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This recipe for Mashed Potatoes for Two is exactly what you need when you’re doing a mini Thanksgiving, date night, or small supper. They are just 3 ingredients (plus salt and pepper) and so simple they barely even need a recipe.
Creamy mashed potatoes make the perfect moat to hold all that turkey gravy on the plate, plus they taste great with everything. Even cranberries! For some, it’s the best part of the dinner.
Of course, there are a million recipes out there, but in case you’re looking for an old-school, classic mashed potato recipe with a creamy texture that really lets the flavor of the potato shine, make this one. This homemade mashed potatoes recipe is tried and true and absolutely foolproof, and in this version, it’s scaled down for just two.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Potatoes: For the fluffiest, smoothest, and most flavorful mashed potatoes, choose high-starch potatoes like Russet, Idaho, or Yukon gold. Waxy potatoes (such as new, red, or white varieties) require more mashing to become creamy which could result in gluey, pasty spuds.
- Butter before milk: Always add the butter first so the butter fat coats the potato starch molecules. Then, add the hot milk to make them creamy. If you mix up the order, you could end up with gluey spuds. (Thanks Cook’s Illustrated for this tip!)
Step-by-step instructions
- In a small saucepan or pot, add potatoes and 2 teaspoons salt. Add cold water to cover potatoes by 1 inch.
- Over medium-high heat, bring to boil and partially cover pot. Cook until potatoes are fork-tender, stirring once or twice with a wooden spoon, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well, tossing in colander to remove excess water.
- Wipe pot dry. Return potatoes to pot and mash to a uniform consistency. Using a rubber spatula, fold in melted butter until just incorporated.
- Slowly stir in ¼ cup hot milk. Add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to adjust the consistency as desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 2 ½ cups mashed potatoes, enough for 2 (1 1/4-cup) servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Peel and slice the raw potatoes up to 24 hours in advance. Cover with water and chill in the refrigerator (you don’t need any plastic wrap over the top). Or, try my Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes, a recipe that uses cream cheese and egg whites for a little more staying power.
- Freezer: As long as you use butter and dairy, mashed potatoes freeze beautifully. Let them completely cool, then spoon the mashed potatoes into a freezer-safe container. Label, date, and freeze for up to 1 month.
- For chunky, rustic-style potatoes: Use a basic potato masher. A waffle-head masher will mash the potatoes into a smoother consistency if you like them somewhere in between.
- For super-smooth mashed potatoes: Use a potato ricer (peeled potatoes) or food mill (unpeeled potatoes). These gadgets make the smallest, finest pieces of cooked potato, which fluff up beautifully. I do not recommend using any kind of electric mixer (even a hand mixer) or food processor unless mixing by hand is too difficult for you.
- Creamier mashed potatoes: I use a lot of butter in my mashed potatoes, so I add milk instead of heavy cream. But you can use any dairy on that spectrum: skim milk, half and half, whatever you want! Just know the richness will change based on your dairy.
- Roasted garlic mashed potatoes: Toast garlic cloves in a skillet (or roast whole bulbs of garlic in the oven), peel, mince, and add to your mashed potatoes. You’ll need about 10 cloves for 1 pound of potatoes.
- Cauliflower mashed potatoes: For a low-carb, highly satisfying side dish, try cauliflower mashed potatoes (without a potato in sight).
- Boursin mashed potatoes: Soft-skinned small red potatoes mixed with fresh herbs and a few tablespoons of Boursin cheese. You don’t even have to peel the potatoes!
- Mashed sweet potatoes: These mashers are flavored with fresh thyme and a touch of brown sugar.
- Potatoes for a party: For a full-sized batch of mashed potatoes (12 servings, 1 cup each), see my Best Mashed Potatoes recipe.
- Potatoes on top: Delicious mashed potatoes are critical for the best possible Shepherd’s Pie.
- Slow cooker: Once the mashed potatoes are ready, you can put them in a crock pot and heat on the LOW setting to keep them warm and fluffy throughout your feast. Or, make it directly in the crock pot using my Slow Cooker Mashed Potato recipe.
- Fresh herbs: Use the extra fresh herbs to make an herb butter to mix into your mashed potatoes, or simply garnish the spuds with a sprinkle of fresh chopped chives.
- Pork Chops: Mashed potatoes for two are excellent with a pair of pork chops for a hearty fall meal. Or, serve them with Pork Cutlets with Apples. So good!
Frequently Asked Questions
1 large (16-ounce) potato will make about 2 ½ cups of mashed potatoes, enough for two people to enjoy 1 ¼ cups each.
You need 1 pound of potatoes for 2 people, but feel free to get 2 pounds if you want leftovers.
1 pound of potatoes will feed 2 people, so get 2 pounds of potatoes for 4 people. This amount will yield about 1 ¼ cups of mashed potatoes per person, so scale up if you have hearty eaters.
Estimate 1 large (about a pound) potato for every 2 people when serving mashed potatoes. This will give each person about 1 ¼ cups of mashed potatoes.
More Thanksgiving recipes for two
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Bread Stuffing for Two
Side Dish Recipes
Cranberry Sauce for Two
Pie and Tart Recipes
Mini Pumpkin Pies
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Mashed Potatoes for Two
Ingredients
- 1 pound russet potatoes peeled and cut into large, uniform sized pieces (see note 1)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup butter melted (½ stick, see note 2)
- 1/4 cup milk hot, plus more if desired (up to ½ cup)
Instructions
- In a small pot, add potatoes and 2 teaspoons salt. Add cold water to cover potatoes by 1 inch.
- Over medium-high heat, bring to boil and partially cover pot. Cook until potatoes are tender and a fork can be easily slipped into the center, stirring once or twice, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain well, tossing in colander to remove excess water.
- Wipe pot dry. Return potatoes to pot and mash to a uniform consistency. Using a rubber spatula, fold in melted butter until just incorporated.
- Slowly stir in ¼ cups hot milk. Add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to adjust the consistency as desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Notes
- Potatoes: For the fluffiest, smoothest, and most flavorful mashed potatoes, choose high-starch potatoes like Russet, Idaho, or Yukon gold potatoes. Waxy potatoes (such as new, red, or white varieties) require more mashing to become creamy which could result in gluey, pasty spuds.
- Butter before milk: Always add the butter first so the butter fat coats the potato starch molecules. Then, add the hot milk to make them creamy. If you mix up the order, you could end up with gluey spuds. (Thanks Cook’s Illustrated for this tip!)
- Yield: This recipes makes about 2 ½ cups mashed potatoes, enough for 2 (1 1/4-cup) servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Good recipe except your metric measurement calculator is incorrect: 1 lb of potatoes does not equal 2.2 kg
Tried this recipe tonight. First time making mashed potatoes and they turned out great! Highly recommend!
I’m so glad you liked them! Thanks Shawn! -Meggan
Very easy to follow, and good tips about the order of the ingredients, it certainly makes a difference
Thanks Carlos, happy to help! – Meggan
Thanks for the tip regarding adding melted butter, then hot milk to avoid the gooey mess. This worked well, and is sincerely appreciated. :)
This is good because me and my boyfriend are the only ones eating them so I don’t want a ton of food! xoxo Jess