Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes
Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes are PERFECT for the holidays, made with Yukon gold potatoes mashed with cream cheese, sour cream, and parmesan then baked in a casserole dish until crispy on top!
This recipe is a huge hit with my family during the holidays because it’s basically a big casserole dish of twice-baked potato filling. This is a really indulgent comfort food using three kinds of cheese, which is why I like to make it for our holiday table. It’s also the perfect side dish for a potluck or dinner party because you can prepare it ahead of time and bake it when you get there.
I always serve this with extra fresh chives on the side, and sometimes with crispy bacon on top. This will definitely be one of your new favorite side dishes!
If you like this recipe, you may also like my Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, or my Loaded Baked Potato Casserole.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Incredibly Creamy! These mashed potatoes are so incredibly creamy, that you won’t have to worry about them being dry at all. They’re even still good as leftovers!
Easy to Make. If you can make regular mashed potatoes, you can make this recipe, too! Just pour the potatoes into a casserole dish and top with cheese. It’s that simple! Adding some chives on top also makes them look like they took a lot more effort.
Leftovers! This recipe is perfect for holiday leftovers, because it makes an entire baking dish full, and is still creamy and delicious after you heat it up the next day.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Potatoes. I usually use Yukon gold potatoes because they’re the perfect combination of starchy and waxy, so they hold up well in mashed potatoes. They also have a nice buttery texture and flavor. You also don’t have to worry about peeling gold potatoes, just wash them really well.
You can also use washed and peeled russet potatoes, or red potatoes (with or without the skins).
Cream Cheese. This is one of the most important ingredients for giving this a nice creamy texture, and also adds some tangy flavor to balance the savory notes. I use 8 ounces cream cheese, which is one regular block.
You can also use Neufchatel cheese for this recipe.
Sour Cream. This adds some richness to the potatoes, and similar to the cream cheese, also adds a tangy flavor that goes really well with the potatoes.
For a lighter version, you can replace this with plain greek yogurt.
Parmesan. You can use shredded or grated, it doesn’t matter because the cheese is going to melt into the potatoes. Parmesan has a really nice salty flavor that works well with mashed potatoes.
Muenster. I like to top the potatoes with muenster, because it’s inexpensive and browns really nicely under the broiler. You can also use gruyere or shredded cheddar cheese.
Heavy Cream. This adds fat to the potatoes, and also makes everything easier to mash together. You can add more or less as-needed.
You can also use regular milk, half and half, or even vegetable broth for this step. You can also melt some unsalted butter and add that instead.
Spices. There’s already a lot going on here, so keep it really simple with some garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper.
If you want to add anything more, I would recommend my Homemade Ranch Seasoning.
Kitchen Tools
For this recipe, you’ll need a large stock pot to cook the potatoes, a handheld potato masher or electric hand mixer, and a 9×13″ casserole dish.
How to Make Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes
Time needed: 55 minutes
- Boil the potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a large casserole dish with butter and set aside.
Add potatoes to a large stockpot and add water until the potatoes are completely covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a high simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender but not completely falling apart.
- Mash the potatoes.
Drain the water from the potatoes completely, then add them back into the pot. Add cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan, heavy cream, 1 cup of muenster cheese, and spices to the potatoes.
Mash the potatoes using a hand masher or electric hand mixer until everything is mixed together and there are no more big pieces of potato. - Prepare the casserole dish.
Scoop the potato mixture into the casserole dish, using a rubber spatula to smooth into an even layer.
At this point, you can let everything cool, cover it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake (if you’re making this the morning of a holiday dinner). Bring to room temperature and remove plastic wrap before placing the dish in the hot oven. - Bake the potatoes.
Top evenly with the remaining muenster cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. If the cheese isn’t golden brown after the time is up, turn the broiler on for 1-2 minutes, or until the cheese has turned golden. Serve topped with chopped chives.
Recipe Variations
- You can use other types of cheese for this recipe, I chose muenster because it’s more cost-effective and still tastes really good. For something more fancy, choose gruyere. You can also use sharp cheddar cheese.
