Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
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These comforting creamy Cheesy Mashed Potatoes are an incredible side dish for so many recipes from your Sunday Roast to midweek sausages or grilled fish. We’ll go through the best cheese and potatoes to use plus how to make ahead.
Mashed potatoes are true comfort food and cheesy mash is perfect when you really need to dig into something warm and homely.
Rich with mature Cheddar, Red Leicester and cream cheese these buttery potatoes are fluffy, softly creamy and so easy to make.
We’ll go through why we choose these specific potatoes and cheese choices plus the best way to mash these, how to get really fluffy cheesy mash and ways you can make them more of a huge deal with various topping options. Plus many leftover cheesy mashed potato options.
Why You’ll Love This Cheesy Mash Recipe
- Best potato and cheese combo. You could use any generic floury white potato but when you switch to using Maris Pipers and team it with good mature Cheddar, full bodied Red Leicester and tangy cream cheese then you’ll really notice the difference.
- Versatile. You can dress this recipe up for a special occasion (lots of advice below) or keep it simple served in the saucepan for midweek meals.
- Texture. We’ve opted for fluffy mash here over the pomme puree route. We’re not overly mashing and keeping the liquid content at the right amount to get it just creamy enough without weighing it down.
Best Potatoes For Mash
Floury potatoes are without doubt the best potatoes to choose for mashed potatoes. They work so well because of their high starch content which breaks down easily when cooked and leads to ultra creamy mash.
Maris Piper. These are the go-to floury potato which are great all-rounders and work for mash, chips, wedges, roasties.
King Edward. Another floury potato.This is the most traditional British potato variety. Not quite as fluffy as Maris Pipers but they are probably what you grew up eating and work very well.
Generic White Potatoes. These are the cheapest big bags of potatoes for about 2kg that you can buy in most supermarkets. They vary on the variety so check the origin labels as to what you are actually buying as I’ve noticed lately they can often be a semi-waxy variety which won’t give as creamy a result of truly floury potatoes.
Other Ingredients Needed
Cheddar cheese. This is the main cheese we use as it’s the one I always have in. Make sure it’s a good mature cheese for the best flavour as you need your potatoes to actually taste like cheese. You don’t need a fancy brand, actually I like Sainsbury’s Stanford Street Mature Cheddar (if you are in the UK) as it has a good flavour and melts very well (better than Cathedral City).
Red Leicester. Adding a little bit of full bodied red cheese adds to the complexity of the cheesy flavour and I can’t deny I like the colour it gives.
Cream cheese. It adds such a good base of flavour and a tanginess rather than using cream. I always use full fat cream cheese as the flavour is vastly superior.
Unsalted butter. We are adding salt later but we want to control the right amount so using unsalted butter helps get the seasoning right. However, if you can only get salted butter then use that and check for the seasoning before adding in any extra salt.
Milk. I don’t use a lot of milk when making these mashed potatoes as I want the texture to be fluffy rather than soupy. I usually use just a tablespoon but if you want a creamier mash then use another. It’s imperative the milk is warm though to avoid a gluey mash.
Dijon mustard. It really brings out the flavour of the cheese, you don’t need much. You could substitute for English mustard (check for gluten-free versions) if you want a bit of a spikier flavour.
Kosher salt. I use this everyday cooking salt for seasoning during the cooking process. Here I add it to the potatoes during their par-boil (still do this even if you choose to use salted butter at the mashing stage). It’s less harsh than table salt but is basically the salt I keep in all the time. It’s not easy to buy in the supermarkets and I order mine online in big 1 kilo boxes.
Ground white pepper. I recommend white pepper purely for aesthetics. My children won’t eat mashed potato if there are ‘black bits’ in it.
How To Make Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Chop the potatoes into equal sizes then place into a large saucepan and fill with cold water. Bring to the boil, season with the kosher salt, then turn down to a simmer for 15-20 minutes until soft. Then drain.
