Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Chives
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These Cheesy Mashed Potatoes are loaded with 3 different kind of cheeses, bacon and chives! These Cheesy Mashed Potatoes are taken to the next level and are the perfect side dish around the holidays!
Mashed Potatoes! One of the easiest side dishes you could probably ever make. It is also probably one of the first things I learned to make as a little girl helping my mom out in the kitchen. Although my mom’s version is very simple, but tastes great nonetheless, I like to experiment with my recipes a bit.
My mom’s mashed potatoes are made with milk and butter and she’d whip them up in a mixer so they were always light and fluffy. All I can say is there were never any leftovers. Mashed potatoes with a nice roast chicken and a great salad, my kind of Sunday supper.
These mashed potatoes, however, are taken to the next level. They’re amplified in flavor, texture, and creamy dreamy cheese pulls! They’re super creamy, since they’re mashed with butter, milk and sour cream then I loaded them with 3 different kinds of cheeses; cream cheese, mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese.
If that wasn’t enough, I then added some bacon because, well bacon, and some chives for a bit of onion flavor and most of all some green color among all that cheese.
Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
You really can’t screw this up, it’s really an easy recipe, about as simple as they come. I have to admit this isn’t for those who are watching their weight, but if you aren’t counting calories, well this is for you! Because I’ll be honest with you, you won’t be able to stop at just one bite. If truth be told, I could eat all this on my own. I haven’t, but I’m just saying, I really could.
Ingredients
- Potatoes – I prefer Yukon Gold potatoes or Russet Potatoes.
- Salt & Pepper – Just to taste, you may find that the bacon is salty enough to omit the salt entirely!
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter in most of my cooking and baking because this way I can control the amount of salt that goes in my food.
- Half and Half or Milk – My mom usually uses milk but if you would like these potatoes to be a bit creamier go with half and half cream which contains 12 % fat. You can even go ahead and use heavy cream which usually contains 38 % fat.
- Bacon – I used 8 strips of bacon that I then cooked and crumbled up to include in this dish. I insist on using fresh bacon – none of that pre cooked crumbled up stuff!
- Dairy – We’re using both sour cream and cream cheese today for flavor, creaminess, and lots of tang. Believe me you’ll want both.
- Cheese – Fresh shredded mozzarella and cheddar are key for getting those cheese pulls that dreams are made of.
- Chives – Chopped up nice and fine for a nice and mild onion flavor.
What Potatoes Are Best For Mashing?
You might think that any potatoes can be mashed, and while that may be true – there are certain varieties that make the best mashed potatoes, so without further ado here they are. Yukon golds or russets are perfect for this dish as they result in a creamier and more heavenly mash.
What Else Can I Use In My Mashed Potatoes?
You can add whatever you’d like to this cheesy, crave-able, and oh so rich dish. Here’s some flavorful or creamy additions.
- Fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme or parsley
- Eggs – raw eggs that is. This is my husband’s favorite, it totally adds a little extra richness
- Any kind of mild melty delicious cheese that you’d like!
How To Make Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
- Preheat oven: To 350 F degrees.
- Cook the potatoes: Peel the potatoes, and cut them into cubes. Add the potatoes to a large sauce pan and add enough cold water to cover them by a couple inches. Cook the potatoes on medium heat for about 15 minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Transfer to a colander to drain.
- Cook the bacon: In the meantime chop the bacon slices into small pieces. Cook the bacon until crispy and browned. Alternatively, you can cook the bacon slices first, then chop them up into small pieces. Place the bacon on paper towels to remove some of the fat.
- Mash the potatoes: Using a potato masher or fork, mash the potatoes in a big bowl until fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, milk, half the cheddar cheese, half the mozzarella cheese and mix until well combined. To make them even fluffier you could use a hand mixer and mix until light and fluffy. Add the chives, half the bacon and salt and pepper. You might also want to reserve some chives for the topping.
- Combine: Stir everything together and transfer to a buttered baking dish. Top with remaining cheddar, mozzarella, bacon and chives.
- Finish the dish: Bake for about 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Serve immediately.
Some Tips
- Just like you always salt your pasta water, you need to salt the water that the potatoes cook in. The starch granules swell and absorb water and salt. If you add salt while cooking the potatoes, you won’t need to add as much later on.
- Be sure to drain your potatoes completely before mashing them to prevent mushy potatoes
- Don’t use cold butter in this dish, be sure it’s come up to room temperature before introducing it to your piping hot potatoes.
How to Serve
These mashed potatoes are so rich, cheesy, and bacon-y, I like to snack on them all on their own! If you’d like a nice big entree to spoon these alongside, then here’s some picture perfect dishes!
- Garlic and Paprika Chicken
- Baked Chicken Breast
- Prime Rib Roast
- Beef Bourguignon
- Crock Pot Roast
- Meatloaf
- Honey Mustard Glazed Ham
- Pork Schnitzel
Leftovers
Store leftover cheesy mashed potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Be sure it’s completely cooled before putting away.
Freezer
Freeze mashed potatoes in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 10 months.
More Must Try Potato Dishes:
- Mashed Potatoes
- Crockpot Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
- Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Potatoes with Garlic Aioli
- Potatoes Au Gratin
- Baked Potatoes
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Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Chives
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 50 mins
Total: 1 hr 10 mins
Serves: 8
These Cheesy Mashed Potatoes are loaded with 3 different kind of cheeses, bacon and chives! These Cheesy Mashed Potatoes are taken to the next level and are the perfect side dish around the holidays!
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs russet potatoes
- 8 slices bacon
- 4 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1/4 cup butter unsalted, melted
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup chives minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
- Peel the potatoes, and cut them into cubes. Add the potatoes to a large sauce pan and add enough cold water to cover them by a couple inches. Cook the potatoes on medium heat for about 15 minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a fork. Transfer to a colander to drain.
- In the meantime chop the bacon slices into small pieces. Cook the bacon until crispy and browned. Alternatively, you can cook the bacon slices first, then chop them up into small pieces. Place the bacon on paper towels to remove some of the fat.
- Using a potato masher or fork, mash the potatoes in a big bowl until fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, milk, half the cheddar cheese, half the mozzarella cheese and mix until well combined. To make them even fluffier you could use a hand mixer and mix until light and fluffy. Add the chives, half the bacon and salt and pepper. You might also want to reserve some chives for the topping.
- Stir everything together and transfer to a buttered baking dish. Top with remaining cheddar, mozzarella, bacon and chives.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
- Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
- Freeze mashed potatoes in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 10 months.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 419kcal (21%)Carbohydrates: 28g (9%)Protein: 14g (28%)Fat: 27g (42%)Saturated Fat: 14g (88%)Cholesterol: 72mg (24%)Sodium: 413mg (18%)Potassium: 734mg (21%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 3g (3%)Vitamin A: 670IU (13%)Vitamin C: 8.9mg (11%)Calcium: 247mg (25%)Iron: 1.5mg (8%)
I can’t make this dish with the sour cream, (sour cream doesn’t like me) is there any else I can use?
You can use some Greek yogurt 🙂
These look terrific. I’m tempted to try them with egg added. Would you add just one along with cream?
Exactly, I usually whisk it with the cream then add it to the potatoes.