These Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes are the ultimate potato recipe that’s restaurant-quality and made with 5 ingredients. Make them for your holiday table or a weeknight dinner paired with any protein. You’re friends and family will be so impressed!
Welcome to our house where we eat our mashed potatoes sans gravy. None of us are particularly into gravy (except chocolate gravy) and okay, brown mushroom gravy, which I love but no one else seems particularly fond of. This is why I came up with my Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes which are always the showstopper of the holiday table.
Whenever I’m looking at a menu and my eyes skim past the words “brown butter”, my heart does a little pitter-patter. And trust me, you can consider these mashed potatoes truly restaurant-approved. If making brown butter intimidates you, don’t worry, I have all the tips to make sure it’s perfect every time.
My family recommends serving these on your holiday table next to a turkey or ham. I will also argue that these are just as fantastic with a whole roasted chicken dinner or grilled steaks on a weeknight. Basically, they should be eaten on repeat, year round.
Looking for more great side dishes? Be sure to try Roasted Beet Salad, Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles, and Slow Cooker Creamed Corn.
Reader Review: “Ooh, these are good. No, they’re great. No, they’re fantastic! This recipe delivered the absolute best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made! These are officially added to the regular rotation in my kitchen. Yum!!” – Deanna
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- 5 ingredient gourmet mashed potatoes. These are the mashed potatoes where everyone will be wanting the recipe and asking for seconds.
- Easy for beginner cooks to make. It may sound intimidating by the name, but these mashed potatoes with browned butter come together in only 15 minutes of active prep time.
- Pair with so many main courses. They are very versatile and easy to serve with fish, chicken, steak, pork, and vegetables.
Ingredients
- Potatoes: Russet or yukon golds are the two types I recommend using. You will want to peel and cut them into equal-sized cubes before boiling.
- Garlic: Goes perfectly with the browned butter, make sure it’s fresh cloves and not jarred.
- Cream cheese: Adds creaminess to the potatoes.
- Whole milk: A second ingredient for a smooth consistency and added rich flavor. You can also use heavy cream or half and half.
- Salted butter: Mashed potatoes aren’t complete without butter! I like salted here to help season the potatoes. If you use unsalted, then just add an extra pinch of salt.
How Do You Make Brown Butter?
Brown butter is actually incredibly easy to make. All you need to do is add some butter to a pan and let it melt over medium heat and simmer until it turns a beautiful caramel color and little brown bits begin to form on the bottom of the pan.
It’s not difficult at all, although you will want to watch it so that it doesn’t burn and stir frequently with a heat-proof spatula or wooden spoon to ensure it is browning evenly and so you can see the progress through the foam that appears on the top of the butter as it is browning.
Brown butter will look a little gritty or silty on the bottom, but it doesn’t affect the texture of the dishes you are adding it to. It just adds a wonderful nutty, toasted flavor of gorgeous amber deliciousness to almost anything.
How to Make Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
1. Peel and wash the potatoes. Chop them into 1- to 2-inch pieces. Add the potatoes to a pot and fill with enough water to completely cover the potatoes, then salt the water generously. I typically eyeball this, but generally speaking, 2 teaspoons of salt is good for a large pot of water.
2. Boil the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil, then cover and cook the potatoes over medium heat until soft enough to easily be pierced with a fork. This will depend on the size of your potatoes, but 25 minutes is roughly the right amount of time.
3. Make the browned butter. Meanwhile, prepare the garlic brown butter by melting the butter in a pan until it starts foaming, then letting it cook for a few minutes. I don’t add the garlic too early on because I don’t want it to burn, but you also don’t want to wait until the butter is already browned. I find that if I wait until the butter is foaming well and then add the garlic, I get the best results.
4. Drain and mash. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, drain them well and return to the pot. Add the cream cheese, milk, pepper, and half of the garlic brown butter. Mash with a potato masher or beat with an electric beater until creamy.
5. Serve. Transfer to a serving bowl and either serve the remaining garlic brown butter on the side or poured over the top of the potatoes to serve family style.
Tips for Success
- Use either type of potato. I used Russett potatoes for the batch I made in these pictures, but Yukon Golds are equally delicious for mashed potatoes.
