Ever wondered how to make crock pot mashed potatoes? It couldn’t be easier to make these delicious, healthy mashed potatoes using your slow cooker!
First off, I’m gonna come clean and share I love mashed potatoes. So, I “may” be a teeny weeny bit biased when I say I think these crock pot mashed potatoes are amazing.
But… these mashed potatoes are amazing 😉
Why are slow cooker mashed potatoes amazing? Let’s go over the goodness here:
Learning how to put together this delicious accompaniment to your main dish in a crock pot is super easy. Oh, who am I kidding, there’s not much learning involved. These mashed potatoes are made in a crock pot, making them almost entirely hands-off and easy to do on the side. Requiring just a few easy ingredients, these spuds have a great flavor.
They use a combination of creamy Yukon potatoes, parmesan cheese, and Greek yogurt to make the perfect texture. They can easily be halved, doubled, or tripled for whatever the occasion. You don’t even have to peel the potatoes, making them easier to make!
They are mashed potatoes – ‘nuf said.
I think I should experiment with more crock pot potato recipes but, until I do, let’s just enjoy the goodness and deliciousness of these healthy mashed potatoes.
ARE MASHED POTATOES HEALTHY?
In case you’re worried about whether mashed potatoes fall under the clean-eating label, good news: the answer is yes. If prepared appropriately, that is.
Wait… are mashed potatoes healthy? For real?
Since these mashed potatoes are made with whole ingredients and don’t have a ton of excess fat, cream, or cheese, they’re a great option. Substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream to reduce fat is a great way to make healthy mashed potatoes. You still get the creamy texture, though.
You could even spread a little organic, grass-fed unsalted butter over the top for a special yummy treat and they’d still be clean — just make sure to enjoy them in moderation.
Learn more about clean-eating here, if you’re interested!
HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT MASHED POTATOES VEGAN AND DAIRY-FREE
If you are living a vegan lifestyle or can’t have dairy because of lactose intolerance, you can enjoy this creamy and flavorful side dish, nonetheless.
- Milk: Stick with the almond milk or even try soy milk as opposed to a dairy addition. For a more-than-creamy texture, use coconut milk in combo with the almond milk.
- Greek Yogurt: To replace the Greek yogurt, use a plant-based yogurt. Doing so still gives you your protein and vitamins, so go ahead and make the switch without any worries.
- Chicken Broth: Replace the low-sodium chicken broth with vegetable broth. Just like with the chicken broth, you will have an absolutely flavorful side to go with any yummy meal you have in mind!
- Parmesan Cheese: Replace with nutritional yeast or omit entirely.
HOW TO MAKE MASHED POTATOES IN A CROCK POT
Making slow cooker mashed potatoes is so easy. No more boiling, no more peeling, no more stirring in the pot while the potatoes are boiling required. Nothing.
To make crock pot mashed potatoes:
- Cut the potatoes into quarters. (Do you have to peel potatoes? Nope, you don’t have to but you totally can if you want.)
- Put them in a slow cooker, followed by unsweetened almond milk (or any milk of your choice), low sodium chicken broth, sea salt, ground black pepper, and garlic cloves.
- Toss to combine.
- Cover the crock pot and cook for 3-4 hours on high or for 6-8 hours on low.
- When the potatoes are tender, mash them to your desired consistency. Do it directly in the slow cooker with a potato masher or remove them from the slow cooker if you want to mash them in a blender. Then, transfer them back to the slow cooker.
- Add the Greek yogurt and grated parmesan and season to taste.
- Place the lid back on the crock pot and heat through for another 15-20 minutes.
Talk about easy!
HOW TO MASH POTATOES
A note on how to mash potatoes. I’ve found a lot of people who complain they aren’t able to get their potatoes smooth, so they avoid making mashed potatoes in general.
If that’s the case, I highly recommend getting yourself a potato masher to help you out. This is the one I use and it works beautifully, although they do come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I also use this handy kitchen tool to make applesauce and to mash sweet potatoes as well.
How to mash potatoes without a masher:
- Use a kitchen blender or a food processor to make them smooth and creamy.
- I like my mashed potatoes a little lumpy so if you are like me, you can mash potatoes by hand with a fork if you don’t have a potato masher.
POTATOES WITH OR WITHOUT SKIN?
Just so I make sure to mention it for those of you who are still bothered that I said you don’t have to peel the potatoes, you can certainly peel the potatoes if you’d prefer them that way.
Me? Not so much.
