The Best Instant Mashed Potato Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you make instant mashed potatoes taste better? ›

You can slightly improve the taste by adding seasoning like a pinch of salt or nutmeg, chopped herbs like chives, a knob of butter, a spoonful or two of crème fraîche or sour cream, use half milk instead of all-water, or maybe some grated cheese depending on the dish, but the texture still won't compare to homemade ...

Most instant potato varieties call for you to combine the potatoes with water, but if you want your potatoes to taste a bit more indulgent, use milk instead. Whole milk will yield delightfully rich potatoes, but 2 percent milk works well too.

Instant mashed potatoes are convenient for busy food establishments like KFC — the only thing employees need to do is add water and mix. The peeling, cooking, and mashing, has already been done. The downside to instant mashed potatoes is that they aren't as fluffy and tend to be bland.

Instead of regular milk, pro chefs generally use a generous helping of buttermilk and plenty of half-and-half or (even better) heavy cream in their potatoes. If you think the bartenders up front are pouring heavy, they've got nothing on the cooks in the back who are in charge of the mashed potatoes.

I've done some garlic and cheese. Anything on the stuffed potato menu. Bacon, sour cream, onions, green onions, really great butter, chicken fixins has always done me good.

Adding milk will give the mashed potatoes a smooth and velvety texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Don't be afraid to adjust the seasonings according to your preference. You can also add other herbs and spices such as garlic powder, paprika, or chives.

Add a Thickening Agent

This is the most common way to thicken mashed potatoes. You can use what you have on hand: Flour, cornstarch, or powdered milk are all solid options that are probably already in your pantry. Potato flour and potato starch would work as well.

Add Oil, Margarine and Milk

Drizzling in a little of either oil in makes a great substitute for butter in mashed potatoes. Though oil is healthier, it is even higher in calories than butter, however, so take care if you are weight-watching. A tablespoon of olive oil has 118 calories according to the USDA.

Restaurants prepare the potatoes ahead by boiling and mashing just the potato, then just before serving, it is mixed into boiling cream (or milk or even broth or a combination thereof) to reheat it and make it nice and creamy.

Yes, I was in a KFC watching as they made mashed potatoes. They were dry instant potatoes from a large paper bag.

What country invented instant mashed potatoes? ›

French Company, now known as French's, created a product it called mashed potato granules. These flash-dried mashed potatoes became the major instant product in stores until the early 1960s, when Canadian food scientist Edward Asselbergs pioneered a different process for preserved potatoes.

Stir a little sour cream into the instant mashed potatoes.

It will give the instant mashed potatoes a rich, creamy flavor and texture. Alternatively, use the same amount of plain yogurt or a few spoonfuls of cream cheese.

For additional flavor, add some fresh herbs, such as chives, parsley, thyme or rosemary to the mashed potatoes after mashing them. You can also add some buttermilk, cream cheese or sour cream for a bit of a tangy, creamy flavor. Another great addition to mashed potatoes is to use flavored butter.

If they're dry, you could add milk and butter. If you prefer something richer, you could use half 'n half or even heavy whipping cream if you like it extremely rich. You could add chopped garlic for garlic mashed potatoes. You could also add shredded cheddar cheese for cheesy potatoes.