- Try an electric mixer for mashing, if desired. If you choose to use an electric mixer to mash your potatoes, be sure not to over beat them, which can make them gooey.
- Add some herbs to garnish. Sprinkle the finished mashed potatoes with chives or green onions for a pop of color and bright flavor.
- Don’t skip the cream cheese. Be sure to use the cream cheese, as it adds a wonderful creaminess and depth of flavor to the finished mashed potatoes.
- Cut the potatoes all the same size. This makes for even boiling so they cook at the same rate.
- Always start the potatoes in cold water. Then bring them to a boil. This is a pro chef tip for even cooking.
Storage
Store any leftover browned butter mashed potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of milk or cream if desired.
You can also freeze the potatoes for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge completely before reheating.
It’s also a great side dish to make in advance for a holiday meal when you need all the stovetop space you can get! Mash the potatoes the day before and keep the extra browned butter in a separate container. Reheat and drizzle the browned butter on top right before serving.
FAQs
Make sure you swirl the pan throughout the cooking and allow the butter to brown over a lower heat. When you begin to see foam on top, a light golden color, and a nutty smell, then you’ll know it’s done.
Heating the butter over too high of heat and also using a pan that’s too narrow so you can’t see the color change.
Don’t over-mash or over-mix the potatoes, especially if you are using a hand mixer.
More Decadent Potato Recipes
- Pantzaria me Skordalia (Roasted Beets with Garlic Potato Spread)
- Soft Homemade Potato Rolls
- Homemade Potato Bread Recipe
- Oven Roasted Barbecue Potato Wedges
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 pounds potatoes peeled (russet or yukon golds)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 ounces cream cheese cubed
- ½ to 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup salted butter
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel and wash the potatoes, then cut into small 1- to 2-inch chunks. Place the potatoes into into a large pot and fill with enough cold water to cover the potatoes by one inch, then salt with around two teaspoons of salt.3 pounds potatoes
- Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are soft and you can easily insert a fork in them (around 25 minutes). Drain well in a colander.
- While the potatoes cook, melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. When the butter begins to bubble and foam, lower the heat to medium-low and stir the butter occasionally, monitoring carefully so that the butter does not burn. Add the minced garlic. The butter will turn a deep caramel color and browned bits will accumulate in the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat.¾ cup salted butter, 4 cloves garlic
- Add about half of the garlic browned butter to the potatoes, along with the cream cheese and half of the milk. Mash or beat the potatoes with a potato masher or electric mixer. Taste the potatoes and add salt (½ teaspoon at a time, if necessary) and the ¼ teaspoon pepper, along with any additional milk as needed to the potatoes and stir.4 ounces cream cheese, ½ to 1 cup whole milk, ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, Salt
- Serve the mashed potatoes either individually plated or family style with the remaining garlic browned butter for drizzling over the top of the potatoes. Garnish with chopped chives, green onions, or parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Store any leftover browned butter mashed potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave with a splash of milk or cream if desired.
- Freeze the potatoes for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge completely before reheating.
- Make ahead: Mash the potatoes the day before and keep the extra browned butter in a separate container. Reheat and drizzle the browned butter on top right before serving.
- Use either type of potato. I used Russett potatoes for the batch I made in these pictures, but Yukon Golds are equally delicious for mashed potatoes.
- Try an electric mixer for mashing, if desired. If you choose to use an electric mixer to mash your potatoes, be sure not to over beat them, which can make them gooey.
- Add some herbs to garnish. Sprinkle the finished mashed potatoes with chives or green onions for a pop of color and bright flavor.
- Don’t skip the cream cheese. Be sure to use the cream cheese, as it adds a wonderful creaminess and depth of flavor to the finished mashed potatoes.
- Cut the potatoes all the same size. This makes for even boiling so they cook at the same rate.
- Always start the potatoes in cold water. Then bring them to a boil. This is a pro chef tip for even cooking.
OMG these looks absolutely delicious and addictive!
Adding the milk was missing from the direction. Just FYI
Thank you! Fixed.
Ooh, these are good. No, they’re great. No, they’re fantastic! This recipe delivered the absolute best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made! These are officially added to the regular rotation in my kitchen. Yum!!
Thank you so much Deanna! That is such a nice thing to say! I’m glad you enjoy the potatoes!