Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

A large white bowl full of mashed potatoes that had been cooked in a crock pot.

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Rich, creamy mashed potatoes made hands-off in your slow cooker with butter, cream cheese, and a hint of garlic — no boiling or stovetop mashing required.

Prep Time20

Total Time5 20

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: cups

Calories: 405kcal

Author: Sharon Rigsby

Equipment

Crock-Pot or slow cooker

Ingredients

5 pounds Russet potatoes, or Yukon Golds
½ cup unsalted butter, sliced
8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1 ½ cups whole milk
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Spray the bowl of your crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Peel and slice the potatoes into even, half-inch slices, then add them to the crock pot. Keeping the slices consistent matters more than it sounds; uneven slices lead to uneven cooking, and thinner pieces will turn to mush while thicker ones remain firm.
Add butter, cream cheese, milk, salt, pepper, and garlic powder and stir.
Cook on high for 4–5 hours or until the potatoes are fork-tender and can be easily mashed against the side of the crock pot with a fork. Stir every 1–2 hours to keep the potatoes coated in liquid, help them cook evenly, and prevent sticking. In my test batch, the potatoes cooked on high started sticking and browning a bit around the 2-hour mark without stirring.
Mash the potatoes using a potato masher for the best results, or an electric mixer if you prefer. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed, and feel free to add additional milk or heavy cream if you prefer creamier potatoes.
Serve warm and dig into creamy, dreamy comfort.

Notes

I usually peel my Russet potatoes; I don't peel Yukon Golds.

Slice the potatoes evenly so they cook at the same rate.

Cooking time depends largely on how full your slow cooker is; a small, very full crock can take longer to cook than a larger, comfortably filled one, even on a higher setting. Go by fork-tenderness, not the clock.

I recommend an old-fashioned potato masher for a little texture. If using an electric mixer, don't overbeat the potatoes; they can turn gluey. Only beat until creamy.

Taste and adjust the seasoning after mashing the potatoes; they love salt!

If reheating a crock pot full of refrigerated potatoes, use the Low or High setting with occasional stirring rather than the Warm setting. USDA guidance says slow cookers shouldn't be used to reheat cold food on Warm, since it can take too long to pass through the temperature danger zone (40°F–140°F). Reheat until an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F, then switch to Warm to hold.

Once they're genuinely back up to temperature, they can safely hold on Warm for an afternoon, as long as the setting keeps them at 140°F or above; check with an instant-read thermometer, since Warm settings vary quite a bit by brand.

Nutrition