I Asked 3 Chefs for the Best Potato for Mashed Potatoes, and Their Top Pick Shocked Me

When you peek around the market, potato varieties abound. And while you might think poh-tay-toe, poh-tah-toe, there’s actually a huge difference between the more than 200 varieties of spuds sold in the U.S.

There’s no inherently “bad” potato, if you ask us. There’s just a best potato for certain uses, since spuds range from waxy to starchy. Some are best for French fries and chips, while others reign supreme for baking, showcasing in soups, shredded and sizzling into hash browns, or using as the foundation of a potato salad.

Whether it’s Sunday dinner or a holiday, one of our all-time favorite potato recipes is mashed potatoes. To brush up on which variety is best for mashed potatoes, we spoke to professional chefs from across the country and asked them which spuds earn a spot in their recipes.

Meet Our Panel of Potato-Savvy Chefs

• Matt Ayala, executive chef at Francois Frankie in Chicago

• Kelsey Barnard Clark, chef and owner of Eat KBC in Dothan, Alabama, and the author of "Southern Get-Togethers"

• Kevin Gillespie, chef and co-owner of Red Beard Restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia

The Best Potatoes for Mashed Potatoes

We won’t make you dig for the answer: The chefs we spoke to rank the best potatoes for mashing in gold, silver, and bronze position. Each of these have a high starch content, which is what you’re looking for in mashing potatoes.

1. Ratte (aka La Ratte)

2. Yukon Gold

3. Russet

Although they might require a bit more of a hunt than the others, the heirloom variety that goes by the name “Ratte” or “La Ratte” potatoes are “by far, the best potatoes for mashed,” according to Kevin Gillespie, chef and co-owner of Red Beard Restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia.

Their naturally nutty and buttery flavor makes them worth seeking out, according to Matt Ayala, executive chef at Francois Frankie in Chicago, since you can score a complex-tasting mash without needing to doctor up the recipe a lot.

“Ratte potatoes are waxy, but not too waxy, so they mash smoothly but still have a sturdy consistency. Plus, since they have such a rich flavor on their own, I don’t need to add much,” Ayala says. “I’m a firm believer that their flavor and texture are unbeatable for mashed potatoes.”

These chefs are in good company with their choice of the best potato for mashed potatoes. Culinary icon Joël Robuchon treasures the chestnut-reminiscent flavor of La Ratte potatoes so much that he uses them as the star of his signature Pommes Purée recipe.

If you can’t find La Rattes, a close runner-up that’s much easier to find is Yukon Gold, which Ayala, Gillespie, and Kelsey Barnard Clark, chef and owner of Eat KBC in Dothan, Alabama, and the author of "Southern Get-Togethers" all use often for mashed potatoes.

“They’re creamy and have a nice flavor, which is ideal for mashing,” Ayala says.

Last up: Russets, which “are also good if you prefer a fluffier mash, but you’ll need to be careful not to overwork them, or they can easily get gluey” Ayala adds.

The Worst Potatoes for Mashed Potatoes

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you’ll find waxy potatoes, which are among the worst for mashing, according to our panel of chefs. These include:

• Fingerlings

• New potatoes (aka baby potatoes)

• Red Bliss (aka red potatoes)

“Potatoes that are extremely waxy tend to stay lumpy and don’t absorb fat such as butter as well as we’d like for mashed potatoes,” Ayala says. “Each of these varieties is just too firm. Instead of a smooth mash, you end up with a chunky, uneven texture that’s not very pleasant."

6 Pro Tips to Make Your Best Mashed Potatoes

Before we let the chefs get back to their kitchens, we couldn’t resist asking them to spill their secrets for how they transform these top-tier mashing potatoes into a crowd-pleasing mash-terpiece (sorry!).

• Start dry. True, you simmer your potatoes in water, but it’s vital that they’re completely dry before mashing, Barnard-Clark believes. Watery potatoes can result in a loose, runny, or soupy mash. Many recipes call for adding the boiled and drained potatoes back to a dry saucepan, but Barnard-Clark is fond of baking the boiled potatoes on a wire rack-lined sheet pan at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) until they appear dry. This allows the excess moisture to evaporate.

• Mix and match. Featuring two potatoes in one mashed potato recipe “can be a great idea, especially if you combine a creamy potato like Ratte with something more starchy and fluffy, like a russet,” Ayala says. Yukon gold and russets also play nicely together, delivering a silky and cloud-like mash.

• Take the chill off. To ensure the dairy elements mix in evenly and to keep from cooling down your spuds, heat your milk or cream and bring your butter to room temperature before mixing them in, as Chef John does in his Ultimate Mashed Potatoes.

• Go garlicky. Simmer garlic cloves with your potatoes or your milk or cream to amplify the aromatic qualities of your mashed potatoes. Our Basic Mashed Potatoes recipe shows how this is done. Ayala also likes to add a sprig of fresh rosemary to his simmering cream to add an extra layer of flavor.

• Be gentle. Some cooks like using a hand or stand mixer to make the mashing process quick and easy. But if you ask Ayala, it’s best to use a ricer, food mill, or a hand masher, so you can control the consistency of smashed, mashed, or ultra-creamy. Whatever you do, skip the food processor, which makes it all too easy to whip up gluey potatoes.

• Try a round-two recipe. Sure, you can simply reheat the potatoes and enjoy them as-is. But you can also make the most of leftovers by turning them into something new, like a Crispy Mashed Potato Pancake, Fried Mashed Potato Cakes, or Potato Rolls.