My Dad Stopped Making Homemade Mashed Potatoes 4 Years Ago, Thanks to This Brilliant Boxed Mix Hack

I love mashed potatoes. There’s something so comforting about the velvety-buttery soft potatoes that I look forward to every week, and especially during the holidays. My family used to spend hours perfecting them, until my dad tried a simple trick using a boxed mix of Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes — and it changed everything for us. 

His method combines one fresh potato with the instant stuff, creating the smartest, most delicious mashed potatoes. In the end, it makes an incredibly creamy and slightly chunky batch you’ll think was homemade. In fact, when he first tried this four years ago, he waited to tell us until after we were finished eating them. We had no idea that we were eating mostly boxed mashed potatoes! Here’s how he does it. 

It all starts with a boxed mix of instant mashed potatoes and a potato (or potatoes). The box mix isn’t specific, or rigid, although I typically see him use a 13-ounce of Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes because in his words, “he doesn’t mess with the classics.” My dad uses one russet potato for every boxed mix, so for big holidays like Thanksgiving, he doubles up on both.  You can easily half his recipe, if you’re cooking for a smaller crowd.

1. Boil the potatoes. In a pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook 2 roughly chopped russet potatoes for 20 to 30 minutes (or until fork-tender). We like our potatoes with the skin on (for a more rustic look and feel), but if you are a mashed potato purist, peel the potatoes before boiling.
2. Meanwhile, make the boxed mixes. Prepare 2 boxed mashed potato mixes according to package instructions, and set aside. 
3. Mash the potatoes. In a bowl, add your potatoes, 4 tablespoons of salted butter and 2 tablespoons of whole milk per each potato and mash until desired consistency, we like a rough mash. The boxed mix is typically plenty salted, but feel free to add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Combine! In a serving bowl, add your instant mashed potatoes and mashed potatoes mixture and stir to combine. 

I mean, aside from all of the time saved?! Our best-ever instant mashed potatoes taste like they’re entirely homemade, even though it barely took any extra arm work. And trust me, if you’ve ever made homemade mashed potatoes before you know there’s plenty of arm work in doing the entire thing from scratch. 

While it might seem silly to do this trick — especially if you’re wondering if while we’re boiling any potatoes in the first place, we should just throw a few more in and make it by hand — when you’re feeding more than a dozen people, any time saved in the kitchen is still time saved. Plus, we love how these homemade-ish instant mashed potatoes taste. 

Buy: Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes, $3.99 for 13.75 ounces at Instacart

Would you try these homemade-ish mashed potatoes? Tell us about it in the comments below.