Buttermilk Whipped Potatoes

Ingredients needed to make this recipe

You'll need just three ingredients - butter, potatoes, and buttermilk - plus salt and pepper to make these whipped potatoes.

The acid in buttermilk gives mashed potatoes a rich and tangy flavor and a light, fluffy texture. In most mashed potato recipes, it's important to warm the milk or cream before adding it to the freshly cooked potatoes. Adding cold dairy to hot potatoes can cause the starch in the potatoes to seize up, creating a gummy texture.

However, buttermilk will curdle and separate when heated. So instead of heating buttermilk, allow it to sit at room temperature for about an hour before using so it has time to come to room temperature.

This recipe calls for an entire stick (4 ounces) of butter. I usually use salted butter, but if you'd like more control over the amount of salt in your potatoes, use unsalted butter.

What kind of potatoes are best for this recipe? While Yukon Gold potatoes are my favorite variety to use for cream cheese mashed potatoes, Russets are the kind I recommend for these whipped potatoes. When combined with buttermilk and whipped, Russets create the fluffiest texture.

Additions and substitutions

• To make dairy-free vegan potatoes: Use vegan butter and 1 cup of soy milk (or another plant based milk) plus 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.
• Make cheesy buttermilk whipped potatoes: Add a handful or two of cheese to the potatoes after whipping. My favorite kind of cheese to add is sharp cheddar, but any good melting cheese will work well. You can also spread the whipped potatoes into a baking dish, top with shredded cheese, and bake at 425°F (218°C) until the cheese has melted. And, if you really want to cheese it up, do both - add some shredded cheese to the potatoes after whipping and top the potatoes with more cheese and bake until melted.
• Add roasted garlic: The easiest way to roast garlic is to remove the outermost papery layers from a whole head of garlic and slice off the top ½ inch of the garlic head to expose the tops of the individual cloves. Set the head of garlic in the center of a square of aluminum foil, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and then wrap the foil up and over the garlic to enclose it. Roast at 400°F (204°C) for about 45 minutes, until the garlic cloves are golden brown and very soft. Let it rest until cool enough to handle then squeeze the roasted garlic directly into the potatoes before whipping.
• Brown butter whipped potatoes: Instead of using regular butter, brown the butter first before mashing with potatoes for a subtle nutty flavor. You'll find instructions for how to brown butter in this recipe for brown butter sauce pasta.
• Add fresh herbs. Chop up some fresh Italian flat leaf parsley or other fresh herbs and stir them into the potatoes after whipping.

Step-by-step photos and instructions

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks that are about 3 or 4 inches in size.

Add the potatoes to a large saucepan and fill it with enough water to cover the potatoes and give them some room to move. Add enough salt to make the water taste salty. Bring the water to a boil and let the potatoes simmer until very tender.

Pro tip! It's important to add plenty of salt to the cooking water for the potatoes. Most of the salt will stay behind in the water, but cooking potatoes in heavily salted water will ensure they are seasoned from the inside out. Add enough salt to make the water taste like sea water.

Drain the potatoes in a colander set inside the sink then dump the potatoes back into the saucepan. Set the pan over low heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the potatoes have dried out.

Cut the butter into 8 pieces and drop them into a mixing bowl. Transfer the hot, dry potatoes to the mixing bowl and let stand for 1 minute to let the heat from the potatoes melt the butter. Use an electric mixer to beat the potatoes with the butter on low speed until the potatoes are broken up and the butter is mixed in. Slowly pour in the buttermilk, beating until completely incorporated. Turn the mixer to medium high and beat until the potatoes are light and fluffy. Season with salt and pepper.

Pro tip! Russet potatoes absorb a lot of water while boiling which can weigh down the mash and create a heavy texture. To eliminate this, cook the potatoes in a dry pan after boiling to dry them out before whipping with butter and buttermilk.

Sprinkle the potatoes with some chopped fresh chives and serve!

Serving suggestions

I would happily eat potatoes with any kind of meat or fish, but these are four of my favorite main dish recipes to serve with buttermilk whipped potatoes:

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Scroll down to leave a comment and rate it!