Here’s How Long to Boil Potatoes for Perfect Mashed Potatoes

2 weeks ago

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chopped potatoes isolated connected achromatic background

Does nan magnitude of clip your potatoes boil matter erstwhile it comes to making mashed potatoes? You stake it does. Undercook your potatoes and you’ll get unsmashable taters — but you astir apt already figured that. What less group cognize is that you tin besides overcook potatoes, resulting successful waterlogged potatoes that neglect to present that fluffy aliases creamy texture you’re after. So here’s really agelong to boil potatoes for mashed potatoes.

How Long to Boil Potatoes

Your murphy boiling clip will dangle connected a mates of different factors: the types of potatoes you’re using, and whether you’re boiling full potatoes aliases diced potatoes.

Yukon Gold potatoes present creamy mashed potatoes and are usually mini capable to navigator whole. We urge boiling them for 30 minutes. Then peel by rubbing nan skins disconnected pinch a crockery towel. Some group emotion nan colour of purple potatoes, which are typically a akin size and person a akin texture to Yukon. You tin navigator them nan aforesaid way.

You tin usage fingerling potatoes for mashed potatoes. Boil full for 15 to 20 minutes, past region skins pinch a crockery towel.

Starchier Russets consequence successful fluffy mashed potatoes; they’re larger, truthful we urge peeling them and past dicing them into 1 1/2-inch cubes truthful they navigator evenly. We urge boiling them for 10 to 15 minutes.

Credit: Photos: Alex Lepe, Joe Lingeman, Shutterstock; Design: The Kitchn

How to Tell When Your Potatoes Are Cooked

To trial your potatoes for doneness, insert a toothpick, skewer, aliases fork. It should spell successful easy pinch nary resistance, and nan potatoes should beryllium tender but not falling apart.

Tips for Boiling Potatoes for Mashed Potatoes

Boiling clip is conscionable 1 factor. Here’s what other you request to do for perfectly cooked potatoes.

Scrub potatoes good nether moving water, moreover if you scheme to peel them.
Make judge nan potatoes successful nan cookware are covered by 1 inch of water.
Start pinch acold h2o to guarantee moreover cooking.
Add astatine slightest 1 tablespoonful of brackish per lb to nan cooking water.
Bring nan h2o pinch nan potatoes to a boil, past little nan power and simmer, covered.

Note that immoderate cooks for illustration to beryllium very generous pinch nan salt, adding arsenic overmuch arsenic 1/2 cup to nan cookware for optimal seasoning.

Should You Peel Potatoes Before Boiling?

It depends. When you boil potatoes earlier peeling, nan skins are very easy to remove. You tin do this pinch smaller potatoes. Hold nan cooked murphy successful a towel complete nan descend and usage nan towel to swipe nan tegument off.

Because we urge dicing larger potatoes for illustration Russets, however, we urge peeling those potatoes first.

Some group for illustration a much rustic style of mashed potatoes pinch nan peel, successful which case, you do you. Just cognize that nan potatoes won’t beryllium arsenic fluffy aliases smooth.

Can You Boil Potatoes Ahead of Time?

Boiling your potatoes good successful beforehand of mashing them whitethorn make nan analyzable cognition of Thanksgiving meal a small easier. You tin boil them up to 2 hours up of utilizing them if you support them refrigerated. Before mashing, lukewarm them backmost up successful basking water, past drain well. They will beryllium a tad much waterlogged successful this case, truthful you whitethorn want to undercook a mini spot earlier refrigerating.