31 EASY Ways to Add Flavor to Mashed Potatoes

31 Ways to Add Flavor to Mashed Potatoes will give you some ideas on mashed potato additions that will jazz up your recipe with some fun ideas.

If you’re looking for more potato recipes, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Crispy Roasted Potatoes are the perfect recipes to try.

I’m a member of a frugal living group, and the question was asked, “How do you make the most flavorful mashed potatoes?”   That was a good question.

After all, potatoes are nutritious and inexpensive.  The perfect combination.  Changing up your mashed potato recipe is a great way to add a little creativity to your cooking. Mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish for many of your favorite dinners.

It turns out lots of people had an opinion on the best way to make homemade mashed potatoes, and I thought their answers were brilliant.

Who knew there were so many different ways of making mashed potatoes?

Yukon gold potatoes, red potatoes, or just the ordinary russet potato all make yummy mash potato recipes. Instant mashed potatoes can also use a little extra flavor too.

I like to use my crock pot to cook my potatoes.  Instead of cooking my potatoes in water, I use chicken broth or vegetable broth in the slow cooker so each potato chunk absorbs all the flavor of the rich broth.

After cooking the potatoes in broth, drain the potatoes of the leftover liquid.  To mash the potatoes, I use a potato masher so I can I like to then use a potato masher to control the texture of the potatoes. Sometimes you want fluffy potatoes and other times rustic mashed potatoes hit the spot.

After adding heavy cream and salted butter with this basic recipe, I consult my mood to determine how to flavor the mashed potatoes.

Don’t forget you can add your leftover mashed potato recipe to top casseroles and to make potato cakes.

“Nothing like mashed potatoes when you’re feeling blue. Nothing like getting into bed with a bowl of hot mashed potatoes already loaded with butter, and methodically adding a thin, cold slice of salted butter to every forkful.”

Nora Ephron

Interesting Facts About Potatoes

1) According to the Idahopotatomuseum.com,  the average American consumes 124 pounds of potatoes per year!  That’s a lot of spuds!

2) We have Thomas Jefferson to thank for introducing “french fries” to the United States.  He served them at the White House for dinner.

3) The largest potato ever grown was 7 pounds, 1 ounce, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

4) One potato plant was able to produce 370 pounds of potatoes.  An Englishman in 1974 named Eric Jenkins grew that plant.

5) There are currently over 100 different varieties of potatoes that are edible.

6) All 50 states grow potatoes, with Oregon and Washington being the largest producers.

7) According to Facts.net, potatoes were at one time traded for gold.  In the 1890s in Alaska, during the Klondike gold rush, potatoes were worth a lot because of their high content of Vitamin C.

8) National Potato Day is August 19th in the United States.  So whip up a batch of Roasted Buffalo Potato Wedges to celebrate.

9) North Carolina has an annual North Carolina Potato Festival in the middle of May.  It has potato sack races, potato peeling contests, and culinary competitions featuring local chefs.

Buying Potatoes for Mashed Potatoes

1) Conventionally grown potatoes have one of the highest pesticide contents of vegetables.  It’s best to buy organic potatoes when you can.

2) Avoid potatoes with a green tint.  This tint means they didn’t store the potato properly, and exposed it to light.  Eating green-tinted potatoes isn’t good for you.

3) There are toxins in potato sprouts, so make sure you cut them off before cooking or baking your potatoes.

The Best Ways to Store Potatoes

1) Only wash the potatoes prior to using them.  Washing potatoes before storing, causes a quicker decay of the vegetable.

2) Keep potatoes in a cool, dark place.  Do NOT store potatoes in the refrigerator.  Doing so will change the sugar content and ruin the taste of potatoes.

3) You don’t want to store potatoes in plastic bags.  Switch them out for paper bags, or leave the potatoes in a basket.

4) Keep your potatoes away from apples, bananas, and onions.  The gas from these fruits and vegetable will cause potatoes to decay faster.

What Types of Potatoes Have the Best Flavor for Mashed Potatoes?

My recommendation is Yukon Gold potatoes.  There’s something to these potatoes that already have a buttery flavor without adding a single thing to them.

You can also use Russet potatoes in a pinch.

Creating a Cozy Life Group

Since you clicked on a post for adding flavor to mashed potatoes, I guess you like all things cozy living. I created a Facebook group called Creating a Cozy Life with over 68,000 like-minded souls.

It’s a group where we share recipes, pictures of things that leave you in awe, and ideas on how to make your life just a little bit more snug.  Join here to be part of the virtual cozy cabin.

Here are the 31 Ways to Add Flavor to Mashed Potatoes

What to add to mashed potatoes for flavor? Let’s start with vegetables

1) To get some extra vegetables in, some group members add sautéed vegetables to mashed potatoes.   You could also add roasted vegetables instead.

Carrots, broccolini florets, cauliflower, peas, roasted tomatoes, and beets are just some of the ideas.

2) One member like to mix sweet potatoes with her russet potatoes a twist on regular mashed potatoes.  She thought the sweetness of the mashed sweet potato and the rustic Yukon Gold potato made the perfect combination with a little  unsalted butter and sea salt.

