Make-Ahead Creamy Mashed Potatoes

Ohhhh…Mashed Potatoes mixed with cream cheese and butter. What’s not to love?  The best part of these mashed potatoes is that you can make them ahead!  My style of entertaining is to make as much as possible ahead of time. Who wants to be in the kitchen cooking when you have a house full of family and friends?  Not me! I have made a variation of these potatoes for many, many years.  Down below is a picture of a recipe card for Cream Cheese Potatoes that I started making when I was in high school.  My 30-year class reunion has come and gone. We can agree the recipe card has been in my kitchen for a long time!For the batch I made last night (to be served for dinner tonight), I used a different recipe.  The newer recipe is much creamier. Yes, that means a higher fat content. I will say both recipes work well, I just went for the extra creamy version today! I am balancing it out with a table full of roasted vegetables.

Lucky for me, I can pretty much almost always round someone up to help me in the kitchen.
Look at all those potatoes Sophia and I peeled!  10 pounds in total.

Cream cheese, butter, and half-and-half make this version extra creamy.

Ready to be put in the fridge.  Before warming in the oven, I will let these sit at room temperature for a few hours and then top with a couple of pats of butter.

Serves 20

INGREDIENTS

• 10 pounds Russet Potatoes
• 3 sticks Butter
• 2 package (8 Oz.) Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1 cup Half-and-Half
• 1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces that are generally the same size. When I peel a large batch, I keep peeled and cut potatoes in a cold water bath to keep them from turning brown.

Bring a large pot of water to a simmer and add the potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes. When they’re cooked through, the fork should easily slide into the potatoes with no resistance, and the potatoes should almost, but not totally, fall apart.

Drain the potatoes in a large colander. When the potatoes have finished draining, place them back into the dry pot and put the pot on the stove. Mash the potatoes over low heat, allowing all the steam to escape, before adding in all the other ingredients.

Turn off the stove and add butter, cream cheese and and half-and-half. Mash. Next, add  Lawry’s Seasoning Salt and black pepper to taste.

Stir well and place in a medium-sized baking dish. Throw a few pats of butter over the top of the potatoes and place them in a 350-degree oven and heat until butter is melted and potatoes are warmed through.

20 servings

Note: When making this dish a day or two in advance, take it out of the fridge about 2 to 3 hours before serving time. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Another make-ahead tip: I have left peeled cut potatoes in a water bath in the fridge for a few hours, and they keep just fine.

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

I still have a collection of recipe cards that I made in high school.  Yes, I made this recipe many times with instant mashed potatoes when I was younger.  I would not go that route anymore, but as a young cook I most certainly did!