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The most perfect buttery herbed mashed potatoes. Made simply with cream, fresh herbs, a little garlic, and a good amount of butter. Each bite is perfect and so delicious. The secret? Crème fraîche for creaminess, and herbed brown butter for incredible flavor. The best part is that you can make these mashed potatoes ahead of time for easy entertaining, the perfect side dish!
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It would not be Thanksgiving, or November for that matter, without a good amount of creamy, buttery mashed potatoes and stuffing. Without a doubt, mashed potatoes are the crowd favorite at our Thanksgiving table. My brothers take double helpings, always going back for more. The potatoes are the first dish to disappear. No matter how many mashed potatoes I make, I always wish I would have made more.
Anyone else the same? I feel like everyone loves potatoes, so my guess is that I’m not alone.
The mashers are simply the best. So today I’m sharing my own spin, no fail, recipe, along with all my secrets, and make ahead tips.
I actually have a few mashed potato recipes that I adore, but these buttery herbed mashed potatoes are my favorite for Thanksgiving. My crockpot three cheese mashed potatoes are another go-to for weeknights. But for Thanksgiving I love mashers that are less cheesy and more herby. I find that these just pair better with all the dishes on my Thanksgiving menu.
They’re simple, but delicious, and I have yet to meet anyone who does not love them.
And yes, they’re extra buttery, which I do think all mashed potatoes need to be.
Here are the details.
Start with Yukon gold potatoes, which are going to give you extra creamy mashed potatoes. Boil the potatoes with a few cloves of garlic and a good pinch of salt, until fork tender. Then drain and give them a good mashing. I like to use my stand mixer to quickly mash the potatoes. That said, if you want a good arm workout, mashing by hand is the way to go.
While the potatoes are boiling, warm the cream with the herbs to infuse with a delicious herby flavor. Then slowly add the cream to the mashed potatoes, along withe the crème fraîche. I LOVE using crème fraîche as a secret ingredient. It makes for the creamiest mashed potatoes. Trust me, you have to try it. If you don’t have crème fraîche, I’d recommend using an equal amount of cream cheese or sour cream, but crème fraîche is best.
OK. Now the real important step.
Brown some butter with fresh sage. Yes, yes, YES, you must add a little browned butter. It’s the key to mashed potatoes that are just a little bit better than anyone else’s.
I use about half regular butter and half golden brown, so it’s a very subtle but delicious flavor. Again, trust me here, I’m not going to steer you wrong.
Finish with a sprinkle of fresh chives and you’ll have the most perfect, buttery mashed potatoes. No one can turn these down.
If you’d like to make them in advance, this recipe works great. I usually keep mine warm in the slow cooker, but I’ve also included directions on how-to reheat in the oven, and on the stove-top, so do what works best for you!
My best piece of advice?
Test this recipe out before Thanksgiving. Like today or sometime this week. Testing your recipes before Thanksgiving Day is the best thing you can do. Everyone has different tastes, so it’s good to check and adjust as needed before the big day. Plus, you get a huge bowl of yummy mashed potatoes all to your yourself. No sharing required. Cool. Cool.
If you make these buttery mashed potatoes please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Buttery Herbed Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- kosher salt
- 1 cup whole milk or heavy cream
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature
- 8 leaves fresh sage, 6 whole leaves + 1 Tbsp chopped)
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3/4 cup crème fraîche
- fresh black pepper
- chopped fresh chives, for serving
Instructions
- 1. In a large pot of cold water, bring the potatoes and garlic to a boil. Salt the water and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.2. Meanwhile, heat the cream, 4 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon chopped sage, and the thyme sprigs over medium heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat and let the herbs sit in the warm cream until the potatoes are done. Remove the thyme sprigs before adding to the potatoes. 3. Drain the potatoes, return the potatoes to the pot and mash over low heat, or mash in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the herbed cream and crème fraîche. 4. In a skillet, melt 6 tablespoons butter and the sage leaves over medium heat until just browned. The butter will melt, foam and froth, then begin to brown along the bottom. Whisk browned bits off of the bottom of the pan. Remove the sage leaves. Pour the browned butter into the warm mashed potatoes. Taste and season with salt and pepper.5. Serve the potatoes warm, topped with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, sage and fresh chopped chives.
