Boursin Mashed Potatoes
Yukon Gold potatoes mashed silky-smooth with a whole package of garlic-herb Boursin cheese, butter, and warm cream — the 5-ingredient Thanksgiving side that tastes like you worked all day, and it makes ahead beautifully.
Equipment
- Large pot
- Potato ricer or hand masher
Ingredients
Potatoes
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt for the cooking water
Mash
- 1 package Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs cheese 5.2 ounces, at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 to 1 cup heavy cream or whole milk warmed
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
To serve (optional)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons brown butter for drizzling
- A few crispy sage leaves
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes: put the potato chunks in a large pot, cover with cold water by 2 inches, and add the tablespoon of kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook 18 to 22 minutes, until a knife slides through a chunk with no resistance.
- Warm the dairy: while the potatoes cook, warm the cream and butter together in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter melts. Keep it warm — cold dairy cools the mash and makes it seize.
- Drain and dry: drain the potatoes well, then return them to the hot pot for 1 minute over low heat, shaking the pot once or twice, to steam off surface moisture. Dry potatoes absorb butter better.
- Mash with the Boursin: push the potatoes through a ricer or mash with a hand masher right in the pot. Crumble in the room-temperature Boursin and pour in half the warm butter-cream. Mash and stir until the cheese melts in and the mash turns silky.
- Adjust the texture: add the remaining warm cream a splash at a time until the mash is as loose and glossy as you like it. Season with the 1/2 teaspoon salt and the white pepper, then taste and adjust — Boursin is salty, so you may not need more.
- Serve: spoon into a warm serving bowl, make a swirl on top with the back of a spoon, and drizzle with brown butter if using. Shower with chives and crispy sage leaves and serve immediately.
Notes
Serving size: about 3/4 cup. Ingredients note: Yukon Golds are the move here — naturally buttery and creamy, so the mash stays silky instead of gluey. Russets work too but need a little more cream. Room-temperature Boursin is non-negotiable — cold cheese straight from the fridge melts unevenly and leaves little white flecks in the mash. Never use a food processor or stand mixer on high: overworking potatoes bursts their starch cells and turns them gluey. A ricer gives the silkiest result; a hand masher is a close second. Make ahead: mash up to 2 days ahead, cool, and refrigerate in an airtight container. Reheat gently in a saucepan over low heat with a splash of warm cream, stirring until silky again — or in a slow cooker on low for 2 hours. Keep the mash warm for serving: a buttered slow cooker on the warm setting holds it perfectly for up to 2 hours, which frees a burner on Thanksgiving Day. If the mash feels thick after reheating, loosen it with warm cream a tablespoon at a time — never cold milk, which dulls the flavor and cools the bowl.