I don’t think it even possible to have a holiday dinner without mashed potatoes. If I tried to skip the whole mashed potatoes dish I think I would see an uprising from my family.
Since everyone is such a mashed potato fan I am trying to always do something a little different or super special with them.
I must have accomplished that with these because when my husband tasted the first bite his exact words were “Man! These are holiday table worthy potatoes… good job honey.”
As I was looking through crock pot mashed potato recipes online to get an idea of how others were making crock pot mashed potatoes, I was shocked to find that most all the recipes showing up were requiring you to boil the potatoes on the stove first. It was basically letting you hold your potatoes warm in the crock pot for buffet style serving.
Well, that wasn’t going to work for me. I had some of y’all on facebook tell me that you add chicken broth or water right to the potatoes in the crock pot and cook them that way…. with no problems (and y’all ROCK by the way).
Here is how I ultimately made this work:
4 pounds of russett potatoes, peeled- 2 bouillon cubes (I used vegetable, but chicken would work too)
- water (enough to cover potatoes completely)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4 ounces sour cream
- 2 – 3 bulbs of roasted garlic, depending on how garlicky your family likes them
- 3 – 4 scallions, washed and chopped (I used whites only for mild oniony flavor)
- salt and pepper to taste
To prevent the white bubbles that form at the top of your pot when you cook potatoes cut them into 1″ cubes and soak in water. If you do this overnight make sure you add salt and refrigerate. Otherwise just soak for about 30 – 45 minutes.
Once they have soaked, drain them in a collander and rinse thoroughly.
Now you are going to add the rinsed potatoes, the bouillon cubes and enough water to cover the potatoes to a 2 1/2 – 3 quart crock pot. I also added 2 tablespoons of salt, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just always treat potatoes like pasta and rice and season with salt from the beginning.
Cover and cook on high for 3 – 4 hours. They are done when fork tender.
Once they’re done, drain them in a collander and turn the crock pot to the warm setting.
**VERY IMPORTANT**Using hot tap water, rinse out the inside of the crock pot. Make sure you wipe out any excess water before returning the potatoes to the crock.
Once you return the drained potatoes to the crock, add the butter and milk and mash them. I used an actual potato masher because we like lumpy potatoes. If your family likes smoother ones, by all means, use a hand mixer or immersion blender to whip yours.
Once they are to the consistency that you like, add the cream cheese and sour cream and continue mashing.
After that is well incorporated add the roasted garlic and scallions.
Once those are well incorporated taste the potatoes. Add salt and pepper as needed, making sure you taste along the way, to get the perfect seasoning to your mashed potatoes.
You can leave these on low for 2 – 3 hours during your holiday dinner. Just make sure you are stirring them every 30 minutes or so because you don’t want the top of the potatoes to dry out.
**NOTES**
- I had my garlic roasting in a smaller crock pot while the potatoes were cooking.
- I’m sure it would be fine to cook these on low for 7 – 8 hours, but since Thanksgiving dinner is served in the early afternoon I cooked them on high.
- You could make these a day in advance and refrigerate them. Then put in a crock pot to heat them up and serve during your holiday dinner.
- If you wanted a more cheesy flavor, add parmesan or sharp cheddar cheese before adding the garlic or scallions.
Creamy Crock Pot Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
<p>These creamy mashed potatoes were dubbed “holiday table worthy” from my picky husband.</p> <p>They are so easy and don’t require you to boil the potatoes on the stove top first. Everything is done right in the crock pot.</p>
See Creamy Crock Pot Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes on Key Ingredient.
This is part of the “Slow Cooking Through the Holidays” series that Hope from A Busy Mom’s Slow Cooking Adventures and I are co-hosting. Make sure you’re checking out her blog to see her version of all the holiday recipes too!
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