If you’re like me, you love some hearty food after a long day, but the idea of a dish like mashed potatoes on a weeknight seems unrealistic, if not impossible.
Also? I abhor peeling vegetables. I adore nearly all aspects of cooking but peeling vegetables rates right up there at the top of my list of tedious tasks I’ll avoid at all costs.
The beauty of that is this: many vegetables harbor a vast majority of their nutrients in their skins. Therefore, not peeling vegetables is a healthy, culinary win. You’re actually doing yourself a favor by not peeling.
Regardless of reasons to be pro-peel or not, this recipe proves that you don’t have to be a peeler to win at dinner. Quickly cut up those potatoes (I like to do them in 8ths, but who cares? They’re going to get beautifully mushy anyway – just keep the chunks similar in size), throw them in the slow cooker with a cup of water, and 4 hours later just add your spices and dairy while quickly hand-mashing them and? Bam. Your side dish is done. Or maybe your taters are the star of dinner tonight…. or perhaps you’re throwing a party and can just provide the necessary accoutrements (cheese, onions, bacon, etc) to top these easy potatoes. Any way you slice it, this is the easiest and fastest way I’ve found yet to make (s)mashed potatoes.
Looking for recipes to use with these easy taters? Try spooning my slow cooked Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls (Galumpkis) over top, or use leftover smashed potatoes to make quick stove-top potato pancakes to serve aside breakfast casseroles like this one.
- 5 lb russet potatoes (or potatoes of your choice)
- 1 cup water
- 1 ½ tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons pepper
- 1 and 1/2 cups fat free sour cream
- 2 cups 1% milk
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- Set slow cooker to high for 4 hours.
- Chop potatoes into similar-sized chunks (about 8 pieces per potato).
- Add 1 cup water.
- After 4 hours, add sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, and parsley.
- Mash, while still in the slow cooker, with a hand potato masher (If you don’t have a hand potato masher, transfer potatoes to a mixing bowl and use a mixer).
- Add more sour cream and milk and continue to mash until potatoes reach desired consistency.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Cutting potatoes to similar sizes (no need to be exact) ensures equal cooking time.
- Allow sour cream and milk to come to room temperature before adding, if possible. About an hour out of the fridge should be sufficient.
- Be slow in adding sour cream and milk in order to get the correct consistency for you.
- These taters are a perfect base for anything from shredded cheese to broccoli or a base for galumpkis, also on this site.
