The One-Ingredient Upgrade For Better Mashed Potatoes

Is there anything so beautiful as a bowl for freshly mashed potatoes? It is perhaps the most perfect dinner side: A creamy, savory dish that pairs well with almost any main. Plus, there are plenty of ways to customize your spuds, from adding a dollop of cream cheese for a creamy, tangy touch to extra butter for restaurant-worthy mashed potatoes at home. Mashed potato hacks abound. And yet, there is always one more upgrade on the horizon; one more way to enhance this side. So why not add another? Trust us, this is one potato hack you'll want to hold onto. The key? Brie, of course. Now, adding cheese to mashed potatoes isn't a wholly new concept. But Brie-lieve us when we say that this cheese might just be the best thing to happen to the side dish since butter and chives.

The subtle, buttery, and slight umami flavor of Brie, along with its creamy texture, will blend beautifully with your potatoes, bringing them a complexity that can really take this dish up a notch. Plus, the Brie-tinged potatoes will pair beautifully with other dishes, such as cranberry sauce or a mushroom stuffing. Adding in this cheese doesn't need to be complicated, either; just make your potatoes as usual, and then when mixing in the butter, add in some cubed Brie as well. Take off the rind so the texture is smooth, and make sure you freeze your Brie before removing the rind to prevent wasting any of that tasty cheese. Add the Brie in while your spuds are still hot so that it fully melts. The resulting dish will be rich, cheesy, dinner-side perfection.

Brie-infused mashed potatoes are a sure fire way to bring a touch of class to the down-home side dish. And, really, you could stop there if you wanted to. You would, simply by adding Brie, bring your potatoes to new heights. However, the addition of this soft, creamy, and subtle yet complex cheese makes the dish ripe for further mix-ins. Pairing your Brie mash with, say, a mushroom gravy can bring out the earthiness and umami of your cheese. You can also mix in some caramelized onions into your mash. The slightly sweet, warm flavor of caramelized onions pairs very well with the soft cheese. Mixing in some blended garlic confit can add a punch of flavor that really rounds out the taste of your Brie potatoes as well. However, it may prove to be the dominant flavor, so only add it in if you're ready for a garlic punch.

Now, to end on something sweet: While adding Brie to regular old mashed potatoes is delicious, we'd be remiss not to touch on Brie's potential as a pairing with sweet potatoes. This is to say that you should absolutely be mixing Brie into your next batch of mashed sweet potatoes or sweet potato casserole as well. Top this with dried cranberries or candied pecans and be prepared to remake the dish for any and every dinner party henceforth.