What Makes This Recipe So Good
There’s mashed potatoes with cheese… and then there’s cheesy mashed potatoes. This dish combines starchy, fluffy potatoes with tangy cream cheese and sour cream, creamy milk, and bold cheddar cheese. They’re rich and delicious and full of flavor and really just the ultimate comfort food.Usually with mashed potatoes, you just boil the potatoes, add some butter and a little milk, and mash them until you get your desired consistency. We’re taking things one step further, baking the mashed potatoes to ensure they’re nice and warm, that everything’s smooth and fully incorporated, and the cheddar on top is perfectly melty.
Chef’s Tips
For the very best cheesy mashed potatoes, you need to peel the potatoes completely. You can leave the skins on, and believe me, I love mashed potatoes both ways. But to get really smooth, creamy, fluffy potatoes here, you don’t want to include any of the potato skins.You can use mild, sharp, or white cheddar, but whichever you choose, heed this advice. Take the extra time to shred your cheddar cheese yourself, especially if you’re making this dish for the holidays or a special occasion. Prepackaged shredded cheeses use starches and fillers to keep the cheese from clumping in the bag, but those fillers keep the cheese from melting like it should. Freshly shredded cheese melts SO much better.Be careful not to overwork the potatoes. If you mash them too much, they’ll start to get gummy and gluey rather than creamy and fluffy. There’s not a lot you can do to salvage them at that point, short of turning them into mashed potato pancakes.
What To Serve With Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Sous Vide Prime Rib with Au JusGarlic Herb Butter ChickenOMG ChickenBacon Wrapped MeatloafGrilled Spatchcock Turkey with GravyMesquite Grilled Chicken
