Alton Brown’s Mashed Potatoes Are the Best I've Ever Had

Growing up, my love for Food Network programming was universal, but I did have a few favorite shows. Alton Brown’s Good Eats topped that list, and I love to watch reruns to this day. In fact, I can hear the Good Eats theme song playing in my head at this very moment.

For home cooks like me who are mesmerized by food science, Good Eats was enthralling. Alton gave viewers the reasons why culinary creations work and how they come to taste so good. He had a knack for optimizing dishes in a way that allowed each ingredient to shine and yet also meld perfectly with the other flavors of the dish. My favorite among them was, and still is, his five-ingredient mashed potatoes.

Why Alton Brown’s Mashed Potatoes Are So Good

Alton dreamed up his mashed potatoes recipe as a solution to the dry, gummy versions that grace many American dinner tables. This one-pot recipe calls only for Yukon gold potatoes, cream, butter, salt and pepper, and a food mill—no mashing, electric mixing, or whipping required. 

The dish’s simplicity highlights the creamy, rich texture and savory taste of the potatoes without any distractions. It comes together quickly, so it’s perfect for the busy holiday season. Its genius lies in milling, not mashing the potatoes, to yield velvety strands of spuds, then warming the dairy beforehand so that the taters melt right in. And I’m not exaggerating when I say they’re the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had.

How To Make Alton Brown’s Mashed Potatoes

To try Alton Brown’s mashed potato recipe at home, you’ll need:

• 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

The first step is to clean and peel your potatoes. While Alton uses baby Yukons for his recipe, my local grocer didn’t have any, so I grabbed a few large ones. Cut the peeled potatoes into half-inch cubes, place them in a large saucepan, cover them with cold water by about one inch, and bring them to a boil over high heat.

It’s optional to cover the saucepan with a lid, but if you do, the potatoes will take less time to cook.

Once the potatoes are boiling, remove the lid, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer them until they can easily be crushed with tongs or a fork. This took about 15 minutes for me, but it can take up to 20 minutes, depending on your heat.

Drain your potatoes into a colander, and place the empty saucepan back over medium-low heat. Add the cream, butter, salt, and pepper, and heat the mixture just until the butter has melted. Remove the mixture from the heat and, using a food mill or ricer, mill your potatoes directly into the saucepan in one-cup increments. I opted to use a ricer as that’s what I had on hand, and it worked perfectly, producing lovely, spaghetti-like strings of potato.

Then simply stir the ingredients together until they are fully incorporated, and season your mashed potatoes to taste with a bit more salt and freshly cracked black pepper. The spuds seemingly melt right into the warm, buttery cream to produce the silkiest, most addictive mashed spuds you’ll ever have. It’s almost like magic.

Tips for Making Alton Brown’s Mashed Potatoes

While this recipe is easy to follow and perfectly delicious as is, I do have a few tips to ensure your first go at it is a masterpiece.

• Don’t Pull Your Potatoes Too Soon: The trickiest part of this recipe is cooking your potatoes just right. Overcook them, and you’ll have waterlogged potatoes and a gluey dish. Undercook them, and you’ll struggle to get them through the food mill, then wind up with gritty mashed potatoes. Follow Alton’s rule of thumb and cook the spuds until you can easily crush them with tongs. If you don’t have a pair of tongs, make sure you can easily smoosh them with a fork.
  
• Avoid Overheating Your Dairy: When warming your cream, butter, and salt, it’s crucial to not overheat the mixture, as the cream can quickly separate. If it does, you’ll have to start over and waste those precious ingredients. To avoid this, I pull the mixture from the heat as soon as I’ve seen that most of the butter has melted.
  
• Serve Right Away: To fully experience the smooth, creamy texture of these potatoes, you should eat them right away. While they are scrumptious reheated or as leftovers, they won’t be quite as silky as Alton intended.
• Dress It Up: And, finally, while the flavor of these mashed potatoes is pure and fantastic, you can dress them up any way you like. Grated or roasted garlic, caramelized onions, chives, scallions, bacon, sour cream, or any variety of cheese would shine in this recipe as a finishing flourish.