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How to reheat mashed potatoes in a crock pot?
Instructions
- Place cubed potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. ...
- Boil until potatoes easily break apart when pierced with a fork. ...
- Return drained potatos to empty pot and add in butter, cream cheese, 1/2 cup of half and half, sour cream, salt and pepper. ...
- Transfer mixture to slow cooker and place on warm until ready to serve. ...
Can You prep potatoes ahead of time for mashed potatoes?
Ways to prepare this side dish favorite ahead of time:
- Scrub or peel the potatoes and put them into a pot of cold water. ...
- Make mashed potatoes, then use your crock pot to keep them warm. ...
- Embellish the mashed potatoes before freezing them.
How do you cook mashed potatoes in a slow cooker?
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-½ inch chunks.
- Place the chopped potatoes, garlic, salt, ground black pepper, butter, and water in a 6-quart slow cooker. ...
- When the potatoes are almost finished, warm the half and half in the microwave in 30 second intervals or on the stovetop over medium heat until the liquid is barely ...
How do you make mashed potatoes in advance?
Make-Ahead Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
- Scrub and cube potatoes.
- Boil them in water until tender.
- Drain water and mash potatoes with milk and salt until smooth.
- Stir together the mashed potatoes, butter, and sour cream.
- Spread into a 3 quart casserole dish.
- Sprinkle cheese on top.
- Refrigerate until you are ready to bake this dish.
- Bake in a 350° oven for 45 minutes.
How to Reheat Mashed Potatoes in the Oven
The oven is the way to go when reheating a large batch of mashed potatoes and the process is easy as long as you steer clear of high heat and follow these simple steps.
How to Reheat Mashed Potatoes on the Stove
The oven method allows you to set it and forget it (for 30 minutes at least) but the stove works just as well when it comes to reheating mashed potatoes, as long as you don’t mind a little more active time at the range.
Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
Making holiday meals with a lot of dishes can overwhelm me if I have to do it all in the same day, so I’ve figured out a few ways to make some of the dishes ahead of time to help me stay sane.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at how to make this potato recipe. Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full information.
How do I reheat mashed potatoes?
I store my mashed potatoes in a heat-safe ceramic or glass container with a heat-safe lid and put it into the microwave, covered, to reheat. This traps in the steam to hold in the moisture.
Best Tips for Success
Yukon Gold potatoes have a consistently great texture in this recipe so use them if you can find them.
Easy Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
I prefer to use Yukon Gold potatoes in this recipe. They are usually very widely available at grocery stores.
Stovetop method
Empty the cold mashed potatoes into a medium saucepan or Dutch oven and set over low heat. Cover the potatoes and stir them occasionally until they are completely warmed through and smooth. Be sure to keep the heat low and stir, otherwise the potatoes may start to stick to the bottom of the pan and scorch.
Oven method
If you refrigerated your mashed potatoes in an oven-safe casserole dish, set them out on the counter to take the chill off for at least 20 minutes before you pop them into the oven. When you're ready, bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are hot throughout.
Microwave method
The timing for this method will vary depending on your microwave and the amount of mashed potatoes you're heating up. Put your potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for one minute, then stir. Continue microwaving in 30-second increments until the potatoes are totally warmed through.
This Technique Will Keep Them Smooth and Creamy
Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.
The Gelatinization of Starches
Potatoes contain starch and there are two kinds: amylose and amylopectin. In their natural state, these starch molecules have a crystalline structure. When heated using dry heat, like when you put bread in a toaster, these starches undergo dextrinization: the starches turn brown and convert to sugar.
Don't Overheat
And it turns out, the best way to do that is by managing the temperature. In other words, don't let your mashed potatoes get too hot when you're reheating them. And how hot is too hot? The answer is, the gelatinization starts to occur at 131 F and up to around 185 F, depending on the type of starch.
The Best Tool for the Job? It's Your Microwave
Some people will discourage using a microwave for reheating mashed potatoes, likely because microwaved mashed potatoes sometimes turn out gummy. But that's not the microwave's fault. It's actually due to user error.
Reheat on the Stovetop
For a special occasion like Thanksgiving when there's a bunch of mains, sides, and desserts to juggle, you'll want to make-ahead as many dishes as possible. "I almost always make my mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving the day ahead because they're actually very easy to reheat," says Riley Wofford, our associate food editor.
Reheat in the Oven
Whether they're made with just potatoes, milk, butter, and salt or jazzed up with ingredients like sour cream or garlic, mashed potatoes will heat up wonderfully in the oven.
Use Your Microwave
If you're in a pinch, you can use a microwave to reheat your mashed potatoes. To do so, King Phojanakong, chef at the Institute of Culinary Education, says to scoop the potatoes into a microwave safe dish and cover with plastic wrap or a wet paper towel. Then heat the mashed potatoes in two-minute increments, mixing after each one.
1. Do not boil potatoes with the plan to mash and serve them later
While this seems like such a good idea, this will turn them into a sticky, gooey mess.
2. Do not make mashed potatoes and freeze them as-is
I’ve never had success with this. Plain mashed potatoes freeze fine but thaw weird. They are always watery and unappetizing. These are not the kind of potatoes I want to include on my holiday table. If you do freeze them as-is, you must cook the frozen/thawed potatoes in a pot to steam off excess water that has formed in the freezing process.
1. Scrub or peel the potatoes and put them into a pot of cold water
Want to get the prep work out of the way on a busy day filled with meal preparations? Typically I pull my family into the kitchen the night before the holiday meal. Together, we scrub and chop potatoes. We put them into a large pot, cover them with cold water, put on a lid, and leave them until boiling and mashing time the next day.
2. Make mashed potatoes, then use your crock pot to keep them warm
What I find very helpful is to follow all the instructions detailed in #1 to prep the potatoes the night before. The next morning – hours before our meal – I cook, drain, and mash. I then put them into a crock pot (with butter, always) on the “keep warm” setting until serving time.
3. Embellish the mashed potatoes before freezing them
While mashed potatoes don’t freeze well as-is, they do freeze well if you add some goodies to them. Take a look at the recipe below for all the specifics! When made like that, they do freeze well. Or, at the very least, you can make them a few days before your holiday meal, refrigerate them, then bake them on serving day.
Freezing Instructions
Make the potatoes as directed in the recipe above. All it to cool completely. Cover and freeze for up to three months.
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