Creamy, delectable Duchess Potatoes may look fancy and impressive alongside your prime rib or steak but they are actually easy to make. They are extra delicious thanks to the addition of egg yolks, garlic, nutmeg, and parmesan cheese!
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It's Montana Week on House of Nash Eats as part of my American Eats series where I'm making famous recipes from each state, one state at a time. And while this duchess potato recipe isn't necessarily particular to Montana, they were the perfect side dish to serve with Montana favorites like our Smoked Prime Rib Roast or a Grilled Ribeye Steak. But they are just as good with a thick slice of meatloaf in place of your regular mashed potatoes!
Duchess potatoes would be perfect served with Christmas dinner parties, Easter dinner, or even just a nice Sunday dinner with roast beef as a way to change up your potato game.
Why are they called duchess potatoes?
This elegant side dish originated from France in the 1700's where it was called "pommes duchesse". The added egg yolks give the mashed potatoes a velvety texture, wonderful golden color, and richness thanks to the added fat from the yolks.
Take your next batch of mashed potatoes from basic to amazing with just a few simple additions and a piping bag!
What You'll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Potatoes - Yukon gold potatoes are hands down my favorite for this duchess potatoes recipe because they have a beautiful color, wonderful texture, and great flavor. But russet potatoes are an acceptable alternative. I wouldn't recommend making these with red potatoes.
- Salted butter
- Heavy cream - Heavy cream will give the best results for creamy, flavorful duchess potatoes, but you can even get away with milk if you need to.
- Egg yolks - These add a wonderful richness, texture, and flavor, as well as boosting the beautiful golden color. Don't skip them and save your egg whites for making pavlova for dessert!
- Salt & pepper - Taste and adjust as needed. If you properly salt your water to boil the potatoes you won't need as much salt to season them and the flavor will be better overall.
- Parmesan cheese - Use freshly grated Parmesan, not the powdered kind that comes in a can.
- Minced garlic - Because garlic mashed potatoes are the best mashed potatoes.
- Nutmeg - Adding a pinch of nutmeg is the secret ingredient that takes these Duchess potatoes from good to fantastic!
How to Make Duchess Potatoes
- Peel and boil potatoes. This is not the recipe to leave the skins on, even though Yukon golds have thin, delicious skins that I normally would not remove. Generously salt your pot of cold water with a tablespoon of salt and cover the potatoes by at least an inch, then boil until they are fork tender.
- Drain. Once the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, drain them well in a colander.
- Mash or press through a potato ricer. I LOVE my potato ricer for making mashed potatoes when I want them super smooth but supremely fluffy and light. It's like magic. But you can also use a potato masher or even a mixer, but just be very careful not to overmix or the potatoes will end up gluey.
- Heat butter, cream, and garlic. Rather than adding cold of even softened butter and cream to your riced potatoes, heat them up in the microwave with the garlic until the butter is melted and the cream is warm. It will absorb much better into the hot potatoes.
- Season. Add the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, kosher salt, pepper, and nutmeg then stir everything together by hand with a wooden spoon so as not to overmix the potato mixture.
- Stir in egg yolks. It's okay to add the egg yolks to the warm potatoes because by this point the potatoes should have cooled down quite a bit from when they were first drained. Otherwise the egg yolks could cook and scramble when you add them to the potatoes if they are still super hot.
- Pipe. Fill a large piping bag or pastry bag fitted with a large star tip with some of the mashed potatoes. Piper generous mounds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, swirling the potatoes for the classic duchess potato look. Repeat until all of the mashed potatoes have been used up. Alternatively, you could just spread the potatoes into a casserole dish and use a knife to create peaks for some texture if you want to avoid piping.
- Chill. Transfer the piped potatoes to the freezer for 1 hour to let the potatoes set up. This will help them hold their shape better than if you were to bake them right away. If you need to bake them immediately, you can, but they might flatten out a bit.
If the potatoes are still hot, this can sometimes cause plastic piping bags to bulge. You can let the potatoes cool to room temperature before piping, if necessary, or use thicker, sturdy piping bags.
- Brush with melted butter. Just before baking, use a pastry brush to brush each of the duchess potatoes with some additional melted butter.
