3 months. When ready, pull them out of the freezer to thaw overnight and reheat in the oven. Part way through the reheating process in the oven, add that final topping of shredded cheese.
Gummy or sticky mashed potatoes are usually a result of over mixing. Once the starch from the potatoes is released, it’s there to stay. Try adding additional butter 1 Tbs at a time to release the consistency.
Colby Jack cheese is the best cheese for cheesy mashed potatoes as it has a mild flavor that doesn’t overpower the dish and it melts evenly throughout the potato mixture.
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Other Potato Recipes
That Are Great For The Holidays
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, cut into large chunks
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ cup ranch dressing
- 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ – 2 cups colby jack cheese, freshly shredded, divided
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Cook Potatoes: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add cut up potatoes (the smaller you cut them the shorter the boil time will be) to pot of boiling water. Let boil for 15-25 minutes or until they are very tender. Drain potatoes and place in a large bowl.
- Combine: To the bowl of potatoes, add ½ cup + 2 tablespoons sour cream, ½ cup butter, ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk, ¼ cup ranch dressing, 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder, and ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper. Let the butter melt/soften for a minute or two. Use a potato masher to mash everything together (alternatively, you can use a hand mixer, if you prefer) until the consistency is smooth.
- Adjust: Taste and adjust salt or other ingredients, as-desired.
- Add Cheese: Fold in 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Pour out into a 9×13 baking pan. Sprinkle the top with the remaining shredded cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven, middle rack, for 15-25 minutes.
- Serve: Remove and let cool slightly. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Potatoes: you can use russet potatoes, but for best results I recommend Yukon gold for their creamy texture. You can also peel your potatoes, but Yukon gold potatoes have a very thin peel that doesn’t need to be peeled!
- Dairy-Free Substitutes: you can use plant-based butter instead of regular butter, plain dairy-free yogurt instead of Greek yogurt, dairy-free sour cream instead of regular sour cream and dairy-free ranch dressing instead of regular ranch. You can also use your favorite shredded dairy-free cheese!
- Make Ahead: Follow the recipe card and after you cover with aluminum foil, stop, and place it in the fridge instead of the oven. Store in the fridge for 3-5 days. When you are ready to bake, let the casserole dish come to room temperature, and then bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.
- Storage: leftover mashed potatoes can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 3-4 days.
- Serving: we love serving these with our Ultimate Pork Roast Recipe + Pork Gravy + Garlic Green Beans!
- Slow Cooker Method: Place the cut potatoes and 3/4 cup of chicken broth in the crockpot. Cover and let them cook on the high setting for 3-4 hours or low setting for 6-7 hours. Remove the cover, add the rest of the ingredients, and then follow the baking instructions below.
- Instant Pot Method: Place the potatoes and enough water to cover them in the metal pot of the Instant Pot. Place the cover on top, seal, and cook on high pressure for 9 minutes. When the time is up, manually release the pressure immediately (according to manufacturer’s instructions). Drain the potatoes and return to the Instant Pot. Add the rest of the ingredients and follow the baking instructions below.
Liz Sipley says
These were such a hit with my family! Very cheesy and yummy!