Add the milk into the same saucepan the potatoes were cooked in. You shouldn’t really need to turn the heat back on as the milk will warm in the residual heat of the pan.
Press the hot potatoes through a potato ricer directly into the saucepan with the milk until all the potatoes have been riced.
Add the cream cheese into the saucepan with the butter, both of the grated cheeses and the Dijon mustard. Then sprinkle over the salt and pepper.
Use a silicone spoon to turn the potatoes around, allowing the cheeses and butter to melt into the potatoes.
Taste for seasoning and if you like what you taste then spoon the cheesy mashed potatoes into a serving dish then scatter over some spring onions to garnish and more flaky sea salt.
Expert Tips
I like to keep the potatoes on the larger side for the par-boil (quartered) as otherwise I find they turn to mush and then they are just too watery for mashing. Make sure they are all of a similar size.
Cook the potatoes starting in cold water for even cooking, otherwise the outside can cook too fast leading to mushiness whilst the centre is firm.
It’s imperative to warm the milk before adding in the potatoes so the starch doesn’t seize which might lead to gluey mash.
The butter and the cream cheese should be at room temperature before adding to the mashed potatoes so we’re not introducing extreme temperatures to the potatoes. Melted butter can lead to greasy mash.
A potato ricer will give a smoother result than a handheld masher. I like to first rice the potatoes then lightly mash in the butter and cheeses. Make sure not overwork the potato at this point, you just want to make sure the butter and cheese is evenly distributed.
You can overmash when doing it with the handheld masher so use a soft touch, otherwise it might lead to dense and gummy potatoes.
Switch to a silicone spoon and continue using a folding technique until the butter and cheese have properly melted into the mashed potato.
Making Ahead
You can either cut the potatoes up to 24 hours before cooking. Make sure to store submerged in a large bowl of cold water with a pinch of salt, then cover and chill.
The other way is to make the whole dish, cool and then store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Re-heat as below.
Re-heating
I do find the easiest way to re-heat mashed potatoes is in the microwave as it often burns to the bottom of a saucepan. However, sometimes I re-heat in the oven, topping the cheesy mash with even more cheese (see below for the Oven-Baked Cheesy Mash recipe).
To re-heat in the microwave: Place in a large microwaveable bowl or container and cover with a lid that’s not fully closed or plastic wrap. If you are microwaving the full batch then select full power for 6 minutes (700W) 5 minutes (800W) 4 minutes (900W).
To re-heat in saucepan: Warm 3-4 tablespoons milk in the saucepan before adding the cold mashed potato. Heat on medium, stirring to ensure even heating and to stop it sticking to the pan.
Check for creaminess after re-heating, you might like to add a touch more butter or warmed milk.
Freezing
These Mashed Potatoes freeze very nicely, so you can make well ahead of time. Make the whole recipe then cool completely. Spoon into an airtight container (or freezer bag) then store for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then re-heat as above.
FAQs
Gluey mashed potato is always to do with starch. If you over-mash your potatoes then the starch gets over worked too. It bursts and creates this gummy texture. This is why you shouldn’t use a food processor to mash your potatoes. I recommend using a potato ricer then lightly mash in the butter using a handheld masher and finishing with a silicone spoon to stir in the cheese.
You don’t need the heat on the pan when you are stirring in the cheese, the heat of the potatoes should melt the cheese. If your potatoes have cooled too much whilst you were ricing them then you can turn on the saucepan onto a very low heat to encourage the cheese to melt into the mash.
What to serve with Cheesy Mash
These potatoes are a perfect side dish to your Sunday Roast, Christmas or Thanksgiving table. Or delicious with these family style dinners too:
Next-Level Cheesy Mash Tips
Loaded Cheesy Mash. A bit like loaded jacket potatoes. Once your cheesy mashed potatoes are in their serving bowl then spoon over sour cream and sprinkle over a load of chopped crispy bacon. A scattering of diced spring onions and parsley for garnish and you have yourself a major side dish.
