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Mashed potato — cartoon recipe illustration
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Mashed potato

Serves 6 Prep 10 min Cook 20 min Total 30 min

If you searched for mashed potato and want the useful bits up front, you are in the right place: metric measures, a short intro, then ingredients, method, tip, and notes. Plan on 30 min from starting prep to plating for 6. Prep is about 10 min; the active cook or oven time is closer to 20 min. Read the whole method once before you turn on the heat. Shop first for Sebago potatoes, cooking salt and unsalted butter; those ingredients do the heavy lifting for flavour and texture, while the rest of the list seasons, binds, or finishes the plate. One practical flag before you start: Cook until falling apart so they mash fluffy. The Notes section expands shopping, heat, texture, and leftovers so the page stays useful beyond a bare ingredient dump. We write side recipes so you can cook from your phone on the bench: large checkable ingredients, numbered steps, and notes you can skim while the pan heats.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Put potatoes in a large pot, cover with 10 cm water, add 1 tbsp salt. Bring to the boil.
  2. Simmer 15 minutes until they are falling apart (not just fork-tender).
  3. Drain well, then return to the hot empty pan 10 seconds to steam-dry.
  4. Mash by hand with the butter until the butter melts, then add milk. Season with ½ tsp salt. Do not use a blender or food processor.
  5. Serve immediately (or keep warm covered).

Tip: Cook until falling apart so they mash fluffy. Steam-drying stops watery mash. Never blender — it turns gluey. Extra butter is never wrong.

Notes

  • Putting it together for Mashed potato: work clean, taste as you go, and do not rush browning or reduction steps if they appear in the method. If you are cooking for mixed diets, plate sauces and toppings separately where practical. Keep this page bookmarked if it becomes a household regular — we update wording when cooks report a confusing step. Metric consistency across Scoops & Dishes means once you trust the cups and scales here, breakfast through dessert behaves the same way.
  • From our tested tip, expanded: Cook until falling apart so they mash fluffy. Steam-drying stops watery mash. Never blender — it turns gluey. Extra butter is never wrong. Treat that as the non-negotiable. If something still feels off — too wet, too pale, too tight — adjust one variable at a time (heat, liquid, or bake time) rather than changing three things at once.
  • Serving ideas without fluff: bring it to the table hot so it does not seize or dry out. Keep accompaniments simple so the dish stays the hero — a green salad, steamed veg, rice, mash, or crusty bread depending on the style. Metric measures stay consistent across Scoops & Dishes, so once you trust the cups and scales here, the rest of the site cooks the same way.
  • Shopping and mise en place: read the full ingredient list once before you start. For Mashed potato, Sebago potatoes and cooking salt are the items that decide whether the dish tastes flat or properly seasoned. Weigh where grams are given — volume cups are fine for liquids and some dry goods, but baking ratios are tighter if you use scales. Australian cups are 250 ml; a tablespoon is 20 ml and a teaspoon is 5 ml.