3) Adding sliced mushrooms and garlic to olive oil and sautéing to a golden brown made the perfect addition to give your mashed potatoes an elevated taste.

4) How about adding some caramelized onions for the most flavorful mashed potatoes?

5) Sun-dried tomatoes in oil is one of the tastiest additions to homemade mashed potatoes.

6) You can also sauté leafy greens like kale, Swiss Chard, Collard greens, or mustard greens in olive oil and roasted garlic and mix those in with your mashed potatoes.

Adding flavor to mashed potatoes with spicy ingredients

7) Adding some salsa to add flavor to mashed potatoes sounded pretty good.  I pretty much eat salsa with everything anyway, so why not mashed potatoes?

8) Several people also mentioned adding Wasabi powder to add flavor to mashed potatoes.  Talk about spicing things up!

9) I was surprised how many people mentioned adding horseradish to creamy mashed potatoes as their favorite way to flavor them.  Depending on how much extra heat you like, you can use the creamy horseradish or the regular horseradish.

10) A dollop of whole-grain mustard to mashed potatoes will give them additional flavor.  There’s also spicy brown whole-grain mustard that would make a great mashed potato addition.

11) Finally, you can add your favorite hot sauce to your cooked potatoes for a flavorful addition.

How to flavor mashed potatoes that takes them to another level

12) One of the top answers for flavoring mashed potatoes was to add some cream cheese.  It adds richness and a creamy texture.

You could also use flavored cream cheese to take it up even another notch.

Some different flavors of cream cheese you can add to mashed potatoes are chive cream cheese, vegetable cream cheese, smoked salmon cream cheese, jalapeño cream cheese, and garlic and herb cream cheese.

13) There were a lot of fans of making loaded mashed potatoes.  Adding sour cream, cheddar cheese, green onions, and crumbled bacon for a yummy alternative.

14) One person substituted buttermilk for milk and added garlic powder and parmesan cheese.  That sounded delicious!

15) Instead of boiling potatoes in water, how about cooking them in chicken stock?

16) You could also add some pesto sauce to add a touch of summer flavor to your mashed potato recipe.

17) A packet of dry ranch dressing would give the mashed potatoes a flavorful kick.

18) A chunk of Boursin or herbed goat cheese would also add a fun flavor to mashed potatoes.

19) Roasting some garlic cloves is the perfect way to add flavor to mashed potatoes.  As an extra bonus it will also help keep vampires away.

20) Seasoning salt, cayenne pepper, fresh chives, and smoked paprika were just some of the seasonings mentioned to add flavor to mashed potatoes.

21) I like to add different types of cheeses to mashed potatoes for a variety of flavors.  Blue cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, Swiss cheese, Smoked Gouda, and Asiago cheese are just some different ideas.

22) You can add olive oil and fresh herbs to mashed potatoes for a rustic taste.  Herbs such as parsley, oregano, sage, or thyme are just some of the herbs you can add.

Unusual creamy flavorful mashed potatoes

23) Something I never heard of was group members swapping out milk for Duke’s mayonnaise.  They said once you tried it, you would never go back to regular mashed potatoes.

24) One innovative person added creamed corn, fried onions, and black pepper to add flavor to mashed potatoes.  She said it was the ultimate comfort food.

25) How about adding a can of Cream of Mushroom soup as flavor to mashed potatoes?  That sounded interesting.

26) The Dutch have a mashed potato dish where they add cooked apple, nutmeg, and top with bacon for a favorite side.

27) One group member from Texas liked to add barbecue sauce and fried onions to add flavor to her homemade mashed potatoes recipe.

28) A southern member added cooked corn and gravy to add flavor to mashed potatoes.  She described it as her go-to recipe when she didn’t know what to make for dinner.

29) Adding some cream cheese and Caesar dressing made one group member’s mashed potatoes perfect, according to her taste buds. She found it was an easy way to give her the great flavor she craved.

30) Pickle lovers will love this idea – adding some pickle juice to your next batch of mashed potatoes.  (I’m not so sure about this one!)  It definitely qualifies as different flavored mashed potatoes!

31) Adding French onion dip as flavor to mashed potatoes would be an interesting twist.

32) Add in some pimento cheese for a as an all time favorite southern twist on fluffy mashed potatoes.

33) You can also check for Mashed Potato Casserole recipes as a game changer to your usual fare.

We’ve reached the end of the31 Ways to Add Flavor to Mashed Potatoes.I hope you enjoyed it.

Let me know in the comments below how you liked 31 Ways to Add Flavor to Mashed Potatoes and what your flavored mashed potato recipes are.

Make sure you join our Creating a Cozy Life – Hygge Style Facebook group.  You’re not going to believe how amazing it is.  Join here to be part of the virtual cozy cabin.

Please pin this simple tricks to add flavor to mashed potatoes post below on your recipe board on Pinterest so that you can refer back to it again. Mashed potatoes make a great side dish for your family dinners.

Thanks for stopping by.  I’m so happy you found us!

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