Why are my mashed potatoes gummy?

You’ve probably over-mixed or over-blended them. You can try adding more heavy cream or butter to thin it out.

Try this creamy cauliflower potato puree with my classic garlic herb prime rib roast.

Why do I have lumps in my mashed potatoes?

It’s very important to make sure that your potatoes are boiled and cooked all the way through so that they are easily mashed.

One way to make sure you have no lumps in mashed potatoes is to run them through a food mill or potato ricer. Blend only if you are adding cauliflower to it. Otherwise, you will end up with a gluey and gummy mess.

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Creamy Cauliflower Potato Puree

A cheesy creamy puree with potatoes and cauliflower

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword cauliflower potato puree, cheesy garlic mashed potatoes, pureed cauliflower

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6 people

Equipment

• 1 blender

Ingredients

• 4 quarts water
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 bag frozen cauliflower
• 6 small russet potatoes peeled and cubed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano grated
• 1/3 cup aged white cheddar grated
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 4 tbsp butter
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup milk

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Put salt into the water.
• When the water is boiling, add in potatoes and allow to simmer on medium for 15-20 minutes until tender.
• When potatoes are almost tender, add cauliflower into the boiling water. Allow to simmer 3–5 minutes until softened.
• Drain water from potatoes and cauliflower and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• In a separate small pot, turn heat on medium. Add in butter and garlic. Sauté garlic until golden brown about 3 minutes. Then add in milk and cream. When this mixture is almost about to bubble, turn off heat.
• Add cauliflower and potatoes into a blender. Then add in cream mixture. Add in grated aged white cheddar, Parmigiano Reggiano, and garlic salt. Blend on high until completely smooth but do not over-blend.
• Serve while warm.

How to Make the Best Mashed Potatoes

Ideally you would use a food mill or potato ricer to process your boiled potatoes, before hand mixing with the cream and butter mixture. But this process is laborious and tedious, and not ideal for most busy home cooks. So if you are pressed for time, I find that whipping the mashed potatoes with a hand mixer yields very creamy and fluffy mashed potatoes. Using a handheld blender is another option, but will often lead to gluey mashed potatoes because it easily leads to over mixing.

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Cheesy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Creamy, cheesy garlic mashed potatoes. The perfect side dish.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword cheesy garlic mashed potatoes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 6 Yukon gold potatoes peeled and cubed
• 6 quarts water
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano grated

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to boil. Then add in salt and potatoes. Allow to boil for 15-20 minutes, or until fork-tender.
• While potatoes are boiling, put a large sauce pan on medium high heat. Add in butter and minced garlic. Saute until garlic is golden brown. Then add in heavy cream, milk, and garlic salt.
• When potatoes are tender, drain the water completely, leaving potatoes in the pot. Add in butter and cream mixture into the potatoes. Add in Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
• Using a hand-held mixer, mix on low until potatoes have been incorporated into the cream mixture. Slowly increase the speed and whip potatoes until they are completely smooth and creamy. Do not overmix or potatoes will become gluey.

  Optional: For best results, you can use a food mill to process the potatoes, and then use a whisk to incorporate the riced potatoes into the cream and butter mixture. But for most home cooks, a hand mixture should yield good enough results.