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A plate of roasted cornish hen, mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetable casserole, and cranberry sauce.
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Mashed Potatoes for Two

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.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 2 servings (1 1/4 cups each)
Calories 401kcal

Ingredients

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 1/4 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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!)
  3. Yield: This recipes makes about 2 1/2 cups mashed potatoes, enough for 2 (1 1/4-cup) servings.
  4. Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1.25 cups | Calories: 401kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 205mg | Potassium: 998mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 761IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 2mg