How to Enhance Mashed Potatoes with Stir‐Ins

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 29, 2019 References

Making homemade mashed potatoes is a great accompanying side dish to any dinner. Unfortunately, plain mashed potatoes can taste rather bland. For those that want to take their mashed potatoes to the next level, there are luckily some simple ways to enhance them by adding stir-in ingredients. By choosing the right ingredients, you can make your mashed potatoes healthier, tastier, and more unique than the traditional recipe.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:
Making Mashed Potatoes with Vegetables

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Add rutabaga for smoother mashed potatoes. Adding rutabaga to your mashed potatoes is common in places like Poland and Scotland. To combine rutabaga to your mashed potatoes, simmer one chopped rutabaga on medium-high heat in a pot of water for 15 minutes. Once soft, mix it into your mashed potatoes.^{[1]
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- Incorporating this root vegetable into your mashed potatoes gives them a golden appearance and imparts a deeper, richer, flavor.
- Your rutabaga should be soft enough to be easily pierced with a fork.
2
Cook your mashed potatoes with carrots and leeks. Create the carrot and leek mash separately by chopping up one leek and two carrots. Add the carrots to a pot with 1.5 quarts (1.4 liters) of water and bring it to a boil. Let the vegetables cook for 6 minutes or until soft, and drain them. Cook your leaks over a stovetop with butter for six minutes. Once your carrots and leeks are cooked, add them to your mashed potatoes and fold the potatoes until it's mixed well.^{[2]
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- Leeks will give your mashed potatoes a buttery and smooth flavor, while carrots will add nutrients and an orange hue to your potatoes.^{[3]
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3
Combine broccoli to your mashed potatoes. Add florets of broccoli to your mashed potatoes for seven minutes to cook the broccoli with your mashed potatoes. Do this before you add cream, milk, and butter to your mash.^{[4]
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Add kale to your mashed potatoes for more nutrition. Incorporating kale into your mashed potatoes imparts the nutrients that can be found in the leafy vegetable. Cut and wash your kale and make sure to remove any sediment or sand. Prepare your kale in a separate pan by sauteing it with olive oil and add it to your mashed potatoes once it is done.^{[5]
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Combine squash to your mashed potatoes. Make butternut squash puree by boiling cut up squash in water for about 20 minutes or until soft. Once the squash is soft, mash it with a food processor or a fork and add it to your mashed potatoes.^{[6]
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- Adding squash will make for a silkier and softer texture and alter the color of your mash.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:
Adding Something Crunchy to Mashed Potatoes

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Add bacon to your mashed potatoes. Cook bacon separately in a pan. Once the bacon has reached a crispy state, break it up with a fork or a spoon and transfer the bits to your mashed potatoes. Fold in the bacon until it becomes completely incorporated and enjoy.^{[7]
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2
Combine crunchy onions to your mashed potatoes. For every 3 cups of mashed potatoes that you make, you can add 2/3 of a cup of crunchy onions to your mash. Crunchy onions can be found at most grocery stores or can be purchased online.^{[8]
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Mix nuts into your mashed potatoes. You can add a variety of different nuts to your mashed potatoes to give it a crunchier texture and add to its flavor. Some of the most popular kinds of nuts to add to mashed potatoes are pine nuts, walnuts, and cashews. ^{[9]
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Research source} Make sure to roast the nuts in a separate pan to impart a smokey flavor to your nuts.^{[10]
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- Break up larger nuts like cashews and walnuts before putting them into your mashed potatoes.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:
Incorporating Spices and Herbs

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Add mascarpone and chives. Add 12 ounces (340.19 grams) of mascarpone cheese and 1 bunch of diced chives to finished mashed potatoes.^{[11]
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Research source} This will give your mashed potatoes a smoother texture from the cheese and an onion flavor from the chives.^{[12]
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Incorporate scallions into your mashed potatoes. Stir scallions in with your melted butter and cream or milk. This will give your mashed potatoes a hint of onion flavor once they are done.^{[13]
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Research source} When cutting scallions, you can use both the green and white parts of the vegetable.
3
Stir in chili powder or adobo spices for a spicy mashed potatoes. Spicy mashed potatoes are popular in the Southwest United States as well as places in Central and South America. To create these, add chili powder, adobo spices, or ground cumin to spice up your mashed potatoes. Start with a 1/4 teaspoon (0.57 grams) of spices and then adjust them according to your taste. Make sure to mix the spices into the mashed potatoes well before serving it.^{[14]
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:
Making Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

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Mix in cream cheese. Combine 12 ounces (340.2 grams) of cream cheese with the butter and milk into the mashed potato mix. Mix the ingredients together until they are all incorporated well. If you need to thin out the mixture, add more milk to it. Cream cheese will thicken up your mashed potatoes and impart a light cream cheese flavor.^{[15]
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Add cheddar cheese. Adding a small amount of cheddar cheese can give your mashed potatoes a hint of cheese flavor without overpowering the potatoes. Use an aged white cheddar if you don't want to alter the color of your potatoes. Grate 3/4 pounds (340.2 grams) of cheese to your potatoes once they are done.^{[16]
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Combine parmesan and gruyère for refined mashed potatoes. Add 1/2 cup (50 grams) of cheese to your mashed potatoes recipe to add a decadent and cheesy flavor to your mashed potatoes.^{[17]
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Research source} The sharper the cheese that you use, the more cheesy your mashed potatoes will taste.