Making mashed potatoes in a crockpot is so easy!
Crockpot mashed potatoes require no boiling – simply chop & season and let the slow cooker do the rest! Before serving mash them until smooth and enjoy.
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
A hearty meal is just never complete without a big ol’ bowl of mashed potatoes.
- Crockpot mashed potatoes are so easy to make, they practically cook themselves!
- No boiling, straining, or draining – these leave the stove open for Thanksgiving gravy.
- They can be prepared well ahead of time and left on warm in the slow cooker.
- Easy to make, you can add cheese, garlic, or other favorites to change them to your liking.
Potatoes for Mashing
For this crock pot mashed potatoes recipe, I prefer red or Yukon gold potatoes. They have a smooth texture and buttery flavor. This recipe will also work with russet potatoes, be sure to peel them first as the skins are tough.
How to Make Crockpot Mashed Potatoes
- Peel and chop the potatoes and add them to the slow cooker with seasonings and broth.
- Cook until fork tender.
- Mash with a potato masher to reach desired consistency.
If they’re done a little early, mash them and turn the slow cooker to warm.
Tips for Perfect Potatoes
- Slow cookers can vary – ensure that the potatoes are very soft before you start mashing.
- Opening the slow cooker lets out a lot of heat and increases the cooking time. If checking the potatoes for doneness, try close the lid quickly.
- This recipe is designed for a 4 quart slow cooker – if using a different size, your results may vary.
- You can add extra warm milk or heavy cream if needed (depending on the type of potato, you may not need it).
- To change the flavor, stir in shredded cheddar cheese, roasted garlic, crumbled bacon, green onions, or chives before serving.
More Crock Pot Side Dishes
This crockpot mashed potatoes recipe is a favorite as it’s hands off and out of the way! Here are more slow cooker sides we love.
Did your family love these No-Boil Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
No Boil Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 pounds potatoes red, yellow or white
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese optional
- warm milk or cream to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch chunks.
- In the bottom of a 4-quart slow cooker, add the potatoes, broth, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours or until fork tender. Each hour or so, very quickly stir the potatoes.
- Once tender, use a hand masher or hand mixer to mash the potatoes until smooth.
- Stir in the butter, sour cream, parsley, and cream cheese if using. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Add warmed milk or cream to reach the desired consistency if needed.
- Serve or keep on warm until serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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How simple these were, also knowing I can use other broth flavors like beef, turkey and vegetable is an added bonus.
So glad you loved these!
Don’t know what we did wrong, but these were not the greatest. I’ll probably be returning to my old method. I wanted them to be good because it would free up a burner on the stove when you are making many dishes… disappointed.
Sorry to hear that, Sara! Was there something specific that we can help you with? If they are too thick you can add additional broth or sour cream to thin out. If they are sticking to the bottom of the pot you want to make sure you are using a full ¾ cup of broth. Hope that helps!
Followed the instructions exactly, but the texture and consistency of potatoes were not right. The potatoes were so thick and not light and fluffy. I recommend testing this recipe a few times before using it for a large gathering
Sorry this recipe wasn’t a hit, Sue! To thin the potatoes out you can add additional broth and/or sour cream to reach your preferred texture.
I tried these on low and on high. On low the potatoes stayed hard and started to turn black. However the recipe was great when I used the high setting directions. Delicious and I will be using this method from now on for the holidays. Thank you!
You’re welcome Kelly!
Holly, I do think you should try cooking the potatoes in cream – NOT half & half, but heavy whipping cream. You’ve got your cut up potatoes in the slow cooker, but instead of broth or water, cover them with 1 liter of whipping cream. You could top it up with water if the cream doesn’t quite cover them completely. Cook on low until they are “fall apart” done. Then mash and whip with electric mixer. Even without salt or butter, they really are fantastic – you’re probably going to smother them with gravy anyhow. I wish I could remember where on line I saw this, but I have now become the designated mashed potato provider for all big family dinners.
Thank you for sharing Jackie!
I loved the idea of having the potatoes cooking away from the stovetop. They were really flavourful and everyone loved them. Will definitely make again.
Horrible! Followed recipe as written; no adjustments. The potatoes were not tender at all at three hours on high. Gave up and cooked them on the stove. I used red potatoes.
Totally agree. AND they burned a bit on the bottom so little tan chunks were in the potatoes since my hubby stirred them up.
Sorry to hear that, Sara! If there is anything specific we can help you troubleshoot please let us know!
That’s why the recipe calls for 3-4 hours of cook time at high. If they’re not tender after three hours, you keep them going another 15 or 20 minutes and then check them again. I don’t see how it’s the recipe writer’s fault that you didn’t follow the instructions.
These were the most delicious mashed potatoes I’ve ever made, and I didn’t have to worry about having a pot of water boiling on the stove while I was working on my other Christmas dinner dishes.
I’ve never made mashed potatoes from scratch and this was a winner! I believe I have a 5 quart slow cooker, and I used Great Value organic golden potatoes from Walmart. Added all ingredients in the recipe except cream cheese. Cooked on high for 3 hours. The texture was amazing. I will try to enhance the flavor a bit next time with more milk (I used 1/3 c), and maybe more seasoning and broth. This tasted even better with roast and gravy. Thanks!
