French Onion Mashed Potatoes.
This post is sponsored by ALDI. These french onion mashed potatoes are such a fun twist on the original! Perfect caramelized onions and melty gruyere cheese – it’s like a bowl of french onion soup meets mashed potatoes!
Mashed potato lovers unite!
These French onion mashed potatoes are a ridiculously flavorful spin on the classic and will be a hit on your Thanksgiving table. Volunteer to bring the potatoes. I promise you won’t regret it!
Today, we have recipe #2 in my Thanksgiving series! All week, I’m showing you how you can create a fantastic Thanksgiving spread with ALDI. They are your one stop show where you can get all the ingredients for our Thanksgiving menu this week!
Yesterday, I shared the incredible stuffed acorn squash dish. Last year, I made this wonderful citrus butter turkey with ingredients from ALDI. And if you’re feeling some gravy for these mashed potatoes, you can make my mom’s famous gravy with your turkey drippings!
Yes, over the last two years you guys know that I have managed to French onion all the things. Oh, we’re making it a verb. I’ve done French onion lasagna rollups, French onion meatballs, French onion stuffed shells, French onion stuffed sweet potatoes and French onion scalloped potatoes.
OH YES.
So therefore, it’s time for… French onion mashed potatoes!!
I can barely contain my excitement for these. They are such a fun twist on the traditional mashed potatoes.
I take my best ever mashed potato recipe – the how sweet eats house mashed potatoes! – and add caramelized onions and freshly grated gruyere cheese. It’s like your mashed potatoes just got drizzled with some French onion soup and the flavor is incredible.
Another thing I love about these is that they don’t venture too far off the traditional path of Thanksgiving dishes. Sure, they aren’t plain mashed potatoes. But all they have is a little cheese and caramelized onions, which let’s be real – makes absolutely everything better!
While these add so much to your Thanksgiving table, they would also make an excellent weeknight side dish. These flavors majorly fancy up the mashed potatoes. If you do some basic grilled chicken and vegetables, but have these potatoes on the side? You’re killing it!
Here’s what you need to make the French onion mashed potatoes happen:
- Yukon gold potatoes. These golden potatoes make the best mashed potatoes, in my opinion. I get mine at ALDI. They result in super creamy and light potatoes!
- Sweet onions. Make sure to grab a bunch! Onions cook down like crazy when you caramelize them. You want to have enough to stir into the potatoes as well as for the top of the potatoes.
- I love to use the Emporium Selection Le Gruyere Cheese. It gets so super melty in the potatoes and brings a lot of that traditional swiss cheese flavor to the dish.
- As expected, you need some butter, cream, salt and pepper to bring the dish together. But that’s it! I like to use the Simply Nature Organic Butter and the Friendly Farms Heavy Whipping Cream from ALDI. These delicious potatoes can come together SO fast with just a few ingredients.
A few of my classic mashed potato secrets apply here. Don’t cut your potato chunks too small. Don’t over boil your potatoes! Be sure to add warm cream and butter, so the potatoes stay creamy and light. And certainly don’t overwhip your potatoes, or else they will turn into glue.
I definitely feel like a potato connoisseur considering potatoes were my favorite food when I was a kid! From the time I was small well into my teen years, potatoes reigned supreme. I’d take them any and every way. So I know my potatoes.
These French onion mashed potatoes are so, so good. Such a fabulous addition to your table!
French Onion Mashed Potatoes
French Onion Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
caramelized onions
- 6 tablespoons Simply Nature Organic Unsalted Butter
- 4 sweet onions, thinly sliced
- kosher salt
potatoes
- 5 pounds russet or yukon gold potatoes, washed and peeled
- 12 tablespoons Simply Nature Organic Unsalted Butter
- 1 ½ cups Friendly Farms Heavy Whipping Cream
- 8 ounces Emporium Selection Le Gruyere Cheese, freshly grated
- 1 to 2 teaspoons salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
caramelized onions
- Heat the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions with a big pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, so the onions begin to cook down. After 10 to 15 minutes, reduce the heat to low. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden and caramelly, about 45 to 60 more minutes. Continue to cook until your desired caramelization is reached.
potatoes
- Note: to prep these ahead of time, wash, peel and chop your potatoes. Place them in a large bowl and cover them with cold ice water. Store them in the fridge for 12 to 18 hours before preparing.
- Slice the potatoes in half or in quarters, depending on the size. You want the potato chunks to all roughly be the same size and not too small.
- Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold water over medium heat. Season the water with a big pinch of salt. Bring the potatoes to a boil, then boil until they are fork tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. (If your potato chunks are smaller, check after 10 minutes.)
- While the potatoes are boiling, heat the butter and cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat until the mixture is warmed through.
- Drain the potatoes well and place them back in the pot. Use a potato masher or ricer to begin mashing the potatoes into the consistency you enjoy. Mash in half of the butter and cream mixture and 1 teaspoon salt. At this point, if you want to use a hand mixer, now is the time. You don’t want to over mix! Keep it on low speed and move it around the bowl constantly, just for a minute or two, breaking up any larger chunks that didn’t mash. Stir in the rest of the milk and butter mixture. Stir in the gruyere cheese. Mix slowly, allowing the cheese to melt. Stir in half of the caramelized onions. Taste and season the potatoes with more salt if needed. Taste frequently so you can get an idea of how much salt to add!
- Serve the potatoes with the rest of the caramelized onions on top.
- To serve 4: Cut this recipe in half exactly. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.
- To serve 12 to 16: Double this recipe exactly, but taste after 2 teaspoons of salt have been added. Continue to mash and taste and season until your desired flavor is reached.
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to follow @howsweeteats on instagram and tag #howsweeteats. You can also post a photo of your recipe to our facebook page.
I appreciate you so much!
Dreamy!
13 Comments on “French Onion Mashed Potatoes.”
They look fantastic! Do you think I could make them a day ahead and then warm them up on Thanksgiving day?
Oh yummy! They’ll go along with the French Onion Skillet Chicken I just made from Leite’s Culinaria!!!
It’s just me now, could you go with a “computer platform” that allows the quantity of servings to be changed? Over 2/3’s of the recipes on Pinterest do this. There are a TON of singles out here!!!
What can I swap for the Gruyere, not at all a Swiss fan. Thanks!
Anne – Not my recipe, however, I have two comments for you. First, if you’re not familiar with Gruyere, try some (imported is better than domestic) before swapping cheeses. It’s not the same as the cheese you see in the store labelled Swiss cheese. Otherwise, I would suggest something that melts in the same way as the Gruyere and has a similar taste profile. You could try Fontina or Comte – they’re the Italian and French equivalents. It’s the flavour, the milk fat content, and ability to melt smoothly that you want in this dish.
The best mashed potatoes now my goto potatoes
How can I measure up to make these for 12-14 people? Trying not to double the recipe.
Thank you,
Cyn
I made this for a work pot luck. Heavy cream was scarce at my grocery so I used Greek yogurt and milk. Uh yum. Also, added teaspoon of sugar. Many comments of how delicious. I will do this again and again. Great recipe and tips.
Perfect change in mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. Whole family enjoyed them and can’t wait for the leftovers.
I made these for Thanksgiving yesterday and wow they were sensational! Really the star of the show. Taking the time to caramelize the onions is so worth it. Plus the cheese; just delicious. I lowered the amounts of butter and cream in the potatoes but they were still creamy and flavorful.
A friend made these and brought them to a potluck Christmas dinner and everyone raved about them and I’m going to make them for another dinner I’m hosting to go along with prime rib.
How can we make these ahead of time- any adjustments?
How can i turn these into potato pancakes?