The Best Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes: 3 Simple Steps

These are without doubt the best mashed potatoes we have ever made, and they are SO simple too. Creamy and fluffy mashed potatoes, cooked in the slow cooker with very little effort. What could be better than that? Looking to save some space on the hob (stove top) at Christmas or when making a Sunday roast? Then slow cooker mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish.

A bowl of mashed potato surrounded by whole potatoes, butter, garlic and rosemary.

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You can't beat mashed potatoes when it comes to a comforting side dish. Whilst cooking them the traditional way isn't hard or time consuming, our slow cooker no boil mashed potato method is so much better.

This slow cooker mashed potatoes recipe is space saving, really simple and gives the most incredible flavour from being cooked with rosemary for 4 hours. Great for cooking mash for a crowd.

If you are looking for some other mash recipes, then why not try our Mustard Mash, Root Vegetable Mash, Carrot and Swede Mash, Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes, or Microwave Mashed Potatoes?

Jump to:

Ingredients and Substitutions
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes Variations
How to Make Mashed Potatoes in the Slow Cooker
Serving Suggestions
Storage
Dannii's Top Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
More Potato Recipes
Recipe
Feedback

Ingredients and Substitutions

All the ingredients needed for this recipe each with a text overlay label.

A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Potatoes - You can use any potatoes to make mashed potatoes in the slow cooker, however starchy and fluffy potatoes work the best. King Edwards, Maris Piper, Russets, Yukon golds, Desirée or Rooster (which is what we used) work really well for making the perfect mashed potato.
Vegetable stock - Because we cooked our potatoes in stock, they really absorb the flavour of it (it pretty much all soaks up during cooking). Which is why you should try and use the best quality stock as possible - you really will taste the difference. If you are making this for young kids, then you can use a reduced salt stock.
Milk - We used whole milk as it makes it all nice and creamy. However you could use skimmed or semi skimmed, or even swap it for a dairy free version. For even creamier mashed potatoes in the slow cooker, use cream.
Garlic cloves - These add so much flavour to the potatoes, as they are cooked with them for the whole 4 hours. We just used 2 and it has a subtle hint of garlic, but you could add more if you love garlic.
Rosemary - Just 3 sprigs of rosemary added to the slow cooker and cooked for the whole time really infuses the potatoes with the most incredible flavour. You could swap it for thyme instead or even some chives.
Creme fraiche and butter - These both add lots of creaminess to the potatoes. We used reduce fat creme fraiche to keep it lighter and salted butter for extra flavour. You could swap the creme fraiche for double cream, sour cream or even Greek yogurt.
Cheese - Another way to add some extra creaminess. We used a reduced fat mature cheddar, but you can use any cheese that melts well, or even add a couple of heaped tablespoons of cream cheese.

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes Variations

All the flavour in these slow cooker mashed potatoes comes from the garlic and rosemary that are cooked with the potatoes. Then you have some flavour from the mature cheddar that is stirred in at the end. However, there are a few other flavour options as well.

You could swap the rosemary for thyme, or if you wanted a summer version to these, then you could add basil and lemon. Parmesan is also a good alternative to cheddar.

If you like a kick of heat in your food, then you can stir in some dried red chilli flakes. Want to make them really indulgent? When you add the cheese, stir in some cooked chopped bacon and roasted garlic too. Next. Level. Potatoes!

How to Make Mashed Potatoes in the Slow Cooker

Chopped potatoes and sprigs of rosemary in a slow cooker.

Step 1: Add the potatoes, stock, garlic and rosemary to the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7 hours. Stir 3 times during cooking.

Step 2: Mash the potatoes until the desired consistency is achieved.

Mashed potatoes, pats of butter and grated cheese in a slow cooker.

Step 3: Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Serving Suggestions

Slow cooker mashed potatoes are such a versatile side dish, you can serve them with pretty much anything. However, here are some of our favourite recipes that go perfectly with it:

Serve some spring onions (green onions) on top for some colour and crunch.

Storage

You can store any leftover mashed potatoes in an air tight container in the fridge and they will keep for up to 5 days.

To freeze these, follow the instructions in our Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes Recipe.

