Mashed potatoes are an essential part of Thanksgiving, but they sure do require a lot of babysitting. You’ve got to bring water to a boil, then make sure the potatoes don’t overcook in the water, drain them, then go back to the pot to put it all together. Plus, if you’ve got multiple dishes cooking on your stove at once, the kitchen can start to get pretty chaotic. This is where the magic of the slow cooker comes in. With these mashed potatoes, everything happens right in the pot, making this staple side almost completely hands off (and stress free).
While our slow-cooker mashed potatoes are a holiday staple, this garlic-studded recipe gives a flavorful upgrade to one of our favorite recipes. Keep reading on for how to make them the best they can be:
What are the best potatoes for mashed potatoes?
For this recipe, we opted to use quartered baby potatoes. They’ll result in creamy mashed potatoes, and will also cook faster than throwing in entire Russets. You can use baby red potatoes or baby gold potatoes here.
Do I need to peel my potatoes?
It’s up to you if you’d rather peel your potatoes or not, but we chose to leave the skins on here. The result gives an added texture (and presentation) we can’t get enough of, but if you’re not a skins fan, feel free to peel them.
How do I cook potatoes in the slow cooker?
Instead of boiling potatoes in a pot of water on the stove, for this recipe, you’ll slowly steam potatoes in a slow-cooker. Toss in the quartered potatoes, add a bit of water to the crockpot along with some butter, garlic, and plenty of salt, and hit start! Make sure you do this early though, as the potatoes do need 3 hours to cook. The best part? No draining necessary.
What makes these mashed potatoes different?
While we could have whipped up some basic mashed potatoes, we decided to take things up a notch. We threw in minced garlic along with our potatoes so they could develop even more depth of flavor, before adding dried herbs to finish it off. Feel free to customize as you please! Top with fresh herbs, throw in some cheese—the world is your oyster when it comes to these potatoes.
How do I keep my mashed potatoes warm?
This is a great Thanksgiving side to start at the beginning of the day, then let sit until the rest of your meal is ready to go. Once your potatoes are done, keep them in your slow-cooker on warm until you’re ready to dig in.
Made these? Let us know how they went in the comment section below!
Mashed potatoes are an essential part of Thanksgiving, but they sure do require a lot of babysitting. You’ve got to bring water to a boil, then make sure the potatoes don’t overcook in the water, drain them, then go back to the pot to put it all together. Plus, if you’ve got multiple dishes cooking on your stove at once, the kitchen can start to get pretty chaotic. This is where the magic of the slow cooker comes in. With these mashed potatoes, everything happens right in the pot, making this staple side almost completely hands off (and stress free).
While our slow-cooker mashed potatoes are a holiday staple, this garlic-studded recipe gives a flavorful upgrade to one of our favorite recipes. Keep reading on for how to make them the best they can be:
What are the best potatoes for mashed potatoes?
For this recipe, we opted to use quartered baby potatoes. They’ll result in creamy mashed potatoes, and will also cook faster than throwing in entire Russets. You can use baby red potatoes or baby gold potatoes here.
Do I need to peel my potatoes?
It’s up to you if you’d rather peel your potatoes or not, but we chose to leave the skins on here. The result gives an added texture (and presentation) we can’t get enough of, but if you’re not a skins fan, feel free to peel them.
How do I cook potatoes in the slow cooker?
Instead of boiling potatoes in a pot of water on the stove, for this recipe, you’ll slowly steam potatoes in a slow-cooker. Toss in the quartered potatoes, add a bit of water to the crockpot along with some butter, garlic, and plenty of salt, and hit start! Make sure you do this early though, as the potatoes do need 3 hours to cook. The best part? No draining necessary.
What makes these mashed potatoes different?
While we could have whipped up some basic mashed potatoes, we decided to take things up a notch. We threw in minced garlic along with our potatoes so they could develop even more depth of flavor, before adding dried herbs to finish it off. Feel free to customize as you please! Top with fresh herbs, throw in some cheese—the world is your oyster when it comes to these potatoes.
How do I keep my mashed potatoes warm?
This is a great Thanksgiving side to start at the beginning of the day, then let sit until the rest of your meal is ready to go. Once your potatoes are done, keep them in your slow-cooker on warm until you’re ready to dig in.
Made these? Let us know how they went in the comment section below!
- Yields:
-
8
serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 15 mins
- Total Time:
- 3 hrs 15 mins
- Cal/Serv:
- 231
Directions
-
- Step 1
Grease the inside of your slow cooker with cooking spray. Add potatoes, butter, garlic, and water to slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper. Stir, cover, and cook on high heat for 3 hours, or until potatoes are tender.
- Step 2Once potatoes are tender, add sour cream, milk and spices. Mash with a potato masher and season with more salt and pepper, to taste.
- Step 3Garnish with chives before serving.
- Step 1
