Company Mashed Potatoes - Prep Ahead Recipe

Company Mashed Potatoes - potatoes that are cooked to perfection and then mashed with cream cheese, butter and milk. Then they're baked in a casserole dish until every blends together and tastes amazing. This is a very simple easy, elegant Thanksgiving side dish recipe to make alongside your Roast Turkey. Let me show you how to make life easy for you on Thanksgiving morning by preparing mashed potatoes the day before the company arrives.

Today I'm sharing with you one of the easiest side dish recipe you will ever make for Thanksgiving this year.  In fact, they're so delicious, I know you'll be coming back to the blog the day after Thanksgiving to thank me for sharing this recipe with you!

But, you know what? These mashed potatoes are also one of my favorite recipes to serve alongside my family's favorite Breaded Italian Chicken Cutlets Recipe.

If you're making a big Sunday dinner this weekend, try making this recipe as a side dish for my Pot Roast Recipe. Pure comfort food!

The Perfect Prep Ahead Side Dish

I have been making this recipe for Company Mashed Potatoes for our Thanksgiving menu for a few years now.

The secret is to make the mashed potatoes the day before and then an hour before you're ready to serve dinner, bake the casserole in the oven until they are completely warmed through. 

Helpful Kitchen Tools

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• Potato ricer
• Hand held electric mixer
• 9X13 size casserole dish

If you don't have a potato ricer on hand, you can use a regular masher or even an electric mixer.  Just don't use a food processor or even a stand mixer.  Your potatoes will turn to glue.  Trust me, I know this.

Ingredients

Exact measurements are listed below in the recipe card. Make sure you scroll down to print and save the recipe for later!

• 5 pounds russet or Yukon gold potatoes
• Butter - 1 stick plus more for topping
• One 8-ounce package cream cheese softened
• 1 cup half-and-half
• Salt and pepper

Directions

The Day Before Thanksgiving

Peel and cut the potatoes and add them to a large pot of water.  Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.Drain the potatoes thoroughly in a large colander. Place them back into the dry pot and mash the potatoes using an electric mixer.  A potato ricer works well too.

Using your hand held electric mixer, add the butter, cream cheese and about ½ cup of half-and-half and mash. Adding more of the half-and-half as needed.  (I usually use the whole amount). Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the potatoes to a 9X13 size casserole dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Add a few tablespoons of butter over the top of the potatoes.

Cover them with plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator. 

An Hour before Serving

• Remove the casserole dish from the refrigerator about an hour before you need to serve them. Allow them to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes or so.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until heated through. 

They look great on the buffet table.  And you don't have to peel potatoes Thanksgiving morning.  There are so many other things you need to be doing instead of peeling potatoes!

Mashed Potatoes Prep Ahead Tips

• Always make sure you fill the pot with cold water. Make sure the potatoes are completely covered as well. 
• If you are preparing the potatoes ahead of time, allow them to sit out on the counter for at least 30 minutes to come to room temperature the next day before baking in the oven. This is especially important if you're using a glass baking dish. You should never put a glass baking dish directly from the refrigerator into the oven. You need to allow the contents of the casserole dish to come to room temperature so there's no chance of the glass casserole dish shattering when it's suddenly exposed to high heat from an oven. 
• Mix up the seasonings by adding garlic, bacon and cheddar cheese. 
• You can even try flavored cream cheese instead of the traditional cream cheese used in this recipe. I think cream cheese with chives would be delicious! 

Ready for More Thanksgiving Recipes?

• A new family favorite is my mother's recipe for Cheesy Corn Pudding Casserole that starts out with a box of Jiffy Muffin Mix. 
• Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce made in the Instant Pot you can use a crock pot too! 
• This recipe for Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing can be made ahead of time and either frozen or wrapped in aluminum foil the day before Thanksgiving. 
• Candied Sweet Potatoes - one of my favorite side dishes for Thanksgiving! 
• Tips on Roasting the PERFECT Turkey for Thanksgiving  plus a free roasting chart to use on Thanksgiving morning. 
• Turkey Breast cooked in the crock pot - I always cook another turkey breast in the crock pot so we have extra white meat. That way you can send home extra with family members and have enough on hand the next day to make turkey sandwiches.

Tried this recipe? Let me know in the comments and don't forget to rate it!

This recipe has been updated since it first appeared in 2017 with new photos and a new printable recipe card that includes nutritional information. I hope you enjoy the updates as much as I enjoyed working on them!