25-Minute Weeknight Mashed Potatoes
Yukon Golds sliced 1/4 inch thick so they cook in about 12 minutes in a single quart of water, then mashed with butter and half-and-half; dinner-ready in 25 minutes.
The Yukon Gold that makes this so quick and buttery is a Canadian potato. Wikipedia says Gary Johnston bred it at the University of Guelph in Ontario, crossing a yellow-fleshed line with Peruvian roots, and it was released in 1980. GuelphToday reports that the university calls it the first Canadian-bred potato sold with its name on the package. America's Test Kitchen's Lan Lam built this recipe around speed: thin slices, a small pot and just enough water.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Yukon Golds sliced 1/4 inch thick so they cook in about 12 minutes in a single quart of water, then mashed with butter and half-and-half; dinner-ready in 25 minutes.
🇮🇪 The original
Ireland's colcannon is floury potatoes mashed with butter and milk and folded with cooked cabbage or kale, a well of melted butter in the middle. See the Irish Colcannon recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Thin slices, small pot
1/4-inch slices cook through in about 12 minutes, and a medium pot with one quart of water boils fast (ATK).
Just tender, no further
ATK warns that overcooked potatoes release extra starch that turns the mash gluey, so the timer matters.
Step by step
- Step 1
Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. While it heats, peel the potatoes and slice them 1/4 inch thick.
- Step 2
Add the potatoes, making sure they are covered (add just enough extra water if not). Return to a boil, then lower to a very gentle simmer, cover and cook about 12 minutes, until a paring knife slides into the center with no resistance.
- Step 3
Drain and return the potatoes to the saucepan. Mash with a potato masher, ricer or food mill.
- Step 4
Stir in 1/2 cup half-and-half, the butter and 1 tsp salt until combined.
- Step 5
For a looser mash, stir in some or all of the extra 2 tbsp half-and-half. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
25-Minute Weeknight Mashed Potatoes
Serves 4 · about 3 1/2 cups · 25 min total
Potatoes
- 2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes (or russets)
- 1 quart water
Finish
- 1/2 cup half-and-half or milk, plus up to 2 tbsp more
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 1 tsp table salt
- Black pepper
Method
- Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. While it heats, peel the potatoes and slice them 1/4 inch thick.
- Add the potatoes, making sure they are covered (add just enough extra water if not). Return to a boil, then lower to a very gentle simmer, cover and cook about 12 minutes, until a paring knife slides into the center with no resistance.
- Drain and return the potatoes to the saucepan. Mash with a potato masher, ricer or food mill.
- Stir in 1/2 cup half-and-half, the butter and 1 tsp salt until combined.
- For a looser mash, stir in some or all of the extra 2 tbsp half-and-half. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Fastest, Easiest Mashed Potatoes" by Lan Lam (December 5, 2022), as written for 4. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Yukons give a creamier, more buttery mash; russets a fluffier one (ATK lets you choose).
- Start the water before you peel; the slicing happens while it heats.
- Use a masher, ricer or food mill; never a food processor.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Fast mash is worse mash. Folklore: ATK's test kitchen built this recipe to match slower methods by controlling the cooking.
- Yukon Gold is Canadian. Documented (Wikipedia; University of Guelph via GuelphToday).
- Yukon Gold was bred in 1966. Disputed wording: the cross that produced it was made in 1966 and the variety was released in 1980 (Wikipedia and search summaries).
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