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It’s true — you don’t even have to peel the potatoes! Creamy and flavorful red skin mashed potatoes are a rustic, easy side dish that’s bursting with butter, chives, and cream cheese. Grab the grilled steak, meatloaf, or fried chicken, because these simple and easy homemade mashed potatoes are the perfect companion for your next comfort food dinner!

Close up side shot of skin on mashed red potatoes in a bowl with butter and chives.
Table of Contents
  1. Why You’ll Love this Recipe
  2. Ingredients
  3. The Directions
  4. Serving Suggestions
  5. Preparation and Storage Tips
  6. Expert Tips
  7. Red Skin Mashed Potatoes Recipe

If you love mashed potato recipes, be sure to try these make-ahead garlic mashed potatoes, a pot of 3-ingredient buttermilk mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes with sour cream and chives, and these flavorful mashed sweet potatoes, too!

You might never make mashed potatoes another way again! Once you realize how quick, easy, and delicious these red skin mashed potatoes are, you’ll be hooked for life. The simple side dish is one of those great go-to recipes that you can always turn to in a pinch when you need a cozy, homemade meal without too much effort.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

  • No Peeling. At the most basic level, mashed potatoes are a simple side dish made by mashing boiled potatoes. Red potatoes are good for mash, and the best part is that you don’t even need to peel them before boiling! We leave the peels on the potatoes for a few reasons: it keeps the prep time to a minimum, the peels are nutritious, and they add great texture to the finished dish.
  • Creamy and Flavorful. Milk, butter, salt, and pepper are often used in traditional mashed potatoes, and this recipe is no exception. However, we’re amping up the flavor and creaminess in this dish with the addition of fresh chives and cream cheese. Trust me — the cream cheese is a “secret ingredient” that you don’t want to skip!
  • Versatile. This simple side dish pairs well with turkey and ham for holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas, but it’s equally delicious alongside basic comfort food suppers like Dutch oven pork chops, oven roasted chicken, and hamburger steak. Make them your own by adding garlic, spicing them up with cayenne pepper, or mixing in other fresh herbs like parsley, thyme, or rosemary.
Pot of red potatoes with skin in water.

Ingredients

This is just a quick overview of the simple ingredients that you’ll need for these mashed red potatoes. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

  • Red skin potatoes: these are particularly good for mashed potatoes since they’re naturally smooth and creamy. Since the skin is so thin, you don’t need to peel them before boiling. Hooray!
  • Cream cheese: adds richness, flavor, and creaminess. Use a block of full-fat cream cheese for the best flavor and texture.
  • Buttermilk or heavy cream: to thin the potatoes and add richness. Sub with whole milk or half-and-half if you like.
  • Butter: for flavor and richness.
  • Salt and pepper: to enhance the flavors of the other ingredients.
  • Fresh chives: for a bright, mild, onion flavor.
Process shot showing how to make red skin mashed potatoes.

The Directions

You can make this easy red skin mashed potatoes recipe from start to finish in about 30 minutes! You’ll find detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:

  • Boil the quartered potatoes in a large pot until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes.
  • Drain off the water.
  • Add the cream cheese, buttermilk, salt, and pepper.
  • Use a potato masher (or fork) to mash everything together. This doesn’t need to be perfect, since the small chunks of tender potatoes add great texture to the dish.
  • Transfer to a dish, garnish with more butter or drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with fresh chives.
Overhead shot of a bowl of red skin mashed potatoes.

Serving Suggestions

This simple side dish is so versatile! Offer it alongside the cranberry sauce, stuffing, and mac and cheese for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, or pair it with a quick weeknight meal. Here are some entrees that go well with restaurant-style red skin mashed potatoes:

Horizontal side shot of a bowl of red skin mashed potatoes.

Preparation and Storage Tips

  • Cut the potatoes up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them covered in cold water to prevent browning until you’re ready to boil and mash.
  • Make Ahead: Prepare the mashed potatoes as instructed, cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, allow the potatoes to come to room temperature on the counter for at least 30 minutes. Reheat the mashed potatoes in a slow cooker on HIGH heat for 1 hour, or cover the dish and bake them in a 350°F oven just until warmed through, about 20-30 minutes.
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
  • You can freeze the mashed potatoes in an airtight container for up to 3 months; however, be aware that this is not always ideal. The thawed potatoes may have a grainy, less-desirable texture.
Close up side shot of easy red skin mashed potatoes with butter and chives in a bowl.