Believe it or not, the time the potatoes are in the slow cooker makes the skin barely even noticeable. Then — once it’s all mashed up nicely — the texture is smooth and creamy. Plus, keeping the skin on not only cuts down on prep time, but it also keeps valuable nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber in the food and not thrown away in the trash. In fact, I rarely peel any of the veggies I cook. I just wash them really well and then use ’em, peel and all.
That all being said, if you really prefer them without the peel, that’s entirely fine as well.
How to peel potatoes:
- You can use a vegetable peeler.
- Or, you can use a paring knife.
Remove the skin before you add the potatoes to the crock pot.
GREEK YOGURT VS SOUR CREAM IN CROCK POT MASHED POTATOES
I don’t hate sour cream, so I don’t want this Greek yogurt vs sour cream battle to get too intense. However, Greek yogurt is definitely a better, healthier option compared to sour cream. Take a look at the facts:
- Both Greek yogurt and sour cream have a creamy texture and the taste is similar.
- Also, both are great sources of protein, vitamin B12, and calcium.
- But, sour cream has fewer nutrients than Greek yogurt. And more fat.
- One cup of Greek yogurt = 133 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 8 grams of carbs while 1 cup of sour cream = 300 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 7 grams of carbs.
- And an extra bonus for Greek yogurt – it contains probiotics that are good for your digestive system.
The battle was clearly won by Greek yogurt. Sorry, sour cream.
HOW TO REHEAT CROCK POT MASHED POTATOES
There are a few options for reheating your mashed potatoes once they’ve been stored in the fridge or freezer. If frozen, thaw the potatoes in the refrigerator one day before reheating. Once thawed, you can easily reheat mashed potatoes with one of the following methods:
- Stovetop: Reheat the mashed potatoes in a large pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Oven: Reheat the potatoes, thawed or straight from the freezer, in a covered dish at 350°F for 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are completely heated through.
- Slow cooker: Reheating mashed potatoes with the slow cooker works best when they have been thawed in the refrigerator. Add the potatoes to the slow cooker and heat on low for 2 to 3 hours.
- Microwave: Add the potatoes to a covered dish and heat them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once heated through, stir well.
Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes
MORE HEALTHY MASHED POTATO RECIPES
Looking for more easy and healthy mashed potato recipes? Give these wholesome recipes a try!
Ever wondered about how to make mashed potatoes in a crock pot? It couldn't be easier to make these delicious parmesan mashed potatoes using your slow cooker!
- 4 medium yukon potatoes, skin-on
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/3 cup full fat plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- garnish: sliced fresh chives or green onions, if desired
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Cut the potatoes into quarters and then add them, along with unsweetened almond milk, low sodium chicken broth, sea salt, ground black pepper, and a few whole garlic cloves into a slow cooker.
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Toss to combine.
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Now, cover the crock pot and cook for about 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
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When the potatoes are very tender, mash them directly in the slow cooker to your desired consistency using a potato masher.
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Next, add the plain greek yogurt and grated parmesan, and season to taste.
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Place the lid back on the crock pot and heat through for another 15-20 minutes before serving.
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Garnish with sliced chives, if desired.
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If you find the consistency to be too thin, you can add a little more greek yogurt and stir in. If you find the consistency to be too thick, you can loosen with additional almond milk or chicken broth and then re-season with salt and pepper, as necessary.
Recipe Video
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Easy recipe with simple ingredients, super.
This sounds wonderful! Can I use russet potatoes instead of Yukon?
Yes, any potatoes will work, but I prefer red and yukon because they taste more naturally creamy and buttery.
Lacey- you are a Godsend..and right on-time for Thanksgiving!
With all of the other madness going on in the kitchen on Thanksgiving,
this is the perfect way to cook smashed potatoes without spending a lot
of time and hassle. And this recipe avoids the oven, range, & microwave- which
are ALL most-likely are being used to cook the other Thanksgiving sides.
Many thanks for saving me time, stress and, most important, CALORIES!!!
Thanks, Mark! I am so glad this recipe will help you save stress and calories in the kitchen on Thanksgiving! Enjoy 🙂
Can these be made the day ahead and then reheated in slow cooker? Need to take Thanksgiving dinner to elderly family member this year, so looking for recipes that can be made ahead and transported.
Yes! They can easily be made ahead of time. Check out the directions in the post for the best ways to reheat them 🙂
What an easy way to make mashed potatoes.
By far the easiest way to enjoy mashed potatoes!