Try these smooth and creamy buttermilk mashed potatoes for a lighter side dish for the holidays or family dinners. With fewer calories and less saturated fat than typical cream and butter mashed potatoes, they’re a great alternative that doesn’t sacrifice flavor or texture. And a couple of simple and easy cooking techniques ensure light and fluffy potatoes that can be made ahead of time and reheat perfectly!
Despite the naysayers, I’m a huge champion of potatoes as a health food! They are a starchy vegetable plant food, so they are full of usable energy, and are also rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Potatoes are regularly found to be one of the most satiating foods available, meaning they help you feel full for longer, on a relatively low number of per volume calories.
Potatoes get a bum rap though because they are often served fried or loaded with calorie rich butter, heavy cream, sour cream, bacon and all other sorts of tasty bits!
What I tried (and succeeded) to accomplish with this recipe was deliver a classic mashed potato that didn’t detract too much from it’s positive health attributes. We use just a pat of butter and a dash of olive oil, and let low-fat buttermilk do the work of providing creaminess and flavor. The calories stay reasonable and the saturated fat in check. But the flavor and texture is just as great as the classic!
Jump to:
- Why you’ll love these Lighter, healthy mashed potatoes
- Ingredients for healthy Mashed Potatoes
- How to Make Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk
- Avoiding Gummy Mashed Potatoes
- Tips for Perfectly Smooth & Creamy Potatoes
- Recipe Substitutions & Variations
- Make-Ahead, Storing and Reheating Instructions
- More Delicious Side Dishes
- Did you make this recipe?
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk
Why you’ll love these Lighter, healthy mashed potatoes
- Lighter ingredients, just as much flavor. Low-fat buttermilk adds a creamy texture and a bright, tangy flavor without the heaviness of cream. Combined with naturally buttery Yukon Gold potatoes, it helps make these mashed potatoes satisfying with a nominal amount of butter and olive oil.
- Beginner friendly, easy recipe, with foolproof tips for delightfully fluffy and creamy potatoes. A common issue when making mashed potatoes is they can be lumpy or gluey. My simple cooking techniques and little tips help you avoid these blunders!
- Make-ahead friendly. No need to be peeling potatoes the morning of a big holiday! Make these a couple of days in advance to lower stress and save time, and follow the easy reheating instructions.
Ingredients for healthy Mashed Potatoes
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 ½-inch chunks. You can also use russet potatoes for a fluffier, drier mash, just be careful not to over-mash them. They will also lack that deep yellow gold color.
- Cold water, enough to cover the potatoes by 1 inch
- 2 teaspoons salt, either kosher or table salt is fine.
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk, shaken well and first left on the counter for 30 minutes before heating. For a less tangy flavor, use ½ cup low-fat buttermilk and ½ cup low-fat milk.
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, just enough to add creaminess, but not too much to overload the potatoes with excess calories and saturated fat.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, to add flavor and richness, while keeping saturated fat in check. Olive oil does contain the better for you monounsaturated fat.
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste to finish off the potatoes.
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh chives for a garnish. You may use thinly sliced green onions or fresh parsley if you don’t have chives.
How to Make Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk
Gently Boil Potatoes
Begin by removing the buttermilk from the fridge about 30 minutes before you start cooking so it loses its chill.
Once potatoes are peeled and chopped, drop them in a large pot of cool water that covers the potatoes by 1 inch. Stir in 2 teaspoons of salt.
Set the pot over high heat and bring to a boil, about 10 to 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water bubbles gently. Cook uncovered until a fork slides into a chunk with no resistance, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Warm Buttermilk mixture
While the potatoes cook, pour the buttermilk into a small saucepan and add the butter and olive oil. Set over low heat and stir often until the butter melts and the mixture is just warm to the touch, about 1 to 2 minutes. Do not let it simmer or boil. Remove from the heat.
Steam Dry Potatoes
Scoop out about ½ cup of the potato cooking water with a measuring cup and set it aside. Drain the potatoes in a colander.
Return the drained potatoes to the empty pot and set it over low heat. Let them steam dry for 1 to 2 minutes, gently shaking the pot once or twice, until the steam slows down and the potatoes look dry on the outside. Turn off the heat.
Gently Mash Potatoes
Mash the potatoes with a hand masher using firm up and down presses, about 1 to 2 minutes, until mostly smooth. Do not stir, whip, or beat them.
Add buttermilk Mixture
Pour in ¾ of the warm buttermilk mixture and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon using about 6 to 8 folds. Add the rest of the buttermilk mixture, salt, and pepper and fold again. If the potatoes feel too dry, stir in the reserved cooking water a couple of tablespoons at a time until the potatoes are spoonable. You may not need any reserved water.
Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed. Stop mixing as soon as everything is combined. Garnish with chives if serving immediately, or hold chives and allow to cool before storing if making in advance.
Pro tip
Avoiding Gummy Mashed Potatoes
The single most common problem with mashed potatoes, next to lumpiness, is gumminess. Cooked potatoes have starch cells that burst when they are overworked, and the burst cells release sticky starch that turns the mash glue-like.
A food processor, blender and hand mixer can all overly work the potatoes and cause this common issue. The best way to avoid gummy potatoes is to gently mash the potatoes with a hand masher as directed, and see tips below to fix gummy potatoes, if you happen to get too aggressive with your mash.
