How One Canned Soup Transforms Mashed Potatoes Into A 10-Minute Comfort Meal

While mashed potatoes are an iconic, beloved American comfort food, they're really more of a side dish than a complete meal. Fluffy, buttery, and almost impossibly delicious with little more than a bit of butter and a dash of salt, they're almost always served in conjunction with other foods, often as a way to stretch meals to feed more people or simply because mashed potatoes taste good with almost everything.

Fortunately, making these tasty spuds doesn't have to mean spending extra time in the kitchen, as mashed potatoes are one of those foods you can upgrade with a simple can of soup — beef and vegetable, to be exact. Hunks of beef mingled with steamed, seasoned vegetables in a savory broth offer the perfect shortcut to preparing classic, Sunday night beef stew and mash in about 10 minutes, especially if you use this technique to level up store-bought mashed potatoes rather than making them from scratch.

The trick is to use some common kitchen staples to make both components more than the sum of their parts. A knob of butter adds richness and a little cheese stirred into the broth thickens and makes it creamy. Meanwhile, there are tons of ways to make your mashed potatoes taste even better, including a simple sprinkle of garlic powder or minced onion. Spoon the stew over hot mashed potatoes for a homey, satisfying meal that comes together unbelievably quickly.

One of the greatest advantages of this meal is that it doesn't even require a stove or full kitchen to prepare. It's fairly easy to warm up both canned soup and store-bought mashed potatoes in the microwave — most packaging for these foods even comes with microwave instructions. Instant mash is also an option here, especially since it doesn't require refrigeration. That makes this a good choice for a budget-friendly hotel or dorm room meal. 

Regardless of the cooking method you decide to use, this is also a pretty customizable meal. Not only can you add fresh veggies or your own seasonings to the soup, you can also swap the beef and veggie soup for another canned soup, as mashed potatoes are an amazing vehicle for flavor. Try something like savory, spicy white bean chicken chili, as the mash would temper the spice a bit, while the juicy chicken is the perfect pairing for starchy potatoes. Pair it with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits for a perfectly savory meal. Another rich, flavor-packed option would be spicy chicken and sausage gumbo with andouille sausage and the earthy deliciousness of okra. Though usually served with rice, mashed potatoes are the perfect swap, as they'll absorb a ton of flavor to create a composed dish.