Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes (No Boiling, Easy Side Dish)
Creamy 🥔🙌🏻 Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes with optional caramelized onions and Parmesan cheese are the best kind of comfort food! No boiling necessary which makes these Crockpot mashed potatoes even easier! Great for holiday meals and entertaining when you want to set-it-and-forget-it!
Easy Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Making mashed potatoes in your slow cooker is easy, hands-off, and yields perfectly fluffy and creamy potatoes with no stovetop boiling required!
- If you’re making mashed potatoes for entertaining or for a holiday such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter and want to put it ‘out of mind’ so to speak, Crock pot mashed potatoes are the way to go. Set it and forget it!
- For this version, I use half-and-half and sour cream for creaminess, Parmesan cheese to amp up the flavor and cheesy factor, and caramelized onions are the chef’s kiss. However, if you want to omit them, you may.
- I’ve got this version of Slow Cooker Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes and used it as my jumping off point for today’s recipe. I’ve also got Classic Stovetop Mashed Potatoes, Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes, and Mashed Cauliflower – mashed potato side dishes for everyone!
Ingredients in Slow Cooker Mashed Potato Recipe
Potatoes: I like Russet potatoes in mashed potato recipes because they are starchy and mash so nicely compared to waxier potatoes such as Yukon gold, yellow gold, or red potatoes. You can use some waxy potatoes, such as maybe 1 pound waxy potatoes to 2 pounds Russet potatoes. I prefer to peel the potatoes and then roughly chop them. No boiling required before you add them to the slow cooker!
Cooking Liquids: Reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth, half-and-half (or whole milk). Both are necessary so the potatoes don’t dry out. Later you’ll add butter and sour cream which add both moisture and richness.
Flavoring and Seasoning: Garlic cloves, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, sage, or other fresh or ground herbs you enjoy.
Optional + Garnishes: Caramelized onions, Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley or other herbs, bacon bits, green onions, chives, cheddar cheese, or as desired.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How To Make Mashed Potatoes in a Crockpot
- To a large slow cooker, add the peeled and cut potatoes, broth, some of the half-and-half, garlic, salt, pepper, place the lid, and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 7-8 hours, or until soft and fork tender.
- Mash the potatoes using a potato masher. Tip – I don’t like to use a hand mixer because there’s an easy chance to overmix and create gummy potatoes.
- Add butter, remaining half-and-half, sour cream, herbs, and cook for 20-30 minutes to warm through.
- Optionally add Parmesan cheese, some caramelized onions, and stir to combine.
- Garnish as desired and serve.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for step-by-step photos and process shots of the cooking process.
How To Make Caramelized Onions
It’s optional to make caramelized onions but if you’re a fan of them, they add next-level depth of flavor. You have two options:
- Slow Cooker: Either use a second slow cooker (or do it before you start the potatoes), and add sliced onions, butter, sugar, and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
- Stovetop: To a large skillet, add the onions, butter, sugar, and cook for about 20-30 minutes over medium-low, stirring very frequently making sure to cook them slowly and don’t burn them.
I have this French Onion Chicken and Classic French Onion Soup in case you want to make extra onions now to use in those recipes.
Caramelized Onions, optional
Mashed Potatoes
- 3 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 to 1-inch cubes (I prefer Russet potatoes but you can use 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes with 2 pounds Russet potatoes if desired; I don’t make mashed potatoes with red potatoes)
- ½ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth, reduced sodium vegetable broth may be substituted
- 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 ½ cups half-and-half, divided and at room temp (whole milk may be substituted)
- ¾ cup sour cream, at room temp (use full-fat for best results, Greek yogurt may be substituted noting that potatoes will be tangier rather than creamier)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temp
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely shredded or grated
- ½ teaspoon ground thyme, or to taste (fresh thyme may be substituted, use about 1 teaspoon)
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, (fresh rosemary may be substituted, use about 1 teaspoon finely minced rosemary)
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage, (fresh sage may be substituted, use about 1/2 teaspoon finely minced sage)
- Fresh parsley, (finely minced; optional for garnishing and to taste)
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Caramelized Onions, optional: If you plan to caramelize onions, you can either do make on the stovetop in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet or in a slow cooker. Skillet Method: To a large skillet, add the onions, 1/4 cup unsalted butter, sugar, and saute over medium-low heat to caramelize them for about 20-30 minutes, making sure to toss and stir frequently to avoid burning, and to control the heat. Low and slow is the name of the game, control the heat output on your stove so they’re not burning or cooking too quickly. Unless you have a second slow cooker, I recommend this method.
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Slow Cooker Method: To a large slow cooker, add the onions, butter, sugar, and slow cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on high for 6-8 hours, or until the onions are caramelized and tender. If you’re going to caramelize onions first in your slow cooker, make sure to budget your time since it’s a 3-4 hour job + then making the potatoes which is a 3-4 hour job. When onions are done, set aside in a bowl or airtight container on your counter or refrigerator.
- You may also caramelize onions a day or two in advance using whichever method you prefer. They will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. Allow them to come to room temperature before adding them to the recipe in Step 6 below.
- Mashed Potatoes: Peel and cube the potatoes, place them in the slow cooker, add 1/2 cup of the half-and-half or milk, all the broth, garlic, salt, pepper, stir to combine and coat, cover the slow cooker, and cook for 3 to 4 hours on HIGH. The potatoes are done when they’re fork-tender and very soft. Tips – If they’re at all hard, they’re not done. Make sure to keep your potatoes in small 1/2 to 1-inch cubes so they cook in the 3 to 4 hours called for in the recipe. I don’t recommend using the LOW setting unless you have at least 6 to 8 hours. All slow cookers vary in their heat output so go by the tenderness of the potatoes in judging doneness, not how much time has elapsed on the clock.
- Mash the cooked potatoes with a masher inside of the slow cooker. Mashing Tips – I do not recommend using a handheld electric mixer because it’s easy to overmix them and create sticky, gluey, gummy potatoes. If you don’t have a potato masher, a fork will do. Stop mashing when desired texture has been achieved.
- Add 1/4 cup butter, remaining 1 cup half-and-half, sour cream, and stir in with a spoon or mash in with the potato masher until well combined. Cook on high for another 20-30 minutes to warm through.
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Add the Parmesan, thyme, rosemary, sage, and stir to combine. Note about Herbs – These herbs are all optional and should be added to taste. If you don’t have all 3 herbs on hand, that’s fine, add what you have. If you want your potatoes more on the plain side, then add less. Taste potatoes and as desired, add more salt (I always do), pepper, herbs, butter, half-and-half, more cheese or whatever you think they need.
- Optionally, add about three-quarters of the caramelized onions and stir to combine. Reserve the remainder for garnishing.
- Optionally garnish with fresh parsley, additional fresh herbs, reserved caramelized onions, and serve immediately.
Storage: Extra potatoes will keep airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheating: With leftover potatoes from the fridge, I reheat individual servings in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or as needed. I usually add a pat of butter or splash of half-and-half before reheating to prevent them from drying out.
Make-Ahead: This recipe has not been developed specifically as a make-ahead recipe. If you’re interested in one, see my Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes. However, you potentially can make them in advance, place room temperature mashed potatoes (not fridge cold) back in your slow cooker to reheat them on low for about 30-60 minutes or as necessary, and add additional half-and-half and/or butter as needed so they don’t dry out.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 307cal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 51mg, Sodium: 353mg, Potassium: 692mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 562IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 145mg, Iron: 1mg
