Here's How To Make The Perfect Mashed Potatoes For Every Taste

These four varieties included:

• Light and Fluffy Mashed Potatoes: AKA the classic, fluffy mashed potatoes seen on just about every Thanksgiving table. These babies are simple, buttery, and 100% smooth. If you're looking for a safe crowd-pleaser, this is your recipe.

• Chunky, Skin-On Mashed Potatoes: These are for people who like their potatoes with a bit of texture. It's made with small red potatoes, with their skin still on, to produce a seriously chunky mash.

• "Not-Too-Dense" Mashed Sweet Potatoes: Sure, mashed sweet potatoes are delicious, but they can also be pretty dense. We went on a mission to create a sweet potato mash that wasn't too heavy, and we think we aced it with a little help from a secret ingredient.

• Ultra Creamy Mashed Potatoes: These potatoes are for the over-achievers; the people who watch Food Network and love trying new things. They're super creamy, decadent, and infused with savory garlic and herbs. The trick? Cooking them in the cream. Trust us, you'll love 'em.

There are a ton of potato varieties, but only three you need to worry about when making your mash:

• Waxy Potatoes: Waxy potatoes (such as red bliss and new potatoes) are creamy and flavorful. The flesh is buttery, yellow, and holds it's shape well after cooking. Because they're firm, they aren't going to break down and become super smooth after cooking like Russet potatoes do. These babies are all about flavor, but lack on the texture front.

• Starchy Potatoes: Starchy potatoes (like russets, Idaho potatoes, or chef's potatoes) will give you the fluffiest, smoothest mash. They fall apart easily and absorb butter and cream well. When you think of the iconic white, creamy mashed potatoes, it's made with these. The only downside is that these potatoes lack flavor.

• Sweet Potatoes: Everyone is familiar with sweet potatoes. They're sweet (duh!), full of flavor, but very dense. They can be a bit of a challenge to make mashed potatoes with, as their heavy texture often produces a mash that is way too dense.

There are two main tools used to mash potatoes, and they provide very different results:

• Potato Ricers: The first is a potato ricer ($18.95 on Amazon). These babies are great for making mashed potatoes that are super smooth, fluffy, and completely lump-free. You just load the cooked potatoes into the ricer, press down, and out come super silky mashed potatoes.

• Hand Mashers: The other variety is a classic hand masher ($11.99 on Amazon). These take a bit more work and won't give you perfectly smooth mashed potatoes. They're great for people who want to keep a bit of texture in their mash.

Some people use food mills and mixers to make their mash, but we're not gonna get into those. (Who owns a food mill, anyway?)

You can find full recipes at the very bottom of this post and step-by-steps below.

If you're hosting a large group of people, this is a safe bet and super easy to prepare.

This version tastes like loaded baked potatoes and is perfect for people who don't like their mashes completely smooth. And remember, you can always mash the potatoes a bit longer, or less, to adjust the ~ chunkiness ~ to your liking.

Your classic mashed sweet potatoes you know and love with a little trick to make 'em lighter and less dense.

Think of these as the premium mashed potatoes you'd be served at a fancy restaurant. The kind you make when you have to impress your in-laws or foodie friends.

Servings: 10-12

INGREDIENTS

5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1 cup heavy cream

½ cup whole milk

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon chopped chives, optional

PREPARE

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add the salt. Bring water to a boil over high heat and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes longer. Drain and press through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Set aside.

2. Heat the cream, milk, and butter in a small pot over low heat until simmering. Pour over the potatoes and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with chives and additional butter if desired.

3. Enjoy!

Note: A potato ricer gives these potatoes a super fluffy texture, but you can use a hand masher if you don’t own one.

Servings: 10-12

INGREDIENTS

5 pounds red bliss potatoes, skin-on, quartered

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed, plus more to taste

1 small garlic clove, minced

½ cup sour cream

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon chopped green onions, optional

PREPARE

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add the salt. Bring water to a boil over high heat and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes longer. Drain and return to the pot. Set aside.

2. Heat the cream, butter, and garlic in a small pot over medium heat until simmering. Pour over the potatoes. Add the sour cream and mash using a hand masher until the potatoes are creamy, but still very chunky. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with green onions and additional butter if desired.

3. Enjoy!

Note: Any small waxy potato would work well in this recipe — such as Yukon golds or new potatoes.

Servings: 10-12

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

½ cup heavy cream

½ cup whole milk

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon chopped chives, optional

PREPARE

1. Place the sweet potatoes and potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add the salt. Bring water to a boil over high heat and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes longer. Drain and transfer the potatoes to a large bowl. Set aside.

3. Heat the cream, milk, and butter in a small pot over low heat until simmering. Pour over the potatoes and mash with a hand masher until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with additional butter and chives if desired.

4. Enjoy!

Note: Russet potatoes gives these a lighter texture compared your typical sweet potato mash, but you can swap them out with two additional pounds of sweet potatoes if you’d prefer to keep it classic.

Servings: 10-12

INGREDIENTS

5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

2 sprigs of fresh thyme, plus more for garnish

3 cups heavy cream

3 cups whole milk

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cubed, plus more to taste

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

PREPARE

1. Place the potatoes, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme in a large pot. Pour the cream and milk over the top and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Strain the potatoes, reserving the cooking liquid, and discard the herbs and garlic. Press the potatoes through a potato ricer into a large bowl.

3. Add the reserved cooking liquid, ¼ cup at a time, and stir until the potatoes are creamy. You will not need to use all of the liquid — 1-1½ cups should be enough. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with additional butter and thyme if desired.

Note: You can save any extra cooking liquid and use it to rehydrate any leftover mashed potatoes the next day.