Table of Contents
  1. What type of potato makes the best mashed potatoes?
  2. Watch how to make these mashed potatoes:
  3. Have I convinced you to make this recipe?
  4. Grandma Alice's Mashed Potatoes Recipe

I rate my childhood based on food memories, and I have a lot of food memories! Dad and Grandpa farmed together and pretty much spent every day together. Since Grandma and Grandpa lived across the road (where I live now), my sister and I spent a lot of time with Grandma: bike rides, cookie baking, putting curlers in her hair, and cross-stitching. Do I sound like a member of the Laura Ingalls Wilder family yet?

Grandma Alice knows how to cook. Not just kind of cook, but the kind of cooking that encompasses preparing entire meals for her whole family. It has always come off with such ease, all in spite of her humble nature.

Creamy white mashed potatoes in brown speckled bowl and topped with chopped parsley

Often, food tastes better when someone else makes it, especially a grandma or mom. It always seems like they have to have a secret, something no one else knows about to create the best food ever. How does it always turn out so well for them?

One of these special dishes was Grandma’s mashed potatoes. Always fluffy, always smooth with no lumps, and always the perfect carrier for her gravy.

What type of potato makes the best mashed potatoes?

If you search for the best potatoes for making mashed potatoes, there are many thoughts on the subject. Grandma has always used russet potatoes. When I asked why she said it’s because that’s what she always grew in her garden. I have no better reason than that: use what you have.

Good mashed potatoes are light and fluffy. The best way to achieve this is by making sure the potatoes are well-cooked. If there are undercooked pieces, they will be lumpy for sure.

Spoon filled with creamy white mashed potatoes topped with parsley with extra mashed potatoes in background on wood board

To ensure even-sized pieces that cook evenly, Grandma peels and cuts the potatoes in quarters lengthwise. Adding only a few inches of water – this was a game-changer for me – the potatoes are almost steamed/boiled. Water can be the enemy of mashed potatoes and she knows how to add just enough.

Once completely tender, the potatoes are drained and mixed with an electric hand mixer. This starts the breakdown and also drives off excess steam or moisture.

Close up view of creamy white mashed potatoes topped with green pieces of parsley all in brown speckled bowl

While mixing, warm milk and butter are added until it’s a perfect consistency.

The ingredients are all simple. The steps are even simpler! A few of Grandma’s methods make all the difference, even without her realizing. She makes the perfect mashed potatoes and now you can too!

Let me know in the comments: did you also have a grandma that just seemed to know how to do everything and make everything perfectly?

Watch how to make these mashed potatoes:

Have I convinced you to make this recipe?

I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they too can make, enjoy, and love!

Top down view of brown bowl filled with mashed potatoes topped with green parsley with hot pad and wooden spoon

Grandma Alice’s Mashed Potatoes

4.69 from 16 votes
Mashed potatoes seem like they should be a pretty simple recipe to make, but they often turn out lacking. This mashed potato recipe isn't that! These are perfectly creamy and delicious!
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 10 servings

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs russet potatoes
  • 1 ½ cups whole milk kept warm
  • ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 tbsp kosher salt

Instructions
 

  • Wash and peel potatoes, removing any eyes. Rinse and slice into quarters lengthwise. Place in an 8-quart stockpot. Add two inches of water and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover until the potatoes are cooked through, 20-25 minutes.
    5 lbs russet potatoes, 1 tbsp kosher salt
  • Once the potatoes are cooked, remove them from the heat and drain. Reserve the potato water for another use. Pour the drained potatoes into a bowl and allow the steam to settle for 2 minutes. Using an electric hand mixer or mashing by hand, mash potatoes thoroughly. Add milk slowly and mix in, alternating with pieces of butter. Continue to mix until smooth.
    1 ½ cups whole milk, ½ cup unsalted butter
  • Taste and adjust seasoning as needed, adding salt and pepper. Serve immediately as potatoes can become stiff the longer they sit.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 283kcal
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Difficulty Easy
Method Cooking

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Kaleb

I’m Kaleb! I'm not a chef, professional baker, landscaper, or designer, but I like to play each on Knollgate Farm. Come join me on my journey and let's learn together!

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10 Comments

  1. Hi, I really enjoyed this video. Can you please do a video on how to make gravy using that leftover potato water? Thank you!

  2. Turned out great – everyone loved them! And now I’m going to be that person from recipe comments that tells you how I changed them lol. Did the exact recipe but added a softened package of cream cheese. What made the overall recipe great for me, though, are the techniques of the lengthwise quartered potatoes, steaming them instead of boiling, and using the mixer. It’s a keeper!

  3. 5 stars
    Made this ahead of time for Easter tomorrow. This was almost exactly how my mommaw made mashed potatoes. I miss my mommaws cooking. She also lived on a farm in Kentucky most of her life. She made the best biscuits and gravy, tomato sandwiches, and her rhubarb pie was off the hook. Sadly we can’t grow rhubarb here in Florida. But watching you cook makes me so happy… pretty sure we would be friends. Lol