- Bake. Place the baking sheet into a preheated 425 degrees Fahrenheit oven and bake for around 20 minutes until heated all the way through and starting to brown on top. If you made these in advance and froze them, you can bake straight from frozen without thawing by just adding a few extra minutes (about 5 to 10) to your bake time.
- Garnish & serve. Sprinkle the creamy duchess potatoes with chopped parsley and some additional Parmesan cheese before serving.
Recipe FAQ's
Potatoes are naturally very starchy and if you overbeat them with an electric mixer they will turn gluey. It's one reason why I recommend using a potato ricer since they easily cream the potatoes without mixing them so it takes minimal stirring by hand to get creamy mashed potatoes for these duchess potatoes.
In my recipe testing I also tried brushing these with an egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water and brushing that on to achieve the golden brown color. It worked well, but in the end using some additional melted butter gave both a better golden brown color and some additional flavor to the outside of the duchess potatoes that we preferred.
Absolutely you could omit these ingredients if you don't have them on hand. We think they add a lot of flavor and make these duchess potatoes extra special, but you can leave them out.
Tips for Success
- Peel the skins. It might seem tedious, but one of the highlights of these potatoes is their incomparable creaminess. Leaving the skin on the potatoes would detract from that and could potentially make piping the potatoes difficult if the skins got stuck in the piping tip.
- Try substituting a different kind of cheese. If you want to make these even more gourmet, try swapping out the parmesan for another cheese like smoked gouda or even cheddar.
- Change the flavor. If you want to add even more flavor, make loaded duchess potatoes by adding sour cream, some chopped fresh herbs like chives, and chopped crispy bacon!
What to Serve With Duchess Potatoes
Duchess potatoes are a fancier replacement for mashed potatoes and will taste wonderful with any food that you would typically serve with mashed potatoes like meatloaf or pork chops. But they are perfect for a dinner party or special occasion. Here are some of our favorite pairings of main dishes to serve with duchess potatoes.
- Smoked Prime Rib Roast
- Easy Beef Tenderloin Roast With Creamy Horseradish Sauce
- Best Roast Chicken Recipe
- Easy Oven Baked Trout Recipe
- Crispy Honey Roasted Duck
- Oven Roasted Rack of Lamb
Storage & Reheating
Keep any uneaten potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in a 350 degree F oven for 10-12 minutes before serving.
Do duchess potatoes freeze well?
Yes, these freeze very well. So much so that I frequently double or triple the recipe and freeze the additional potatoes for up to 3 months before baking. They bake beautifully directly from frozen so it is easy to have a ready-to-go side dish in your freezer for an elegant element to your meal.
Bake direct from frozen by increasing the bake time 5 to 10 minutes. If already baked, let the potatoes thaw in the fridge overnight then reheat in the oven as directed above.
More Potato Recipes
- Easy Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole
- Fluffy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
- The Best Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Twice Baked Potatoes
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Best Duchess Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 Tablespoons salted butter, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
- â…› teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 egg yolks
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
- Additional grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Boil potatoes in a large pot of salted water until fork tender.
- While the potatoes cook, heat 6 tablespoons butter, garlic, and cream in the microwave until butter is melted.
- Drain potatoes well then press the boiled potatoes through a potato ricer or mash with a potato masher.
- Add Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, butter, garlic, and milk mixture. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in egg yolks.
- Pipe into 12 swirled mounds by transferring the mashed potato mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (I used an Ateco 826). They can also just be spread in a baking dish. If making ahead, you can freeze the potatoes until firm and then transfer to an airtight container until ready to bake.
- Brush with remaining melted butter. Bake for 18-20 minutes. If baking direct from frozen, add an addition 5 to 10 minutes to the bake time.
Notes
- Yield: This recipe makes 12 mounds of potatoes, with a serving usually being 2 of the mounds. I frequently double or triple the recipe for a crowd or for freezing for later since the recipe freezes very well.
- Storage: Keep any uneaten potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in a 350 degree F oven for 10-12 minutes before serving.
- Freezing: You can freeze duchess potatoes before or after baking. If freezing before baking, they will freeze well for up to 3 months. Bake direct from frozen by increasing the bake time 5 to 10 minutes. If already baked, let the potatoes thaw in the fridge overnight then reheat in the oven as directed above.
