For The Best Mashed Potatoes Of Your Life, Make Them Outback Steakhouse Style

While there are a number of items you should avoid ordering at Outback Steakhouse, there's one side dish from the Tampa-based chain that's far too delicious to ever make it onto that list. Outback just might have the best mashed potatoes of your life, and it's extremely easy to make them yourself at home. The key to this delectable side dish is in its toppings. You won't find gravy, which, though classic, wouldn't fit with how Outback does its mashed potatoes. Instead, the chain borrows from the concept of the loaded baked potato. 

There's the tang of sour cream to contrast with salty, savory bacon bits. The whole thing is then topped with two types of shredded cheese that melt over the hot potatoes, and finished with a healthy sprinkling of chopped scallions. The result yields all the richness and exciting mouthfeel of an actual loaded baked potato, so if that's a dish you love, recreating this decadent mashed version is worth a shot. All you have to do is cook your mashed potatoes and load them up with all your favorite baked potato fixings. To really nail it, though, it's important to have a good potato base. 

While toppings add new flavors, Outback knows the toppings need a flavorful, pillowy bed of potatoes to make the dish memorable. One of the best tips for cooking mashed potatoes is to boil the spuds with the skins on, whether you're peeling them later like Outback does to achieve a silky texture, or leaving them on to blend into the mashed potatoes. Both styles have their perks. Keeping the skins on will not only add an extra textural dimension to the dish but also cut down the preparation time, eliminating the peeling step. 

Once your potatoes have boiled, you'll need milk and butter, which should be added in the right order and at the right time for optimal flavor and smooth texture. The butter goes in first so that the starches can fully absorb its rich, creamy taste as it is mixed in. Only after that should you add the milk. With this extra bit of attention and care to the process, your mashed potatoes will be ready to receive the loaded baked potato toppings that make Outback's side dish so unbeatable.