Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

These potatoes combine leftover mashed potatoes with onions and cream cheese to create a delicious holiday buffet dish!

Every year my extended team at work has a holiday potluck lunch.  My company provides the main dish, and each one of us brings a salad, side dish or dessert.  Since most of my team knows I’m a “foodie” and also write a food blog, they are always expecting me to bring something “amazing” and “unique” to use their words.  I never want to disappoint but sometimes it’s tough to come up with a dish I can have ready in the morning before work, and keep warm, or re-warm, for a couple of hours in the office.  It’s the same dilemma you’ve probably had when thinking about what to take to a holiday buffet or pot-luck.

So, what was my solution?  Enter Fluffy Mashed Potatoes!  While I can’t take credit for this recipe, based on the feedback I got at the lunch I just knew I needed to share as it was a HUGE hit!  I got asked for the recipe multiple times and someone even told me they were the best mashed potatoes they had ever tasted!

I got the recipe from my friend Alison Hammer, who is a great writer!  She also writes a blog…..mostly about writing!!  This is a family recipe from her mom.   When I asked her if I could share it here she happily agreed!

This is a super easy recipe and takes no time at all to put together.   If you don’t want to make your own mashed potatoes or don’t have time, you can definitely use pre-made potatoes.  See my kitchen notes below for a couple of options.

These work with pretty much any main, or if you are so inclined, you can eat them all by themselves….I may or may not have had the 2nd batch, which I made so I could photograph them, as my dinner one night!  🙂

So whip up a batch of these for your next holiday party, or even for Christmas dinner.   By the end of the evening, I bet people will be asking you for the recipe!

notes from the kitchen

• This recipe calls for leftover mashed potatoes, so you can definitely use your favorite mashed potato recipe.  I also tried them with pre-made mashed potatoes, which worked really well.  I used Simply Potatoes, which I found in the refrigerated section of my local grocery store (Mariano’s).  Alison says Trader Joe’s frozen mashed potatoes also work well.
• These will keep warm in a crockpot for a couple of hours.  If you are going to use this method bake the onions separately and then put them on top of the potatoes right before you are serving them.
• This makes quite a lot of potatoes, so if you are only serving a few people cut the recipe in half.  It will serve 4-6 people.

things may want for this recipe

Slow Cooker – I finally broke down this year and got a new slow cooker.  I picked this small 3.5 quart Cuisinart model, which is perfect for about 4-6 servings and easily held the full recipe of these potatoes.  They are great for individual frittatas, pasta dishes or for breaking servings of things like these nachos into multiples so you can place at different spots or serve at different times without too much additional effort.

OXO Good Grips Potato Masher – I like this masher with the open wire curves as it works for mashing everything from potatoes to beans to cauliflower.

Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

• Author: Kathryn | FoodieGirlChicago
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 8 - 12 servings
• Category: Veggies + Sides
• Cuisine: American

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Description

These potatoes combine leftover mashed potatoes with onions and cream cheese to create a delicious holiday buffet dish!

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Ingredients

• 4-6 cups leftover mashed potatoes
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3-4 oz crispy onions

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Coat a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Combine the potatoes, cream cheese, onion, eggs, flour, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric beater, beat for 2-3 minutes until fully combined.
3. Spread potato mixture into prepared baking dish. Top with crispy onions (see note). Bake for 35 minutes. Serve immediately.

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Notes

If reheating at a later time, or serving in a crock pot, place crispy onions on a baking sheet and cook separately. Sprinkle on top of potatoes just before serving.