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Mashed potatoes are awesome; we all know that. But oven baked mashed potatoes are next level in many ways. They allow you to make this dish ahead, and heat through in the oven right before serving, without having to remember to keep stirring them on the stove. They are a perfect way to serve mashed potatoes during the holidays, or you can make them any time of year, even with simple dinners like Air Fried Salmon, Lemon Rosemary Chicken Thighs or Garlic Butter Chicken Thighs.
Let’s start by saying that you this recipe serves a lot of mashed potato loving folks, and that you can cut the recipe in half easily if you have a smaller crowd. Just use a smaller baking dish, about 2 quarts vs. 4, if you are making a smaller batch.
Cheesy Baked Mashed Potatoes
These mashed potatoes are unapologetically rich (but then again, when have potatoes had to apologize for anything??). The cheeses of choice in this recipe are cream cheese and Parmesan, half of which gets stirred into the mashed potatoes directly, half of which is reserved for the bread crumb topping. Feel free to try another cheese like gruyere instead of Parmesan. If you wanted non-cheesy baked mashed potatoes, you could skip the Parm and decide if you want to use straight up bread crumbs, or skip the topping altogether
Swirling the Top of the Mashed Potatoes
After you transfer the mashed potatoes to the shallow baking dish use a butter knife or a n offset spatula to swoop the top, making peaks and valleys. This will not only make the dish look more appealing in general (is that even possible?), it will encourage the top edges of the swirls to brown in the oven, which looks especially inviting.
Baked mashed potatoes are next level in many ways. You can make this dish ahead, and heat it in the oven right before serving. Great for a holiday crowd.
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Bread Crumb Topping
The topping is optional, but does encourage all of those peaks in your swirled top to get even more enticingly golden brown. And it adds a nice slightly crunchy layer, which provides a contrast in texture to the super creamy potatoes. You can use unseasoned plain bread crumbs which have a finer texture, or larger, crunchier panko. Skip the seasoned bread crumbs for this one. You could also try this with fresh bread crumbs for a fluffier topping.
Make Ahead Baked Mashed Potatoes
If you want to make this ahead you can assemble the whole casserole, bread crumbs and all, and let it sit at room temperature for up to 6 hours before baking. Or you can make the casserole up to the point where you sprinkle over the bread crumb topping, and refrigerate it, covered, for up to 3 days. Allow to come to room temp before baking, and sprinkle over the topping just before you put it in the oven. If you don’t have time to bring it to room temperature, plan to add another 15 minutes or so to the baking time.
What to Serve with Baked Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey
- Perfect Roast Chicken
- Grilled Split Turkey Breast
- Chicken Marsala
- Porchetta
Other Mashed Potato Recipes:
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Baked Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Yukon gold or russet potatoes , or a mix
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese , at room temperature, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup (1 stick butter) , at room temperature, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese , divided
- 2 tablespoons minced chives , plus additional minced chives to serve (optional)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons dried plain bread crumbs or panko
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2-inch pieces. Add the potatoes to the pot, adjust the heat so the water stays at a simmer, and simmer the potatoes for about 20 to 25 minutes until they are very tender, almost falling apart when you slide a knife into them. Drain well, then mash them into a large bowl using a ricer, a food mill, or a potato masher.
- While the potatoes are cooking, bring the cream and milk to a simmer in a small pot. When the potatoes are mashed or riced, pour in the hot milk mixture, add the cream cheese and butter and stir until everything is very well combined and fairly smooth. Stir in half of the Parmesan, chives (if using), and salt and pepper until well blended.
- Transfer to a large 4-quart shallow baking dish and swirl the top attractively. In a small bowl mix together the remaining ½ cup Parmesan and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle them over the top.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden brown. If you want a more browned top, you can change the oven setting to broil and give it another few minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn’t get too brown. Serve hot, with additional chives sprinkled over the top if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
