How to Make Lumpy or Glutinous Mashed Potatoes, According to Chefs

Mashed potatoes hold the entire Thanksgiving holiday together. Who hasn’t created a perfect bite by piling on Türkiyecranberry sauce and potato stuffing? But this last-minute favorite can cause justifiable anxiety in the holiday kitchen. Read on for chef tricks to keep your mashed potatoes from becoming pasty and lumpy, and how to fix them when they go wrong.

Use the right potatoes

“The biggest cause of gummy mashed potatoes is choosing the wrong kind of potato,” says Danny Grant, chef and managing partner of Chicago-based Maple Hospitality Group (which operates Maple & Ash, Monarch and Kessaku). “If you choose potatoes with too much starch, you’ll be facing an uphill battle from the start. I prefer Yukon Gold potatoes because they have less starch but still have great flavor and texture.”

Farmer Paul Meulemans of Wild Coyote Farm in Berrien Springs, Michigan, agrees that potato selection is critical.

“Red or gold potatoes are more moist,” he says. “The flavor will be creamier, whereas if you use white or russet potatoes, the mash will be very fluffy, but you’ll probably want to add more cream or butter.”

He also notes that supermarket potatoes have been cured, meaning they are older and therefore drier in texture. “If you like them extra fluffy and hold up well on a spoon,” he says, then sun-dried potatoes are the perfect choice. However, if you want more flavorful potatoes, ask the farmer for “new” potatoes that have been recently harvested.

Invest in richer people and don’t overwork them.

The tools you use to create your puree masterpiece are also important. Grant suggests using a rice cooker, which “breaks the potatoes into small flakes, allowing you to add liquid and oil without overmixing or making them sticky.” Grant never uses a mixer or blender to puree – this is a recipe for sticky potatoes. Instead, he recommends adding butter, milk and seasonings using a stiff whisk or rubber spatula.

Consider baking your potatoes instead of boiling them.

For her Creamy mashed potatoes that can be made aheadRecipe developer Anne Taylor Pittman bakes the potatoes instead of boiling them, which reduces the water content and makes them drier to begin with; this prevents stickiness later.

What to do if your mashed potatoes are lumpy

“A quick way to get rid of lumpy mashed potatoes is to pass them through a sieve,” says Grant. “In the restaurant we use equipment called tamiswhich allows us to push the potatoes through and leave any lumps behind, resulting in silky, smooth mashed potatoes.” At home, you can get similar results by using a fine mesh sieve and pressing it down with a flexible plastic scraper.

What if they’re sticky?

“It’s difficult to fix gooey mashed potatoes, but there are ways to disguise them,” Grant says. Adding more butter can improve the texture, but if all else fails, he suggests adding grated cheese, then spooning the mixture into a baking dish and baking until the top is golden brown. Top with chives and scallions and your Gooey, Cheesy Mashed Potato Casserole might just be the most requested recipe of the season!