Mashed potatoes. Two little words that make everyone out there salivate a little (or a lot in my case). But let’s be honest here, sometimes making mashed potatoes from scratch, well it’s a chore… and busy Mom’s don’t always have time. Insert the busy chef’s BEST friend… nope, not a glass of wine… the slow cooker!
What a glorious invention… whoever came up with the slow cooker, he or she is amazing! I use my slow cooker a lot, but never for mashed potatoes. From now on, this will be my new method. It’s so simple, so easy… it feels almost like you’re making instant potatoes…. except you’re not. You get all the yummy goodness of mashed potatoes from scratch, with hardly any of the effort. Sounds almost too good to be true doesn’t it?
It’s like cheating… except it’s totally okay to do it… in fact…. I highly ENCOURAGE you to do it. Just dump the potatoes, garlic and bay leaf into your slow cooker, pour the broth over top, cover and cook. Once they’re finished cooking, drain potatoes (making sure to drain them over a bowl so you reserve the cooking liquid), mash, add cream and butter, mash/whip to desired consistency, adding the reserved cooking liquid if needed.
That’s it. Now the fun part… go crazy with the toppings here. Whatever you like! For us, we usually go for herbs, or a loaded baked potato type of topping (cheddar cheese, crumbles of bacon, chives and a dollop of sour cream). But the sky is the limit here 🙂 Make this recipe your own 🙂
I’ll be honest with you here… I completely forgot to add the bay leaf. Oops!! But they tasted great anyway, so don’t worry if you forget that part 🙂
The original recipe called for milk, but I was feeling a bit decadent and I went with some heavy cream instead. Milk or half and half would work well too 🙂
As you can see… I went with chives for my herb of choice. I love chives… I use them allllllll the time.
The only problem with these potatoes…. are you ready for it…. is that you. will. want. to. eat. the. whole. bowl. of. potatoes. Seriously, you will. Don’t count on many leftovers 😉
Dig in!
Recipe adapted from Bhg.com
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds baking potatoes peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces, such as russet or Yukon gold
- 6 cloves garlic halved
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 14 ounce can seasoned chicken broth with roasted garlic or regular chicken broth if you can't find the roasted garlic kind
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, combine potatoes, garlic, and bay leaf. Pour broth over potatoes.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
- Drain potatoes in a colander over a bowl to catch the cooking liquid. Discard bay leaf. Return potatoes to slow cooker and mash lightly with a potato masher.
- In a small saucepan, heat cream and butter until steaming and butter almost melts. Add cream mixture, salt, and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to mashed potatoes to reach desired consistency.
- Use potato masher or hand mixer if you prefer a smoother mashed potato.
- To serve, transfer potatoes to a serving bowl. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper and desired toppings.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This recipe was linked up to the following great parties:
Munching Mondays
Mix It Up Mondays
Made By You Monday
Try a New Recipe Tuesday
Totally Talented Tuesdays
Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party
Natalie Muoio says
What does the bay leaf do?
Nicole Neverman says
Thank you so much for attending week 17 of #PureBlogLove and linking your fantastic blog post, I can’t wait to see what you have in store for our next party, Thursday 8 PM EST- Sundays at midnight. Your post has been added to the #PureBlogLove Pinterest board for all to see 🙂 Have a great day!
Nicole
The Chunky Chef says
Thank you, I’ll see you there! 🙂