The Absolute Best Mashed Potatoes Taste Like Twice-Baked Spuds

Potatoes, like the color black, go with everything. The starchy tuber transcends food trends and embodies an infinitum of flavor. From breads to dumplings to old school potato candy, there isn't a shape potatoes can't take. That said, mashed potatoes, though delicious, aren't always given the love they deserve. Often used as a default side for roast chicken, meatloaf, or Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes rarely get a chance to shine on their own. That's a shame, because they really are quite delicious. Plus, like potatoes themselves, the mashed variety is great for customizing. One great place to start is by dressing one spud recipe like another.

Let's take some inspiration from the ever-so-maximalist twice baked potato (not to be confused with potato skins). For the unfamiliar, a twice baked potato is a potato that's baked until tender, cut in half, scooped hollow, then filled with its own fluffy insides after they've been mixed with ingredients like butter, sour cream, cheese, green onions, and bacon. This reassembled potato is then baked again, resulting in an incredibly rich and flavor-packed dish. 

So how do you turn your basic mash into a twice baked delight? Simply make a batch of mashed potatoes as usual (peel, boil, mash), then combine with toppings you'd usually use on mashed potatoes. Most people stick with the traditional accouterments, but you can use whatever toppings you like. Once the ingredients are combined, place the mixture in a dish, top with more cheese and bacon, and bake until crisp around the edges. One scoop and you'll be hooked.

Now, you need not limit yourself to your typical baked potatoes toppings when assembling this bake. In fact, you can take it in pretty much any direction you'd like. For example, you can make a jalapeño popper mashed potato bake by adding more cream cheese, and mixing in pickled or fresh jalapeños. You can also layer your bake with various ingredients, such as caramelized onions, or a cheesy interior layer that will give your mashed potatoes a warm gooey center.

If you take the layered approach, you might want to add some stability to your mashed potatoes. Mixing an egg or two into your mashed potato base before baking will give your dish a more defined structure that can help if you want a sliceable or scoopable dish that will maintain the division between layers. As for toppings, while cheese is a delicious, it is also rather expected. So why not try something new? Adding a layer of crushed potato chips on top will give the dish great texture. It's also reminiscent of funeral potatoes, a macabre sounding, but ultimately delightful, potluck staple. Other crunchy toppings like fried onions, bread crumbs, or even crackers can make a great addition to this dish. Why not, as you would with a twice baked potato, load it up and enjoy?