Oven Baked Cheesy Mash. More cheese? Yes please. Spoon your finished cheesy mashed potatoes into an ovenproof serving dish then scatter over even more Red Leicester (I love the colour of it on top). Bake in an oven pre-heated to 200°C / 180°C fan assisted / gas mark 6 / 400°F for 15 minutes. Bring to the table golden and resplendent.
Garlic and Chive Cheesy Mash. This is a delicious alternative and is a little bit more sophisticated. Roast the garlic by placing the whole garlic cloves, still in their skins on a small parchment lined baking tray with a splash of olive oil. Bake in an oven pre-heated to 200°C / 180°C fan assisted / gas mark 6 / 400°F for 10 minutes-15 minutes. They should be soft and squishy inside. Mix with the mashed potato when you are adding the cheese, along with a handful of diced chive. Then finish the recipe as normal.
Leftover Mashed Potato?
We often have containers of leftover mash in our fridge and these are my favourite ways to use it up:
Salmon Fishcakes. Cheesy mash works just as well as regular mash – a little bit more indulgent!
Potato Croquettes. Mix with a couple of spoonfuls of homemade gluten-free flour to firm up and shape into little logs. Dip into flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs and bake at 220°C / 200°C fan assisted / gas mark 7 / 425°F for 15-20 minutes.
Bubble and Squeak. Add it to this recipe to make a really delicious breakfast / brunch.
Potato Waffles. Mix with an egg, a spoonful of homemade gluten-free flour and cook in a waffle iron for 8 minutes for homemade potato waffles.
More Potato Dishes You’ll Love
Homemade Crispy Potato Wedges are on constant rotation in our house. They taste so much fresher than store bought and they are seasoned to perfection.
Cream Baked Roast Potatoes are a step beyond the perfect roast potato. The potatoes are baked in luscious garlic, cream and herbs to fork tender then drained and roasted to perfection in a hot oven.
English Mint Potato Salad is a light and healthy potato salad. It is dairy-free and ideal for picnics or outdoors eating as it doesn’t have any mayo so there is no risk of spoiling in the hot sun.
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Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 kg potatoes
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 90 g unsalted butter - room temperature
- 90 g cheddar cheese - grated
- 50 g red Leicester - grated
- 40 g cream cheese - room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
Instructions
- Chop the potatoes into equal sizes (the medium ones should be quartered) then place into a large saucepan and fill with cold water. Bring to the boil, season with the kosher salt, then turn down to a simmer for 15-20 minutes until soft. Then drain.
- Add the milk into the same saucepan the potatoes were cooked in. You shouldn’t really need to turn the heat back on as the milk will warm in the residual heat of the pan.
- Press the hot potatoes through a potato ricer directly into the saucepan with the milk until all the potatoes have been riced.
- Add the cream cheese into the saucepan with the butter, both of the grated cheeses and the Dijon mustard. Then sprinkle over the salt and pepper.
- Use a silicone spoon to turn the potatoes around, allowing the cheeses and butter to melt into the potatoes.
- Taste for seasoning and if you like what you taste then spoon the cheesy mashed potatoes into a serving dish then scatter over some spring onions to garnish and more flaky sea salt.
Notes
- Choose floury potatoes. For the smoothest creamiest mashed potato I highly recommend Maris Pipers or King Edwards.
- Make sure the potatoes are cut to a similar size for even cooking.
- Warm the milk before adding to the potatoes and keep the butter, cheese and cream cheese at room temperature before adding in.
- Don't overmash the potatoes or the results will turn out gluey.
Or make the mash fully, cool it, and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days before reheating. You can re-heat in the microwave or in the saucepan, make sure to add a little extra milk to aid with the re-heating. Freeze. Make the whole recipe then cool completely. Spoon into an airtight container (or freezer bag) then store for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then re-heat as above.
