Who Wins the Title of “Best Mashed Potatoes Ever”?

In the hierarchy of Thanksgiving side dishes, a big bowl of mashed potatoes is forever firmly planted at the top of my list. In fact, it’s my favorite dish on the holiday table, period. And this month I tested some of the most popular mashed potato recipes out there — from Alton Brown, Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, and Ree Drummond — to determine which one was the absolute best.

Cooking and tasting these four recipes back-to-back showed me the clear differences — sometimes small, sometimes big — that can set this staple dish apart from its peers. So, which one deserves a prime spot at your Thanksgiving table? Here’s how they ranked, from my least favorite to most favorite.

A pinch of nutmeg added at the end of cooking gives these classic mashed potatoes a tiny twist that tastes special. It was the highlight of the recipe for me, which felt like a choose-your-own adventure game instead of a definitive set of instructions. It includes a lot of flexibility — from the type of potatoes, to the type of dairy — which could be potentially confusing for a new cook. The recipe will walk you through getting a nice-tasting batch of mashed potatoes on the table, but depending on the adventure you choose, the texture, creaminess, and richness will vary.

What really sets Ree’s recipe apart from the pack is not that it’s baked into a casserole, but that it uses four (!) kinds of dairy: butter, half-and-half, cream, and cream cheese. They were probably the most buttery and creamy mashed potatoes I have ever tasted, but partnered with the rest of a Thanksgiving feast, they cross the line into the territory of being too rich.

Of the four recipes Alton’s calls for the fewest ingredients, and his streamlined process only needs a single pot. They tasted exactly like what I crave when I think of classic, no-frills mashed potatoes, with just the right amount of dairy and seasoning. In addition to the potatoes, Alton’s recipe will also make you feel like a better cook. It’s full of smart takeaways, like adding a lid to the pot when boiling potatoes for faster cooking, or later warming the cream and butter in the same pot to minimize dishes.

These were fast, fancy, and so incredibly delicious that I’m still thinking about them weeks later. If I could eat just one type of mashed potatoes for the rest of my life, it would be Ina’s, without question. The remind me of the fancy, French-style mashed potatoes I made in culinary school. With a slightly thinner texture than classic mashed potatoes, this version is super creamy and lush, with just a hint of richness. Ina calls for stirring in sour cream, which is brilliant and adds a subtle tangy undertone. And as a bonus, the recipe is easy to follow and comes together in just under 30 minutes.

Thanksgiving is the ultimate food holiday, and when it comes to stand-out dishes, everyone has their favorites. This year we decided to put some of the internet’s most popular Thanksgiving recipes — from Alton Brown, Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, and Ree Drummond — to the test in our own kitchens.