Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
ShareEasy and flavorful slow cooker mashed potatoes, a perfect side dish for any holiday or large event.
Now that Halloween is over, even if there is still plenty of candy to eat, we can move on to all things Thanksgiving! When it comes to food and holidays, Thanksgiving is hands down the best. Carbs, pie, meat. All good. You know that question about what you’d eat for your last meal? Mine would totally be Thanksgiving. Pile my plate high with white meat, stuffing, corn, rolls and creamy mashed potatoes. And I’ll do my absolute best to of course save room for pie, because that’s just necessary… apple pie of course. Not that I don’t like pumpkin food, I do. But you know apple pie holds the key to my heart.
As much as I love Thanksgiving, it takes a lot of work to pull off. There’s SO much timing involved. If you’re a list maker like I am, it’s not quite as bad but can still get pretty hectic at times. In the oven, out of the oven and what’s on the stovetop next? Let’s make one thing a ton easier… the potatoes!
Instead of taking up a whole burner for your potatoes, instead use your slow cooker. Not only will your slow cooker do most of the work for you, if you so choose, you can serve the potatoes in the slow cooker too! It’ll keep your potatoes warm for hours, which means you don’t have to worry about timing and reheating them just before dinner is served.
This large batch recipe for slow cooker mashed potatoes is creamy and flavorful. If you’re like me and want them extra smooth and lump free, be sure to use a potato ricer to remove all of those pesky lumps. If you like some lumps, forego the ricer or only rice part of the potatoes.
This slow cooker recipe for mashed potatoes is a must make for your Thanksgiving dinner. Stress less, enjoy your family and food more.
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 lb russet potatoes
- 1 1/2 C vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 C water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3/4 C unsalted butter melted
- 3/4 C milk warm
- 1/4-1/2 C sour cream
- Chives for topping optional
Instructions
- Peel and cube potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Place in a large stockpot and cover with water. Allow potatoes to sit for at least 30 minutes, may be prepped and allowed to sit overnight.
- Drain and rinse potatoes. Add potatoes to a 6 quart slow cooker with broth and water. Cook on high for 4 hours or until potatoes are fork tender.
- Drain potatoes. Depending on the consistency desired, potatoes may be returned to slow cooker immediately and mashed or for a smooth consistency, press potatoes through a potato ricer. Season with salt and pepper. Add butter and milk. Mix well with the whisk attachment of an immersion hand blender. Add sour cream until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately or utilize the warm setting on your slow cooker, cover and keep warm for up to 2 hours. Stir prior to serving. Potatoes may be transferred to another serving dish or served from the bowl of the slow cooker.
Notes
Items used in this recipe:
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Thanks for this recipe. All the last minute stuff at Thanksgiving can really get you in a dither. I am going to try it this year!
Enjoy! It sure will make life easier :)
I love using the slow cooking for the mashed potatoes and other side dishes at Thanksgiving, especially when using slow cooker liners. It makes Thanksgiving cooking and clean up so easy. This looks like an excellent recipe. I’m pinning this to my Thanksgiving board. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks you Michele :)
Brilliant!! (Now I just need a slow cooker, haha). I can imagine this saving so much time, such a great idea for the upcoming holidays.
Oh you need one! They’re such a great small appliance to own.
This is a great idea!! Perfect to save room on the stove! :)
Definitely! Thanks Tieghan :)
I love the idea of doing this in the slow cooker!!
Thanks Liz! :)
I never made mashed potatoes in a slow cooker but I can imagine how great of a idea it would be, I can’t wait to try it!
I hope you like it! :)
Okay this is brilliant!! I never thought of making them in aslow cooker!!
Thanks Megan :) Now you’ll have to try it too!
what a fun idea! Definitely want to try… never enough burners during thanksgiving :)
It’s always such a juggling act! This should help :)
Have you frozen the potatoes? Are they just as good fresh then frozen.. Maybe that would save me some time for other meal ideas..
I have not personally but they should reheat well. Make them a day or two ahead and reheat prior to serving – add additional butter or milk the day of if needed.
Mashed potatoes are my favorite part of Thanksgiving! Love this slow cooker recipe. Definitely a time and space saver! :)
Thanks Jennifer! :)
This is a great idea, Rachel! I feel like I need like 4 ovens to get though Thanksgiving!
Absolutely love this idea!!!
Rachel they’re so smooth and creamy and PERFECT! They’re the most beautiufl mashed potatoes I’ve ever seen. Smooth, white food, with no texture…a food photographers worst nightmare (okay mine) and you nailed it. Like, best I’ve ever seen. Pinned!
Aww thanks so much Averie! :)
These “mashies” look phenomenal. Totally trying this!
Thanks Winnie!
why can I not cut and paste your recipes – don’t want to print it out – always cut and paste into word
I have that option disabled due to theft/copyright issues. There is a free option for you to save recipes you like to an online recipe box. Many of your favorite sites and blogs participate so they’ll be stored all in one location. Click the save button next to the recipe and you should be prompted to sign up for an account or login.
Let me start by saying that I am a slow cooker newbie and don’t know all the ins and outs of slow cooking. If I’m expecting around 18 people, is it possible to double the recipe? Or would that push the limits of my slow cooker and/or not allow the potatoes to cook properly?
You would need to use two slow cookers for that amount of potatoes.
I can’t get enough of slow cooker recipes :) I am so excited to try this one! Thanks :)
What would happen if I used regular butter and not unsalted? To be honest… I have never used unsalted butter! ha — but I am super excited to use this recipe for our friends Thanksgiving tomorrow! And I am gonna toss some fresh parsley in there too :)
If using salted butter use less salt and taste prior to adding more. Using unsalted butter allows you to control the amount of salt in the dish.
Rachel can you tell me the ingredient amounts if I’m only cooking for 6 people. How much water, milk,sour cream Etc…. Thank you the cockpot version sounds great. Jessica
I would simply cut the ingredients in half. Depending on portion size you may or may not still have some leftovers.
Can you tell me if they sit in the water overnight if making ahead. You mentioned at least 30 minutes. Thanks
I haven’t let them sit that long personally, but you could certainly prep the potatoes ahead and let them sit overnight. Just be sure that all potatoes are covered by water and to change the water when adding the potatoes to the slow cooker. Don’t reuse the starchy water. Good luck and enjoy! :)
These potatoes turned out AMAZING!!! <3 it
So glad you enjoyed them! :)
Rachel,
What does the water do? I found a similar recipe before Thanksgiving that did not soak the potatoes in water. Chicken broth was what the potatoes cooked in and was not drained. The rest of the ingredients were similar although I did not compare exact measurements. I am just curious how it is different with the water and draining part?
Soaking the potatoes removes some of the starch, which will help prevent gummy potatoes. If you soak them, you’ll notice a film forms on the top of the water, this is what you’re removing.