Tips for Perfectly Smooth & Creamy Potatoes
- To fix gummy mashed potatoes, drizzle 1 tablespoon of melted butter or olive oil per pound of potatoes over the top and fold in gently, which loosens the texture. Gummy mashed potatoes cannot be fully reversed, so if they are still pasty, bake them with cheese into a gratin or use them for potato cakes or soup.
- To fix watery mashed potatoes, return them to the pot over low heat and stir gently for 2 to 3 minutes to cook off extra moisture. You can also fold in a little extra hot mashed potato or spread the mash in a baking dish and warm it in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 10 minutes. Watery mash usually comes from skipping the steam dry step, overcooking the potatoes, or adding too much liquid at once.
- To keep buttermilk from curdling in mashed potatoes, use room temperature buttermilk and warm it only until it feels warm to the touch. Never let it simmer or boil, because high heat makes buttermilk separate. Fold it into drained, hot potatoes right away. If the mash looks slightly grainy, the flavor is still fine and a splash of cooking water will smooth it.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations
- Low-fat buttermilk – You can completely substitute low-fat milk, but the potatoes will lack that slightly tangy taste that is similar to mashed potatoes with sour cream. If you want to lessen the tang of the buttermilk, but not eliminate it completely, replace ½ cup buttermilk with ½ cup low-fat milk.
- Buttermilk (Greek yogurt) – ¾ cup room temperature plain low-fat Greek yogurt thinned with ¼ cup low-fat milk. Do not heat it. Warm the butter and olive oil on their own and fold the yogurt in last so it stays smooth
- Buttermilk (dairy-free) – 1 cup unsweetened plain soy milk stirred with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and rested 5 minutes, and then add 2 tablespoons of olive oil instead of the 1 tablespoon each olive oil and butter.
- Butter – 1 more tablespoon olive oil for a dairy-free, lower saturated fat mash
- Yukon Gold potatoes – russet potatoes for a fluffier, drier mash (peel them and be extra careful not to over-mash).
- Chives – sliced green onion tops or chopped parsley.
Make-Ahead, Storing and Reheating Instructions
To make buttermilk mashed potatoes ahead for Thanksgiving, you can make them up to 2 days early and reheat gently using the steps below. To keep them warm on the day, cover the bowl and set it over a pot of barely simmering water for up to 30 minutes.
Alternatively, a slow cooker set to warm also works for up to 2 hours, stirring in a splash of buttermilk or cooking water if they stiffen. Keep the potatoes hot, above 140°F (60°C), the whole time.
Storage
Cool the mashed potatoes within 2 hours, then store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Reheat/Warming
To reheat mashed potatoes, warm them in a saucepan over low heat for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring gently and adding a splash of buttermilk, milk or chicken stock to bring back the creaminess. In the microwave, heat in 1-minute bursts and stir gently between rounds. In the oven, cover with foil and bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20 to 25 minutes.
Freeze/thaw
Freeze mashed potatoes in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat on the stove with a splash of buttermilk and stir gently. The texture may be a little less creamy after freezing.
More Delicious Side Dishes
- How to roast honeynut squash
- Slightly spicy sweet potatoes
- Roasted baby potatoes
- Cheesy potato casserole
- Stovetop Ratatouille
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Did you make this recipe?
If you gave this recipe a try, I’d love your feedback! Any tips or recipe additions you’d like to share, I’d love to hear it! Let’s connect down in the comments below.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk
Equipment
- 1 Large stock pot
- 1 Small sauce pan
- 1 Potato masher
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into 1 ½-inch chunks
- Cold water enough to cover the potatoes by 1 inch
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk shaken well and left on the counter for 30 minutes
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper or to taste
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh chives
Instructions
- Take the buttermilk out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you start cooking so it loses its chill. Shake the carton well before measuring.1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks about 1 ½ inches wide. Drop them directly into a large pot with cold water to keep them from discoloring while working through all the potatoes. Try to keep the pieces the same size so they finish cooking at the same time. When done cutting, be sure cold water covers the potatoes by 1 inch. Stir in 2 teaspoons of salt.3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, Cold water
- Set the pot over high heat and bring to a boil, about 10 to 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water bubbles gently. Cook uncovered until a fork slides into a chunk with no resistance, about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not let them go much past this point, because overcooked potatoes soak up water and fall apart.
- While the potatoes cook, pour the buttermilk into a small saucepan and add the butter and olive oil. Set over low heat and stir often until the butter melts and the mixture is just warm to the touch, about 1 to 2 minutes. Do not let it simmer or boil. Remove from the heat.1 tablespoon unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Scoop out about ½ cup of the potato cooking water with a measuring cup and set it aside. Drain the potatoes in a colander.
- Return the drained potatoes to the empty pot and set it over low heat. Let them steam dry for 1 to 2 minutes, gently shaking the pot once or twice, until the steam slows down and the potatoes look dry on the outside. Turn off the heat.
- Mash the potatoes with a hand masher using firm up and down presses, about 1 to 2 minutes, until mostly smooth. Do not stir, whip, or beat them.
- Pour in ¾ of the warm buttermilk mixture and gently fold it in with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon using about 6 to 8 folds. Add the rest of the buttermilk mixture, salt, and pepper and fold again. If the potatoes feel too dry, stir in the reserved cooking water a couple of tablespoons at a time until the potatoes are spoonable. You may not need any reserved water.
- Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed. Stop mixing as soon as everything is combined.¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- Spoon the potatoes into a warm serving bowl and top with the chives.2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh chives
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