Mashed potatoes can be a vehicle for gravy — or they can be a flavor experience all on their own. Make a batch of these Easy Alfredo Mashed Potatoes to make your taste buds sing!
Serve these delicious mashed potatoes with Chicken and Gravy or alongside Mini Meatloaves for an easy comfort food dinner.
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I understand that for some, mashed potatoes are merely a gravy vehicle. And I get that, especially when you make good gravy. However, there are some potato dishes that can hold their own, with or without the gravy.
Scalloped potatoes certainly do. And so do Cheesy Potatoes.
These Alfredo Mashed Potatoes are also part of that club. These are the mashed potatoes you can eat all on their own in the middle of the night when you’re hungry for something delicious.
These are the mashed potatoes that can accompany a store-bought rotisserie chicken without the need or hassle of making gravy.
These are the mashed potatoes that have all the savory goodness of an Alfredo Pasta dish, but are potatoes.
Why Make Alfredo Mashed Potatoes
They make a great side dish. Side dishes add a little more oomph to a meal. They help you stretch what you have to fit a crowd. And some side dishes really complement a meal and make the main dish tastier than it would be without.
They are easy to make. With just a handful of ingredients and about half an hour, you can whip up these tasty Alfredo mashed potatoes.
They are packed with flavor. The first time I made these potatoes, one of the boys came wandering in asking if we were having pasta with cream sauce. The smells of garlic, cream, and cheese were reminiscent of one of his favorite dishes. And well, they should be. I basically made mashed potatoes with my homemade Alfredo sauce. Yum!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Alfredo Mashed Potatoes:
Yukon gold potatoes – Gold potatoes have a yellow hue and a buttery flavor, making them perfect for mashing.
butter – I like to use dairy butter, but you can use whatever is your preference. Remember you can freeze butter so stock up next time you see a sale.
half and half – Half and half is a mixture of half cream and half milk that you can buy already mixed at the store. It makes a great coffee creamer. If you buy milk and cream separately, then just add equal parts in this recipe.
Parmesan cheese – fresh grated parm adds salty umami as well as a hint of that Alfredo flavor you enjoy on pasta.
garlic – You can use chopped or minced garlic, or if you want to get fancy, use roast garlic. Again, this flavors the potatoes and gives them that Alfredo vibe.
fresh parsley – Parsley is easy to grow in a pot and adds color and freshness to all your dishes.
salt and pepper – Salt and pepper your Alfredo Mashed Potatoes to taste.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make Alfredo Mashed Potatoes:
- Peel and chop the potatoes. Place them in a pot of cold, salted water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Boil the potatoes until they easily break apart with a fork, about 20 to 30 minutes. You can also cook them in the instant pot.
- Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Mash with a potato masher until smooth.
- Add the butter and continue mashing until the butter is incorporated into the potatoes.
- Add the half and half, and stir to combine.
- Add the Parmesan, garlic, and parsley. Stir to combine.
- Serve the potatoes hot.
FAQs
Mashed potatoes are delicious with cooked meats, like pot roasts and chicken. They are also delicious as a topping for Shepherd’s Pie. Mashed potatoes are also good as part of a vegetarian meal, accompanied by roasted vegetables and a salad.
Prepared food is good for up to four days, refrigerated. If you’d like to make mashed potatoes in advance, spoon them into a greased baking dish, cover, and refrigerate. When you’re ready to serve, dot the surface of the potatoes with butter and reheat in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
Mashed potatoes are a great dish to freeze. Spoon them into a greased baking dish, cover, and chill until completely cold. Store in the freezer. When ready to serve, thaw the dish in the refrigerator before proceeding with the reheating directions.
Serve Potatoes With These Main Dishes
Tell us what you think!
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Easy Alfredo Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 lb Yukon gold potato peeled and chopped
- 6 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup half and half
- 4 oz Parmesan cheese (shredded) (1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot of water, boil the potatoes until very tender. Drain and return the potful of potatoes to low heat.5 lb Yukon gold potato
- Alternatively, place the chopped potatoes in the instant pot with 1 cup water. Set to cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Release the steam and proceed with the recipe.
- Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in the butter and blend until smooth. Add the half and half, cheese, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper.6 tablespoon butter, 1 cup half and half, 4 oz Parmesan cheese (shredded), 3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon parsley (chopped), salt, black pepper
- Stir until well blended. Add more half and half if necessary. Adjust seasonings. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on August 31, 2011. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Pat
Thank you for reposting this recipe! I know I have seen it before but, I thought I was not a parmesan cheese fan. Yesterday I decided to give it a try and girl this stuff is delicious!!
Jessica Fisher
Glad you gave it a try and liked it!
Laura
I’ve got a question- have you ever tried to freeze your alfredo potatoes? Or do you just do your mashed potatoes (with the cream cheese) for the freezer?
Jessica Fisher
I have not. I am a firm believer in cream cheese mashed potatoes freezing the best. The other versions tend to get watery. But, if you test this out, please let us know!
Laura
I have a tester in the freezer right now, I’ll let you know how it turns out later this week!
Laura
Took longer than I expected to report back on freezing these potatoes, but I can say it was a success! When they first unfroze (but before I reheated) they were looking super watery and I was really concerned, but once I reheated them (using the microwave), they were back to a nice, creamy, not dry consistency. I would say they weren’t quite as delicious as they are the same night you cook them, but if you’ve ever saved any in the fridge and reheated them, that’s what they tasted like.
Thanks for the recipes! I’m slowly working my way through them, hopefully I’ll have enough “favorites” to do a full freezer cooking session some day- so far I’ve just been doing little things, like freezing diced onions, making your enchiladas, freezing pizza dough and sauce.
Jessica Fisher
Yeah! So glad to hear that it worked well for you.
Meagan
I made these last night and I don’t think mashed potatoes have ever disappeared so quickly at my table! Thanks for providing some great ideas- much appreciated when I get in a cooking rut. I really enjoy your two blogs and read them regularly.
Jessica Fisher
Yeah! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! We ate our leftover potatoes tonight with vegetable stew and grilled fish. yum!
Vicky
I’m not just a mom who enjoys your recipes, I’m a Grammy too. I try every Friday Night to have a Try a Different Approach to an old recipe with my grand daughters. We made these last night and LOVED THEM. Thanks for the recipe.
Vicky
http://www.in-our-kitchen.com
Kristin
Delicious. Can’t wait to try. It would be perfect with marinated steak or chicken. Yum!
Laurie
Hi Jessica! I just bought your organizing e-book. I love it. Thank you for all of the work you put into designing it – and then offering it at such an affordable price. You’re amazing, lady!
Heather
These look very yummy! We love parmesan cheese. I put it in so many things, but I have never put it into mashed potatoes. I will have to try this.
Jen Blacker
My husband begs and pleads with me to make my creamy Parmesan bacon potatoes. It’s so bad for you, heavy cream, potatoes, bacon, butter….I conceded to once a month to make him happy. I’ve lately been using pecorino romano cheese since I got a big chunk of it at Costco. Add more or less cream to your liking. Any time I screw up and add too much cream (I don’t even measure anymore) I just let it cook down a bit. This is a recipe you really can’t screw up.
Aimee @ ShugarySweets
Great theme. I’m really good about making dinners, bad about coming up with side dishes. Looking forward to seeing what others link up!
Jessica Fisher
Side dishes are hard, aren’t they? You love ’em when you have ’em, but the lazy factor can keep me from pulling something together.
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish
Thanks so much for hosting! Those potatoes look amazing! I shared a Baked Kale Chip recipe, this is our #1 favorite side at my house. We make these almost every night. Thanks again 🙂
Emily @ Butter Believer
Those taters sound delicious!! I’m putting it into my Plan to Eat recipe book.
I don’t have a side dish recipe to share that I can think of, but I love this idea for a swap! I’ll have to come back to see what everyone else contributes. Side dishes are always hard for me to come up with!