Recipe Variations

  • Instead of red potatoes, you can also use yukon gold potatoes in this recipe. Many folks think that gold potatoes are the best for mashing, thanks to their buttery flavor and texture and their high-starch content. Russet potatoes with their high starch content yield fluffy mashed potatoes, but you’ll want to peel them first. Sweet potatoes will work, too!
  • For even more flavor, use chive and onion flavored cream cheese instead of the regular cream cheese.
  • Use sliced green onion instead of the chives.
  • I love the “tang” that you get with buttermilk, but you can substitute with regular cream, whole milk, or half-and-half if you don’t have buttermilk on hand.
  • Add roasted garlic cloves to the mashed potatoes, or even just a subtle hint of garlic powder or onion powder.
  • Use unsalted butter if that’s what you have available. You’ll just need to add more salt at the end.
  • Loaded mashed potatoes: add grated sharp cheddar cheese and crispy bacon to the potatoes.
  • Cooking for a smaller family? Cut all of the ingredients in half to prepare about 2 servings. The rest of the cooking instructions remain the same.

Expert Tips

  • You do not need to peel red potatoes before boiling. The skin is very thin, so it’s easy to bite and chew. Just make sure to scrub the potatoes clean before using in the recipe, and dice into fourths before boiling. Cutting the potatoes speeds up the cooking time and also makes it easier to mash the cooked potatoes later.
  • Add the potatoes to the pot of cold water before bring the water to a boil. This is important because if you add potatoes to a pot of already boiling water, the outsides of the potatoes will cook too quickly, while the insides will remain hard. These undercooked potatoes will yield hard lumps in your mashed potatoes.
  • Make sure that your cream cheese, buttermilk (or cream), and butter are at room temperature before you mix them into the potatoes.
  • If you don’t have a potato masher, you can use a fork to mash the potatoes or grab an electric hand mixer.
  • Don’t overmix the potatoes. Mash or whip them until mostly smooth, leaving a bit of texture, and then stop! Too much stirring and mixing makes the potatoes gummy.
  • Garnish the mashed potatoes with scallions, chives, or fresh herbs like parsley or thyme right before serving. This gives them a touch of bright, fresh flavor!
Close overhead shot of a bowl of homemade mashed red potatoes.

More Side Dish Recipes to Try

Close up square image of red skin mashed potatoes in a bowl.

Red Skin Mashed Potatoes

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 238 kcal
Creamy and flavorful red skin mashed potatoes are a rustic, easy side dish that's bursting with butter, chives, and cream cheese.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ½ lbs. red potatoes, quartered
  • 3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (about 4 ½ tablespoons)
  • 3 tablespoons buttermilk, at room temperature (or substitute with whole milk, heavy cream, or half-and-half)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons salted butter, cubed, at room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • Dash of ground black pepper, plus more to taste
  • Garnish: chopped fresh chives

Instructions

  • Place potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until potatoes are tender (about 15-20 minutes).
    Pot of red potatoes with skin in water.
  • Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add cream cheese, buttermilk, butter, salt and pepper; mash to combine. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
    Process shot showing how to make red skin mashed potatoes.
  • Garnish with fresh chives just before serving.
    Horizontal side shot of a bowl of red skin mashed potatoes.

Notes

  • You do not need to peel red potatoes before boiling. The skin is very thin, so it’s easy to bite and chew. Just make sure to scrub the potatoes clean before using in the recipe, and dice into fourths before boiling. Cutting the potatoes speeds up the cooking time and also makes it easier to mash the cooked potatoes later.
  • Add the potatoes to the pot of cold water before bring the water to a boil. This is important because if you add potatoes to a pot of already boiling water, the outsides of the potatoes will cook too quickly, while the insides will remain hard. These undercooked potatoes will yield hard lumps in your mashed potatoes.
  • Make sure that your cream cheese, buttermilk (or cream), and butter are at room temperature before you mix them into the potatoes.
  • If you don’t have a potato masher, you can use a fork to mash the potatoes or grab an electric hand mixer.
  • Don’t overmix the potatoes. Mash or whip them until mostly smooth, leaving a bit of texture, and then stop! Too much stirring and mixing makes the potatoes gummy.
  • Garnish the mashed potatoes with scallions, chives, or fresh herbs like parsley or thyme right before serving. This gives them a touch of bright, fresh flavor!

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the mashed potatoesCalories: 238kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 5gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 434mgPotassium: 819mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 447IUVitamin C: 15mgCalcium: 52mgIron: 1mg
Keyword: homemade mashed potatoes with skin, mashed red potatoes, red skin mashed potatoes, skin on mashed red potatoes
Course: Side
Cuisine: American
Author: Blair Lonergan

This recipe was originally published in July, 2020. It was updated in March, 2024.

blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

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