To Make Ahead
- Prepare the mashed potatoes as directed through step 4. Spoon the potatoes into a large baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. To reheat in the oven, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Pour 1/2 cup heavy cream over the potatoes and add 2 tablespoons butter, do not stir. Cover the potatoes tightly with foil and transfer to the oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are warmed through. Stir before serving.To reheat on the stove, add 1/2 cup cream and 2 tablespoons butter and place the potatoes over low, gently stirring until warmed throughout. To heat and keep warm in the slow cooker, transfer the potatoes to the slower cooker, cover and keep on low for up to 4 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, turn the heat to low or high, add 1/2 cup heavy cream and 2 tablespoons butter, do not stir. Cover and let the cream warm and the butter melt. Stir before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Made these for Christmas and they were amazing, my favorite mashed potatoes recipe by far. And the leftovers were even top notched!
And I made a second batch of frosted cinnamon snickerdoodles…. To die for!
Hi Kim! Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Hope you have a wonderful New Year! 🙂 xT
If I wanted to do this in the crockpot, could you advise on that please? I’ve made your slow cooker garlic, cheesy mashed potatoes in the past, but would like something a little bit different than the cheese for Thanksgiving. This particular recipe is what I’m looking for, however, would like to do them in the crockpot because that method is amazing thanks in advance. Any help would appreciate it.
Hi Windy,
For best results with this recipe, I would follow the instructions to make ahead and transfer to the slow cooker:) I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
How many people does this serve?
Hi Laura,
This recipe will make 8 servings. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Have to try this! Do you recommend peeling potatoes before boiling? Or is it ever ok to short cut and boil them with skin on and then peel off skin?
Hi Cari,
I recommend peeling the potatoes before boiling:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Made these tonight and they were amazing. Only thing I changed was the recommendation from another reviewer to use mascarpone cheese instead of the cream fraishe. It worked a treat. I may never go back to the regular mashed potato now.
Hi there,
Love to hear that this recipe was delish! Thanks for making it and your feedback! Have a great weekend!🍁🍃
Delicious
Thank you!! xT
Made these tonight for dinner. I had almost decided on your crockpot cheesy potatoes for Thanksgiving (they were amazing), but I wasn’t sure I wanted cheese in my potatoes for the holiday, and I was worried about the caramelized onions being overpowering when there’s so much other food on the plate. So I tried these and they were DIVINE. I’ll probably still do them in the crockpot for Thanksgiving, but otherwise this is The One.
I did make some minor changes:
• half russets, half Yukon gold (I like creamy AND fluffy)
• added 1/4cup duck fat and did 2 full sticks of butter, half browned
• mascarpone instead of creme fraiche because I wasn’t sure I wanted the tang
• I infused the garlic in the cream with the herbs instead of with the potatoes
So so good!!
Love to hear this! Thank you so so much! xT
Hello,
Do you discard the garlic cloves after boiling, or mash them into the potatoes?
Thanks!
Hi Gina,
I just discard them, the garlic is going to infuse the potatoes while boiling, but if you really want some extra garlic flavor you could totally add them to the mashed potatoes:) Let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Excellent! My new go-to mashed recipe! The addition of brown butter and creme fraiche knock it out of the park.
Hey Kym,
Happy Monday!!💐 Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a winner! xx
This recipe is absolutely fantastic. Even my hard to please family members loved it. It is my new mashed potato go to recipe. Thank you!
Hey Susan,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you:)
This is perfection ❤️ Everyone loved it and it was so easy to do 🙂 Is this receipe in any of your cookbooks? I really want to get a copy!
Hey Florence,
Happy Monday!❄️ I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! This recipe is just on the blog:) xx
When do you add the 4 cloves of smashed garlic?
Hi Jenny,
Those are added in step 1. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
These are AMAZING! Sneaking some before we eat Thanksgiving dinner later today. hahaha. The sage, brown butter and creme fraiche are game-changing. Thank for another great recipe! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hey Susanne,
Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was a winner! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
For the reheat instructions, can you use hole milk or do you need heavy cream? In the process of making to reheat for tomorrow and realized I don’t have heavy cream as I bought whole milk in the insturctions!
Hey Jen,
Whole milk will be perfectly fine for you to use! I hope you love this recipe! Happy Thanksgiving! xT
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It’s excellent. The part that we add the garlic is missing from the instructions. Could you also add that? Thank you 😊
Hey Rose,
Awesome! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was tasty for you, thanks for making it! The garlic is added in step 1:) Hope you’re off to a great weekend! xx