This Ingredient Is What Makes French Mashed Potatoes So Creamy

Many would agree that mashed potatoes are one of the best side dishes out there. If you're one of these people, then you're probably always on the lookout for ingredients that will boost the texture of your mashed potatoes. You may already know about more common add-ins, such as sour cream or cream cheese (or, if you're Ina Garten, goat cheese), but you probably don't know about the French secret ingredient: whipped cream. Yep, whipped cream isn't just reserved for desserts — it can be the key to the creamiest mashed potatoes ever.

The creamy dish made with potatoes and unsweetened whipped cream has its own name in France: pommes de terre chantilly (chantilly potatoes). Despite having its own name, the dish is essentially an upgraded version of typical mashed potatoes. The process includes mixing together puréed potatoes and whipped cream, then transferring them to a baking dish. A layer of cheese is added to the top — parmesan, cheddar, and gruyere (or a combination thereof) are all great options for this step — then it's popped into the oven. The whipped cream is the key to this potato dish that is super fluffy, because unlike just adding heaving cream, whipped cream has air incorporated into it, and so results in much lighter, airy mashed potatoes.

Recipes for chantilly potatoes traditionally keep things simple. However, don't let that stop you from experimenting and adding in some extra ingredients — just as you would with regular mashed potatoes. In fact, many of the ingredients that you would throw into a mashed potato recipe to make it a bit more unique and interesting will work just as well for chantilly potatoes.

To start with, try bacon. So many dishes are made better with bacon, including mashed potatoes — so why not try adding them to chantilly potatoes? You can take inspiration from our bacon and chive mashed potatoes recipe and add those two extra ingredients to the batch of chantilly potatoes — they'll be extra salty, savory, and delicious. Or, skip the bacon, and add an array of fresh herbs instead — such as rosemary, thyme, or parsley — either with or without chives.

You can also try adding caramelized onions to your chantilly potatoes for some extra richness that has a little bit of sweetness to it. Or, try adding mushrooms for an extra burst of umami. There's also room to experiment with the type of cheese that you use — there are so many combinations to choose from to make the best possible batch of chantilly potatoes.