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Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes are the most delicious easy mashed potatoes you have ever made! They cook right in your slow cooker to save space on busy Holiday dinners!
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Simple Easy Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
One of the hardest things to manage on Thanksgiving or other food-centric holidays is finding room on your stovetop to make everything. The kitchen is crowded, hot and crazy- but it doesn’t need to be.Using your slow cooker, you can make these Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes without using up any precious stovetop space!
This slow cooker mashed potato recipe is fabulous because you can cook, mash, keep warm and serve straight out of your crockpot. These also create less dirty dishes and leave plenty of space for you to prep your other holiday favorites. Its a win-win-win.
How to make Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
First you want to assemble the following ingredients:
- Red potatoes – I halve these but leave the peel on. One reason I love red potatoes is that they don’t need to be peeled which makes this recipe ever more simple. They also have a really creamy texture.
- Water – you need water to cook the potatoes in to soften them. For super rich mashed potatoes you can use half milk half water to soak the potatoes.
- Sea Salt – salt will bring the flavor of the potatoes forward so don’t be shy. If you oversalt just add some more heavy cream to balance it out.
- Pepper – I like to use fresh ground pepper for a hit of heat.
- Heavy cream or Greek Yogurt – you want to use these to add a rich creaminess to the potatoes. If you use greek yogurt you will get thicker potatoes than heavy cream.
- Butter – use salted butter to add some fat to the potatoes that will make them smooth and creamy.
- Milk – you will need to use milk as necessary to thin the potatoes to get the texture you want.
- Garlic – you want a hit of this pungent spice. You can get that through using garlic powder or fresh garlic that has been sauteed in butter, I prefer the latter.
Once you have assembled the ingredients use the following method
Cook potatoes. Add the potatoes and water to the slow cooker and cook on high for about 2 hours or until they are soft to the touch. If you have a lot of water leftover drain it, leaving about 1/2 cup. Mash the potatoes or use a potato ricer for a smoother result.
Add the dairy. Stir in the heavy cream, butter, garlic, and milk to thin. Add the salt and pepper tasting while adding till you get the flavor you are looking for.
Keep warm. Keep the potatoes warm on low for up to 2 hours or until you are ready to serve. Adjust the consistency with milk as needed and stir occasionally.
Tips and Tricks for perfect Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
This recipe was my favorite after testing out other crockpot methods.
Use a liner. I like to use a liner when making these potatoes in the slow cooker. It makes cleanup super easy.
Try one of these variations
- Stir in heavy cream, cheddar cheese, and chives for a rich and cheesy mashed potato side nobody will be able to resist.
- Roasted garlic, rosemary, and sea salt give a lovely earthy kick to mashed potatoes.
- Bacon and cheddar stirred into mashed potatoes are absolutely heavenly!
- Horseradish and a dash of Worcestershire sauce give mashed potatoes a zesty kick.
FAQs
Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Alternatively, you can freeze some leftovers, see below.
Yes! I freeze leftover potatoes in a gallon size bag. Don’t forget to label them with the date and lay them flat in the freezer so they don’t get frozen around something else. Reheat in a pot on the stovetop stirring continuously.
Yes, if you want to use Russet though be sure to peel them before adding them to the slow cooker.
Other Delicious Holiday Dishes You’ll Love:
If you love this easy slow cooker mashed potatoes recipe, check out some of my other holiday dinner favorites including these favorite sides:
You might also love, Brown Bag Herb Roasted Turkey, Pan Fried Brussels Sprouts with Ghee, Pan Roasted Butter Carrots, Garlic Chinese Style Green Beans, The Best Oven Roasted Garlic Parmesan Asparagus, Slow Cooker Turkey in Gravy, Slow Cooker Orange Cranberry Ginger Glazed Ham, Khachapuri Georgian Cheese Bread, Easy No Knead Bread and Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes.
And finally, to clear up even more space in your kitchen, check out my Smoked Turkey and take it outside. It is the best way to make turkey, ever. It stays super moist and juicy and the smoked flavor is a fantastic twist on traditional turkey.
Click here to see all my mouthwatering slow cooker recipes!
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes Recipe
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Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds red potatoes halved (I leave the peel on, but feel free to remove if you prefer)
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
- ½ fresh ground pepper
- ½ cup Tbsp heavy cream or Greek yogurt
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp garlic powder or 5 garlic cloves diced and sauteed
Instructions
- In crockpot, add 2 cups of water and potatoes.
- Cook on high for 1-2 hours or until potatoes are very soft to touch.
- Water should be almost evaporated, and potatoes will mash when gently touched. If you have a lot of water leftover, drain it off. If you have under 1/2 cup, go ahead and leave it. This will help keep your potatoes from over drying while waiting for dinner to be done- so you can make them ahead of time. For perfectly creamy potatoes use a potato ricer to cream the potatoes.
- Add cream, butter, garlic and mash well using hand mixer or mashing utensil, right there in the crockpot.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Keep potatoes on low for up to 2 hours, or until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Sweet C’s Favorites
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If I used russet potatoes, could I still cook for 2hrs? I’ve seen several recipes but they all say 4-6hrs. For today, 2hr cook time would be great;)
Tracy- cut them into smaller pieces and it will speed them up!!
One more question…I noticed the recipe says, “1/2 cup Tbsp heavy cream or Greek yogurt”. Should I use a half cup or 1/2 tbsp? Have you noticed a difference in flavor using the Greek yogurt as opposed to heavy cream? Thanks again!
haha- whoops! Thats a major typo. It’s 1/2 cup. I’ll take that tbsp out right away. The greek yogurt makes it a little tangy, but would be pretty comparable to sour cream. If you usually make mashed potatoes with heavy cream, go for that- if you like sour cream you can add it or the yogurt. Mashed potatoes are such a personal thing- though I will admit I am the least pickiest person when it comes to potatoes. I like them with the skins in and not super smooth- but really, I haven’t met mashed potatoes I don’t like (just look at my waistline and you’ll see that’s true!). You can tweak it to fit your favorite recipe, or try this basic one- just replace any mashed potatoes boiling with this crockpot method and then go ahead and make as regular (keeping it in the crock to keep them warm instead of a big stock pot).
As far as the crockpot, mine is is a 6 quart- and this recipe only fills up about half- so you should be able to double it. The only thing that might be tricky is the actual mashing- if it is too tight, you might want to dump it in a stand mixer to mash the potatoes and then back into the crockpot. It just depends on the size of the potatoes and your skill at using a handheld mixer or masher (I am particularly messy, so I’d have to do this in the stand mixer to avoid having spuds all over my kitchen).
In the ingredients it says 2 cups of water then in the instructions it says 4 cups. Which one is correct? I’m looking forward to making these today. 🙂
Sorry- try it with 2, but you’ll just want to watch to be sure the liquid doesnt totally cook off (which would burn your potatoes). If there is a ton of leftover liquid, just drain it off.
Hi, Courtney! About how many servings, or how many people, would you say this serves? Does it fill the whole crockpot? Thank you so much!
Just curious how large of a crockpot you used, as I would need to double the recipe and wondered if my 6 quart would still hold everything! 🙂
Thanks for the fun recipe!
My crock pot is a 6 quart. You should be fine- but it might get a little tight so you might have to mash them in a stand mixer unless you’re super skilled with a handheld (I am not- I’d have potatoes everywhere!!). It should be ok for the cooking and keeping warm as a doubled recipe though.
Holy cow, girl! This is brilliant!!
Thanks Amy! Saves so much space and time… I am only ever going to make them in the slow cooker now! Thanks for the pin, too 🙂