Mashed potatoes are a staple of many Thanksgiving gatherings. Nothing better than a big bowl of fluffy mashed potatoes on the table which can be bathed in butter, or smothered with gravy. Man, nothing better than some salted mashed potatoes with butter.
Most Amish cooks and families have their own "secret" mashed potato formulation, some trick that makes them fluffier, or saltier, or thinner or thicker, depending on what the individual tastes are. One universal hack on mashed potatoes that many Amish use is adding cream cheese to their mashed potatoes because, often, on church days, mashed potatoes will sit out for awhile and the cream cheese keeps them firmed up longer.
These are cooked potatoes in a pot in an Amish kitchen, ready to be mashed. I took this photo probably 10 years ago.
Like their "English" (many Amish refer to non-Amish as "English", although that term seems to be in decline) counterparts, mashed potatoes are also the centerpiece of almost any Amish Thanksgiving gathering. I can guarantee you that.
Now, not all the Amish celebrate Thanksgiving. Especially in the more conservative communities, it’s simply not a day that has much historical significance to the Amish. There’s not much cultural traction, so you’ll often see the day just barely observed in some of the most conservative, rule-ridden communities.
Amish Make-Ahead Freezer Mashed Potatoes recipe feeds 25 people, that’s a lot, although, there are Thanksgiving gatherings, plenty of them, that have that many people in attendance. But, you can easily cut this in half, just cut all ingredient amounts in half and follow the instructions as laid out. They’ll still turn out great. These mashed potatoes are baked, so that's a little different twist, but it lends itself well then to freezing.
What I like about this specific mashed potato recipe, and I will be posting others over the next couple of weeks, is it this one is specifically one that you can make now, freeze, and serve on Thanksgiving day. Ingredients are very basic, but full of flavor. Wouldn't it be nice just to get that big job out-of-the-way early and not have to worry about it on Thanksgiving Day?
You can use water in a pinch, but milk makes the Amish Make-Ahead Freezer Mashed Potatoes even creamier.
Bake the mashed potatoes at 350 for about 45 minutes.
Serve as usual and you'll have delicious, fluffy, baked mashed potatoes. By the way, you don't have to bake these and freeze them, this recipe also works just fine for baking them and serving them, which is what was done in this photo.
After you make these potatoes, if you are going to freeze them, cool them to room temperature, and then stick them in the freezer. When you thaw them out, stick them in the refrigerator for a few hours to slowly thaw, and then either put them in the oven for a half hour at 350 make sure heated thoroughly. Or, you can heat them up on a stovetop pot on medium heat for 10 minutes or so, just stir them until they are warm and creamy.
🙋 FAQ
Amish Make-Ahead Freezer Mashed Potatoes recipe actually comes to us from a Mennonite woman and often Mennonites have electricity. Still, the Amish, while they don't have electricity, many use gas refrigerators and freezers. More conservative Amish that don't use those, will have old-fashioned ice-houses that keep foods solidly frozen. And, still others, rent freezers from non-Amish friends. So there are many ways that Amish people can freeze foods.
Also, you can freeze these potatoes in freezer bags, just make sure you get as much air out of the bags as possible before freezing. The recipe is below, again, if you don't need to feed 25 people, you can just reduce all ingredients below by half and follow instructions as usual. As is typical with many Amish and Mennonite recipes this one is a little spare on instructions, but it was not difficult to follow. Just make sure you use a good potato masher. Most Amish would just use arm power. A food processor isn't recommended for mashing potatoes, but you could use a stand-mixer or an electric hand mixer. Anyway, enjoy!
🥔 Amish Make-Ahead Freezer Mashed Potatoes
- 10 pounds potatoes
- 1 pound cream cheese
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1 /2 cup minced fresh onion
- 1 1 /2 tablespoon salt
- 1 /2 cup butter
- pepper
- milk
📋 Instructions
- Peel, cook, drain, and thoroughly mash potatoes.
- Add rest of ingredients and enough potato water or milk to make soft consistency.
- Put into greased casserole dishes.
- Bake at 350 or freeze until needed.
- This amount serves 25.
🥔 More Amish Potato Recipes
Homestyle Cheesy Potatoes
🖨️ Full Recipe
Amish Make-Ahead Freezer Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 10 pounds potatoes
- 1 pound cream cheese
- 1 pint sour cream
- ½ cup minced onion
- 1 ½ tablespoons salt
- ½ cup butter
- pepper to taste
- milk to desired consistency
Instructions
- Peel, cook, drain, and thoroughly mash potatoes.
- Add rest of ingredients and enough potato water or milk to make softconsistency.
- Put into greased casserole dishes.
- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour or freeze until needed.
- This amount serves 25.
Fred kopi
When do you freeze them? Before or after you bake them?
Kevin Williams
You freeze them after you bake. When removing from the freezer, thaw for a couple of hours in the fridge and then pop them in the oven.
Fred kopi
If you freeze the potatoes, do you thaw them before you bake them? Or do you pop them right into the oven?