Made these for Thanksgiving. I put in a full cup of broth and was good about stirring every hour. After 3.5 hours the potatoes were perfect and had soaked up all the broth. With the sour cream, butter, and milk they were a great texture and taste.
Thank you for sharing this great method to make mashed potatoes. Such a simple way to enjoy mashed potatoes with our turkey dinner, and they turned out delicious!
I can’t believe that anyone would actually need a recipe for Mashed Potatoes. Even if you wanted to ‘Gourmet’ them up, it’s pretty simple to do.
Everyone has to learn sometime! :)
If you don’t need the recipe Karen, just scroll on…..
Tried this recipe for Christmas dinner, rating it a fail.
was skeptical to begin with, and my original fear came true. when I saw this recipe I wondered how the potatoes would not turn black as they are not in water. Sure enough they did as they cooked in the slow cooker.
I used a 7 quart slow cooker, 10 pounds of Russet potatoes, doubling every thing from the recipe as written and ended up with black potatoes, and 17 really disappointed guests.
If you can tell me how to avoid this I will try it again, but was disappointed in the result.
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you, how disappointing! I have never had an issue with the potatoes turning black. While they aren’t in water, the potatoes are steaming as the slow cooker heats up. That being said, I haven’t tried doubling this recipe (although many readers have successfully doubled it) so I can’t say for sure if that affected it.
I am wondering, since the recipe requires the broth to steam the potatoes, if the issue is that when cooking on low the broth doesn’t steam them properly, so they turn black? I will try the recipe again soon using the high setting and post the results. Thanks for your reply to my original comment.
Thank you Ian, I look forward to hearing how that works out for you!
I tried the recipe again tonight. (was just my wife and I, so was planning on having leftovers) This time I cooked the potatoes on High and had much better results. The potatoes (again used Russet) remained white and they turned out perfect. I would like to know if anyone else had issues with cooking them on the Low setting?
I am upping my rating now to a 4. I am glad I did the second attempt. Will probably try them again at Easter.
Thanks so much for letting us know Ian, glad it worked out better for you this time!
That happened to me too! Potatoes turned black/grey. But I did not double the recipe. Maybe I used the wrong potatoes. ? I’ll have to run to the store Thanksgiving morning to try it again…
BIG family favorite! Made them for Christmas, now I have to bring them to every family holiday meal.
Will a 7qt work? Also can you be more specific in adding milk or cream to taste? I am a complete novice and have just stared my crock pot culinary journey and have been given the task of mashed potatoes for our thanksgiving dinner and really want to impress everyone. Any help is appreciated thank you!
Ricky, I make this in a 4QT slow cooker. A 7 quart slow cooker may be a bit big for 5 pounds of potatoes, but would be great for doubling the recipe. To make these creamy, add a splash of milk or heavy cream if needed (depending on the type of potato, you may not need it). The milk or cream is to make the potatoes the consistency that you prefer. If you enjoy thicker mashed potatoes, you may not add any milk or cream (or just a small amount), or if you like them a bit more smooth and creamy, you can add more cream or milk. Hope that helps!
Do I drain potatoes before mashing?
There is no need to drain the potatoes first Davida. The potatoes will soak up the liquid perfectly!
this recipe was so easy to follow and it yields DELICIOUS results. i did not add the cream cheese but i added some shredded colby jack! it was so good. the consistency is perfect. this was my first time ever making mash potatoes and they were awesome.
I bet the colby jack was delicious in these, I’m so glad you enjoyed them Kaylie!
These were so pasty that they could have been used to apply wallpaper, if not for the lumps. Very disappointing, had to toss the entire 5 lbs of Yukon Golds. Maybe better results possible using russets, but I’m not likely to ever try this recipe again.
Sorry they didn’t work out for you Das. I’ve made them with Yukon golds with great success so I can’t say for sure what went wrong.
Ive had the potatoes in a crockpot on high for 6 hours now, and they’re still not done. Disapointed, as I was really looking forward to good mashed potatoes. Sorry, i wont make them again.
I can’t say for sure what went wrong, potatoes should certainly be cooked within 6 hours in a slow cooker.
I found that if you keep your potatoes covered with broth at all times they will cook fully. I did them the first re and the broth wasn’t covering them and they never got done. I hope this helps you. Another thing don’t over mash them or they will be like glue.
So when doubling the recipe, would it take longer to cook or would it be the same amount of time? If longer, how many hours?
I have only made this as written. If you double it, I’d suggest you make it earlier because if it’s done early you can set it to warm to keep hot for serving.
I ruined the potatos last year by using the slow cooker. They turned black and scorched instantly. I put them in a pan to boil, as soon as i saw this happening, but it was too late. They were terrible!!!! No one complained, of course, but I’ll never do this again. I DON’T recommend this at all ! ! !
Did you use a 4qt slow cooker (or larger?), what type of potatoes did you use and how long did they cook? I’ve made this many times with great results!