- Top with chopped green onions, chives, or cooked bacon pieces.
- Make this spicy with some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
- Add even more flavor by mashing in some soft roasted garlic cloves. Check out my Oven Roasted Garlic recipe for instructions.
Recipe Tip! An electric hand mixer can make mashing potatoes much faster! I like to add all of my ingredients and stir the potatoes just to cover the cream cheese to let it melt a little bit, then use the electric mixer to mash everything together.
Frequently Asked Questions
I wouldn’t recommend making this more than a few hours ahead of time, but if you want to get some work done early you can make this up to just before baking. Allow to cool, then store the casserole dish in the refrigerator. Before cooking, bring it to room temperature for about 20-30 minutes before placing it in the hot oven to finish cooking.
Don’t take it straight from the refrigerator to the hot oven, because the casserole dish can crack from the sudden temperature change. You also may have to increase the cooking time.
Mashed potatoes can become dense for a few reasons, the first being that the potatoes were boiled for too long. This will create a gritty texture as well, so make sure you’re checking on the potatoes often towards the end of the cooking time. Poke a piece or two with a fork to see how easily the fork goes through. If the fork goes through to the middle easily, drain the water right away.
Another common reason is that the potatoes are over-mashed. If you’re using an electric hand mixer, I recommend stopping and stirring with a big spoon to make sure the big pieces are all broken up and the other ingredients are mixed in, being careful not to mash the potatoes past that point.
Finally, make sure you choose the right type of potato. For this dish, I recommend gold, red, or russet potatoes for really fluffy potatoes.
Recipe Tip! If you’re serving this for a holiday meal, try adding something green on top like chopped chives or green onion. This will make the dish look much nicer on the table! You can also add some crispy bacon pieces.
More Potato Side Dish Recipes
Storage
Refrigerate leftover mashed potatoes in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Freeze twice baked mashed potatoes in a freezer-safe container for 2-3 months. Potatoes can change texture when frozen, so this dish will be best when freshly made.
Cooking Tips
- Add the potatoes to the pot before boiling the water. Adding the potatoes to cold water first can help them cook more evenly.
- If your potatoes are hard to mash, add a bit more heavy cream or sour cream until they’re easier to work with.
- Try to cut the potato pieces to about the same size, so they all finish cooking at the same time. Larger pieces will take longer to finish boiling than smaller pieces.
- I like using an electric hand mixer or handheld potato masher to mash the potatoes, but I don’t recommend using an immersion blender or food processor for this mashed potato recipe because it can easily over-mix the potatoes. You can also use a potato ricer for a really creamy texture.
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes , washed and quartered
- 2 cups muenster cheese, shredded, divided
- 8 ounces cream cheese, (1 block)
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Equipment
- 1 large stockpot
- 1 9×13" casserole dish
- 1 potato masher or electric hand mixer
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a large casserole dish with butter and set aside.
- Add potatoes to a large stockpot and add cold water until the potatoes are completely submerged. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a high simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender but not completely falling apart.
- Drain the potatoes completely, then add back into the pot. Add 1 cup of muenster cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, parmesan, heavy cream, and spices. Mash the potatoes until everything is mixed together and there are no more big pieces of potato.
- Scoop potato mixture into the casserole dish and smooth into an even layer. Top evenly with remaining muenster cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
- If the cheese isn't golden brown after the time is up, turn the broiler on for 1-2 minutes, or until the cheese has turned golden.
Notes
- Add the potatoes to the pot before boiling the water, because starting with cold water can help them cook more evenly.
- If your potatoes are hard to mash, add a bit more heavy cream or sour cream until they’re easier to work with.
- Try to cut the potato pieces to about the same size, so they all finish cooking at the same time. Larger pieces will take longer to finish boiling than smaller pieces.
- I like using an electric hand mixer or handheld potato masher to mash the potatoes.
- If you’re serving this for a holiday meal, try adding something green on top like chopped chives or green onion. This will make the dish look much nicer on the table!
Nutrition
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