I love mashed potatoes. I could eat them at every meal–no kidding.
Since Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner, I have been dreaming of all the foods we’re gonna eat. I love this time of year.
Mashed potatoes aren’t that hard to make, but it’s one more thing to boil potatoes on a holiday, when you’re already trying to get everything else ready and the stove is covered up with other side dishes being prepared.
And I CANNOT imagine a holiday meal without mashed potatoes right in the middle of the table. It has been at the center of of our family meals all of my life. They’re almost like a good friend.
And if you have picky kids, like one of mine, you know that mashed potatoes is a no-fail with picky eaters. So you gotta cook ’em!
Cooking the potatoes in the Crock Pot is a great way to keep from water logging the potatoes. I’ve boiled my potatoes too long and ended up with watery mashed potatoes and that’s not too tasty. Especially on a holiday and you don’t have time for a redo.
I bought a 5 pound bag of potatoes and it will feed our family of four for several meals. So, if you have a large crowd coming over, you can make one pot of this and it will feed a serving to about 12 people.
Recipe and printable directions are at the bottom of the post.
Peel the potatoes and cut them up. They really don’t need to be cut up too small because they are going to be nice and soft and easy to mash once they cook.
Oh, and your house is going to smell delicious! Mmm…mmm…
Spray the inside of the Crock Pot with a no-stick spray, or smear some butter around the inside so the potatoes don’t stick.
My Crock Pot seems to get a little extra hot and sometimes the potatoes will get hotter and more brown around the sides, so greasing it up should help keep it from sticking. You can also give them a stir once an hour to avoid any brown potatoes.
Add the cubed potatoes, butter, water (or chicken broth), minced garlic, salt and pepper to the Crock Pot.
If you decide to use the chicken broth, it just gives them a little more flavor.
Close the lid and cook on low for 6-7 hours.
Once the potatoes are finished cooking, mash them up with a potato masher.
Using a potato masher will leave you with some lumps. If you don’t want any lumps, you can transfer the potatoes to a bowl and mix them with the mixer to get all of the lumps out.
The nice thing about mashing them in the Crock Pot is that you can keep it on warm and they will stay nice and toasty until everyone is ready to eat.
Add the sour cream and cream cheese. Add more salt and pepper if they need it. The pictures are making me hungry again.
I love this recipe because it’s so easy, and you don’t have to time boiling the potatoes with all of the other food. You can stick them in the Crock Pot and mash them when they’re done.
Let me know what you think!
Check out more recipes at:
Southern Plate, Southern Bite, A Southern Soul, Big Bear’s Wife,
and Julia’s Simply Southern
Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats and The Country Cook
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