Professional chefs swear by this make-ahead tip for fluffy Thanksgiving mashed potatoes without the last-minute stress

There are five minutes until Thanksgiving dinner, the gravy is bubbling, the turkey is resting, and you’re elbow-deep in a pot of mashed potatoes that’s rapidly cooling and turning gooey. What if you could avoid the last-minute mash frenzy while still serving silky smooth mashed potatoes?

The good news is that you can. Restaurant cooks have been doing it for years, and our editorial director, Daniel, already revealed the secret to how to prepare the mash in advance, then bring it back to life in hot cream just before serving. Pair that with former Serious Eats Culinary Director Kenji’s scientific starch wisdom in his mashed potatoes recipe, and you’ve got yourself a fluffy, creamy mash without any last-minute Thanksgiving stress.

Why Potatoes Get Gummy (And How to Stop It)

The goal of mashed potatoes is to achieve an elusive texture that is fluffy, silky, and rich without ever becoming dense or gooey. To achieve this, you need to balance starch and moisture. Potatoes are made up of cells held together by pectin and filled with starch granules. When heated, these granules swell and eventually burst, releasing sticky starch molecules that can make a puree heavy and sticky. The more you work the potatoes, such as whisking or over-mixing, the more starch escapes and the denser and gummy your mashed potatoes become.

Kenji’s solution in his fluffy mashed potatoes recipe is all about controlling starch. Start with floury, starchy rouxes whose cells break down easily, so you don’t need to cook them or work them too hard to reach a relatively smooth consistency. Less work means fewer burst starch cells, resulting in fluffier mashed potatoes. Rinsing potato pieces before and after cooking removes excess starch, further reducing the risk of getting a gummy mashed potato texture.

Once the potato pieces are cooked, rinsed and drained, Kenji recommends spreading them out on a baking sheet and putting them in a hot oven for a few minutes to dry. This step evaporates excess water clinging to the surface of the potatoes, thus concentrating their flavor. More importantly, it replaces that water with tiny pockets of steam, leaving the potato flesh lighter and more absorbent. When you stir in butter and cream later, these dry, airy potato particles absorb the fat evenly instead of swimming in a starchy soup, resulting in a rich and creamy yet incredibly fluffy mash.

The revival of restaurant style

Understanding how starch and moisture behave in potatoes not only helps you make great mash, it also explains how to reheat it without ruining the texture. Once you’ve worked to create that light, fluffy texture, the goal when you serve it later is to preserve it. Daniel’s restaurant-style revival method does just that.

In restaurant kitchens, we don’t have time to mash potatoes with every order. Instead, cooks prepare them in advance, stopping just before the dairy stage. They boil potatoes, rice, or mash them, season them with butter and salt, then press plastic wrap directly against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. At this point the puree can be kept warm for a few hours or refrigerated overnight.

When ready to serve, heat the cream, milk or stock in a saucepan until boiling, then gently stir the cold or room temperature mashed potatoes into the hot liquid. The heat of the cream quickly restores the potatoes’ soft and supple texture without overworking them. As the starches rehydrate and the butter melts, the mixture returns to its original lightness and shine: no stickiness, no sad lumps.

If the potatoes are not hot enough, don’t stir harder; simply pour in a little more simmering cream, milk or stock and fold again. The hot cream seeps into the mash, transferring heat and moisture evenly so the potatoes warm and spring back to life without the need for heavy stirring. You’ll be surprised by how much dairy potatoes can absorb and still remain light: They’ll absorb much more cream than expected without ever tipping into soupy territory, which is a testament to how those starches and air pockets retain their structure when handled correctly.

Another Make-Ahead Method: Mashed Potato Casserole

If you’re feeding a crowd or want to avoid a hassle day, Daniel’s casserole method is also great. Stir in a little sour cream or cream cheese before cooling: the tangy dairy product locks in moisture and flavor, allowing the potatoes to reheat beautifully in the oven without drying out. But the restaurant-style method wins when oven space is at a premium (or you want to feel like a line cook magically reviving mashed potatoes on the fly).

Takeaways

Forget the myth that mashed potatoes need to be made a la minute. With starch-free rinsed russets, gently incorporated butter, and a quick rebirth in boiling cream or other liquid, you can make them the day before while serving something that tastes incredibly fresh.