Make-ahead mashed potato casserole
Rich, creamy mashed potatoes with cream cheese and sour cream that you make up to two days early, then bake until golden while everything else comes together.
- 80 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 12
- About $1.31 a serving
- 310 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 12 servings.
- 5 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- 6 tbsp butter, divided, plus a little for the dish
- ½ cup milk
- 2 tbsp chives, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1½ tbsp salt, divided
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 310 calories, 6 g protein, 36 g carbs and 16 g fat, and costs about $1.31 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No Yukon Gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No chives? Green onions work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the potatoes and cut them into 2-inch chunks.
Peel. Peeling means removing the skin with a vegetable peeler or a small knife. It takes off tough or bitter skins, though potato and carrot skins are fine to leave on unless the recipe insists.
How you’ll know: The color underneath is even all over, with no patches of skin left behind.
Put them in your largest pot, cover with cold water by 1 inch, add 1 tablespoon salt, and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Turn the heat to medium and 15 to 20 minutes, until a fork slides into a chunk with no push.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 18 min
the potatoes well, return them to the pot off the heat, and mash until smooth.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
in the cream cheese, sour cream, 4 tablespoons butter, the milk, garlic powder, pepper and 1½ teaspoons salt until creamy, then taste for salt.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Dolly’s tip: Soft cream cheese melts right in. Cold, it leaves little white lumps.Spread into a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish and dot the top with the last 2 tablespoons butter in small pieces.
Dolly’s tip: To make ahead, cool, cover and chill up to 2 days, then bake it straight from the fridge.Heat the oven to 350°F and uncovered 25 to 30 minutes, until steaming in the middle and in spots, or 45 to 50 minutes from the fridge.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 28 min
Dolly’s tip: Check the very center with a spoon. It should be steaming hot, not just warm.Food safety: Keep a make-ahead dish in the fridge until it goes in the oven, then reheat it until it’s steaming hot in the middle, 165°F. Check the center, not the edges; it’s the last part to heat.
Sprinkle with chives and serve.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
