Skin On Mashed Red Potatoes

Creamy and flavorful Skin-On Mashed Red Potatoes are a rustic, easy side dish that's bursting with butter, chives and cream cheese.

Course Side

Cuisine American

Keyword homemade mashed potatoes with skin, mashed red potatoes, skin on mashed red potatoes

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings - 5 people

Calories 170kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

1 ½ lbs. red potatoes, quartered
3 oz cream cheese, at room temperature (about 4.5 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons buttermilk, at room temperature (or substitute with whole milk or cream)
1 ½ tablespoons salted butter, cubed; at room temperature
½ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Dash of pepper
Chopped fresh chives, garnish

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).
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.
Garnish with fresh chives just before serving.

Make sure that your cream cheese, buttermilk (or cream), and butter are at room temperature before you mix them into the potatoes.
For even more flavor, use chive and onion flavored cream cheese instead of the regular cream cheese.
I love the "tang" that you get with buttermilk, but you can substitute with regular cream or whole milk if you don't have buttermilk on hand.
Garlic Red Mashed Potatoes: add a dash of garlic powder to the potatoes for an extra dose of flavor.
Garnish with chopped fresh chives, green onions, or parsley for a bright, fresh finish to the dish!
If you don't have a potato masher, you can use a fork to mash the potatoes or grab an electric hand mixer.
To Reheat Skin-On Mashed Red Potatoes: For best results, skip the microwave (which tends to suck the moisture out of your potatoes), and instead use the oven to reheat the mashed potatoes. Place the mashed red potatoes in an oven-safe dish. Stir in about 1/2 cup of buttermilk (or other liquid) and an extra pat or two of butter. Reheat in a 350 degree F oven (uncovered) just until warmed through (about 20-30 minutes).