The Best Way To Reheat Mashed Potatoes For A Like-Fresh Finish

Potatoes in all their vast and varied forms could theoretically top your breakfast, lunch, and dinner table, and still leave room for snacks. But for all that ubiquity, whether they're served as soft as a cloud or deliciously crispy, they're also weirdly unmanageable as leftovers. Mashed potatoes are a particular puzzler, defying the conventional wisdom that you should typically reheat something the way you first cooked it. You probably boiled potatoes in a pot before mashing, but try to toss them back in there and you'll just end up with a coagulated mess, as more starch is released and it all turns to a virtual glue. You should also save the microwave for popping exactly 437 popcorn kernels; the electromagnetic radiator will dry out your spuds.

Instead, remove your mashed potatoes from the refrigerator a few minutes before you wish to reheat to shake off any chill. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Transfer the potatoes to a shallow casserole dish. Add a few tablespoons of love, also known as heavy cream, and fold with a big fork to combine. Do not stir with any vigor, stop as soon as the liquid is combined, and gently smooth out the top. Keep the blend's height below 2 inches; any taller the density will make it take longer to reheat, increasing vulnerability to dryness. For a small amount like a cup or two, start checking for doneness at around five minutes. For whole batches, check the temp after about fifteen.

Reheating mashed potatoes in the oven leaves them undisturbed, once you've gently introduced the heavy cream. You want the starch to rest like the orchestra seats at the symphony. Jostle them like you'd need to do with agitation on the stovetop, and those molecules start bouncing around like a mosh pit; a common mashed potato mistake that creates that unwelcome gummy finish.

The last time we reheated mashed potatoes this way in the oven, they were actually better than ever. This is largely credited to the mostly hands-off method, but the heavy cream's extra dose of fat didn't hurt, either. (You can even cook your potatoes in similar half-and-half to begin with for maximum decadence.) The second time around, the mashed potatoes were even richer, with a wonderfully velvety texture and a nearly imperceptible, but still texturally dynamic, crust around the edges. It's almost like a totally different dish, splitting the difference between the fluffy antecedent mashed potatoes and approaching the more stable structure of the top layer of a shepherd's pie, with considerably less effort than either. This preparation is also an excellent vehicle for extras like bacon, chives, and all kinds of cheese.