Dannii's Top Tips

Cut all the potatoes to the same size to ensure that they all cook the same.
If you prefer chunky mashed potatoes, then don't over mash them. We like ours really creamy and fluffy.
We find using a potato masher is fine, however if you like really smooth potatoes then you can use a potato ricer.
Add salt and pepper at the end to season the slow cooker mashed potatoes. That way you can taste them and add more if you prefer.
You don't have to peel the potatoes, and leaving the skin on will save even more time. Cooking them low and slow will break down the skins, but still keep the fibre.
When you are stirring the potatoes, if you find that they are drying out then you can add a little more stock. Different slow cookers will cook at different rates.

A spoon pulling out some mashed potato from a bowl.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you prepare them in advance?

Yes, which makes them perfect for big events like Christmas Day or Thanksgiving. You can prep them and put them in the slow cooker and then they can stay in there for a couple of hours before you start cooking them. Also, once they are cooked they can stay warm in the slow cooker for an hour or so, until you are ready to serve them. No last minute mashing whilst you are trying to carve the turkey. You can also try our Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes.

What to use to mash potatoes?

We use a really sturdy potato masher to mash our potatoes, as we are fine with a few smaller lumps. However, if you like your mashed potatoes super smooth, then get yourself a potato ricer. This gives you really smooth and creamy potatoes, and makes sure that they aren't overworked like they would be with a masher, which is key if you are going to use leftovers to make gnocchi.

What to do with leftover mashed potato

Whilst leftovers of this side dish is rare in our house, if you do have any leftovers then there are a few really good options to make sure that nothing goes to waste. You can make leftover mashed potato cakes by mixing them with an egg and a little flour, then forming into patties and frying. Or, you can make our Leftover Mashed Potato Gnocchi.

How to make this vegan

Firstly, make sure that the vegetable stock is vegan - you could just mash the potatoes and serve them as they are. But, if you want to make them creamy and vegan, then use an alternative to the creme fraiche, butter and cheese.

More Potato Recipes

If you've tried these slow cooker mashed potatoes, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.

Recipe

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

By: Dannii Martin

These are without doubt the best mashed potatoes we have ever made, and they are SO simple too. Creamy and fluffy mashed potatoes, cooked in the slow cooker with very little effort.

Gluten Free

Vegetarian

5 from 9 votes

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: British

Prep: 5

Cook: 4

Total: 4 5

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 200kcal

Allergens:

Dairy

Ingredients

▢ 1.5 kg (3.33 lb) of Potato - peeled and chopped
▢ 375 ml (1.5 cups) of Vegetable stock
▢ 150 ml (0.66 cups) of Whole milk
▢ 2 Garlic clove
▢ 3 sprig of Fresh rosemary
▢ 3 tablespoon of Reduced fat crème fraîche
▢ 40 g (0.25 cups) of Butter
▢ 60 g (0.5 cups) of Cheddar cheese - grated
▢ 1 pinch of Sea salt and ground black pepper

For ingredient swaps, see our Ingredients and Substitutions section

Instructions

Put 1.5 kg of Potato (peeled and chopped) into the slow cooker.
Add 375 ml of Vegetable stock, 2 Garlic clove1 pinch of Sea salt and ground black pepper and 3 sprig of Fresh rosemary.
Mix well and cook on high for 4 hours, stirring three times during cooking.
Remove the rosemary springs and mash until you've achieved your desired consistency.
Add 150 ml of Whole milk, 40 g of Butter, 3 tbsp of Reduced fat crème fraîche and 60 g of Cheddar cheese and stir until the butter and cheese have melted.

Recipe Tips

Cut all the potatoes to the same size to ensure that they all cook the same.
If you prefer chunky mashed potatoes, then don't over mash them. We like ours really creamy and fluffy.
We find using a potato masher is fine, however if you like really smooth potatoes then you can use a potato ricer.
Add salt and pepper at the end to season, that way you can taste them and add more if you prefer.
You don't have to peel the potatoes, and leaving the skin on will save even more time. Cooking them low and slow will break down the skins, but still keep the fibre.
When you are stirring the potatoes, if you find that they are drying out then you can add a little more stock. Different slow cookers will cook at different rates.