French Onion Mashed Potatoes

French Onion Mashed Potatoes are not intended for anyone counting calories or following a weight-loss plan. The caramelized onions are fried in a savoury beef broth and folded into mashed potatoes prepared with cheese, cream, and butter. Save this recipe for a holiday dinner when indulgence is permitted and expected!

We love mashed potatoes! In fact, most of the time, I’ll double or triple the batch so that I can freeze the leftovers. I allow them to fully cool, spoon portions of them into freezer bags and seal them using my foodsaver vacuum sealer. Whenever we are in the mood for some comfort food, I simply thaw the mashed potatoes in the sealed bag on my countertop. Once fully thawed, transfer them to a skillet with a little splash of milk and reheat them. They taste just a delicious and fresh as the day they were made! And, that Dear Reader, is exactly what I did with some of these French Onion Mashed Potatoes.

Even though mashed potatoes are common and easy, we don’t actually prepare them that often for our everyday, regular meals.  I love mashed potatoes, but they’re heavy and starchy.  But, on special occasions, heavy and starchy is just what the doctor ordered. And, French Onion Mashed Potatoes are one of the best! Seriously, I can’t get enough!

These are certainly not for the dieter in your life.  There’s a lot of butter, sour cream, and cheese in this dish and I’m not about to apologize for it.  I make potatoes like this a few times a year, so I think the extra extravagance of the butter is totally forgivable.

CERTAIN FOODS CAN BRING BACK GREAT MEMORIES

The first step for this recipe is to caramelize the onions.  Caramelizing onion is an art form in itself.  In fact, it’s the only way I’ll eat onion – it has to be really, really well done.  The smell of slowly frying onion invokes a beautiful memory for me.  It takes me back to the cold, winter months of my childhood, more specifically, grade three!

In the small town that I grew up in, in a few instances, I was paired with other grade levels at school.  For example, the grade two and three classes were hosted in the same room, and I can remember the same about grade five and six.  I’m not sure if it was because of limited classroom space, limited teacher budgets, or because the student number was so low.  Anyway, I digress!

In grade three, I had the most amazing teacher – in fact, most of my teachers were great throughout my academic years, but this one particular teacher was my favourite.  In fact, I still keep in touch via Facebook, more than 30 years later! I remember that the students in grade two would start class at 1 pm, after the one-hour lunch break.  The grade three students, however, were not required back to school until 2 pm.  (Remember, both classes shared the same room and the same teacher.)

LET’S GO TO MY AUNT’S HOUSE!

Rather than stay home and wait for class to start, I would leave home with my older sister and younger brother who both started back to class at 1 pm, and head to my favourite aunt’s house.  I would stay with her while she ate her lunch.  I would leave about five minutes or so before class started.

This was my daily, weekday routine for a very long time.  I can’t recall if it was the entire grade three school year, but I can be certain that it was at least for several months.

My Aunt Beryl had children too.  None of my cousins shared a classroom with me, so all four of them had eaten lunch and headed back to school.  This was when my aunt would have her lunch, and while doing so, she would take a break from her duties as a housewife, and watch Days of Our Lives.  She was the reason I became hooked on daytime soap operas; a habit I’ve since been able to break.

IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE ONIONS!

Right now, at this very moment, I’m sitting at my desk, and I can smell homemade French fries which have been deep-fried in shortening; I can smell the BBQ sauce that she used to dip her fries into (trust me, it works very well if the fries are cut thin and fried until they are crispy); and I can smell onions being pan-fried in a cast iron skillet.

Her home always smelled so good, because something was always cooking on the stovetop, or baking in the oven.  And caramelized onions, I think, were one of her favourite ingredients.  I remember well how much my uncle, her husband, would like to pan-fry onions and potatoes.

These memories and smells bring me right back to 1984 when I became too familiar with Bo and Hope, and watched adult, daytime television with my beautiful aunt.  I still think of her often and only with the fondest of memories.  Her memory evokes such a strong sense of comfort and a time when I had no responsibilities or worries.  My aunt passed away in October of 2002.  She will be forever missed.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this Leek Mashed Potato recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

To Prepare the Caramelized Onions:

• Olive Oil
• Butter
• Onions – I like to use yellow onions here. I feel they caramelize better.
• Beef Broth – Use the low sodium broth to avoid the onions becoming too salty. If you have homemade beef broth, now is the time to use it!
• Thyme – Fresh thyme leaves are best here, but you can use dried if that’s all you have. If using dried, use a third of what you would if you were using fresh thyme.
• Worcestershire Sauce

For the Remainder of the Recipe:

• Potatoes – Use 3 pounds of white flesh potatoes.
• Butter
• Sour Cream – This not only adds a sour tart note but also helps to keep the mashed potatoes light and creamy.
• Cheese – Shredded sharp cheddar works very well here, but feel free to experiment with other cheeses.
• Parsley – Freshly chopped. Plus more for garnish.
• Salt and Ground Black Pepper

HOW TO MAKE FRENCH ONION MASHED POTATOES

Transfer the sliced onions to a large skillet with the olive oil and butter. Over medium-low heat, cook the onions slowly, stirring often for 20 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of the beef broth and stir into the onions. Continue to cook for 10 minutes. Repeat this step every 10 minutes until the beef broth has been used up. Add the thyme leaves and Worcestershire Sauce. Increase the heat to medium and continue to cook the onions for 5-10 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat and set aside.

While the onions are cooking, peel the potatoes and chop them in one inch cubes. This will not only speed up the cooking time, but will also make mashing more manageable. Rinse the potatoes under cold running water to wash away the excess starch and transfer them to a pot. Add enough cold water so the potatoes are covered by one inch of water. Over high heat, bring the potatoes to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt to the pot – about a half a teaspoon – and stir. Lower the heat to medium-high and continue to cook the potatoes until they are fork tender – about 20-25 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain well.

Transfer the potatoes back to the pot. Mash them using your favourite mashing technique. That could be with a hand-held masher or a potato ricer. I always use a hand mixer to mash potatoes; try it – they are always light and fluffy. Once the potatoes are mashed, add the butter, sour cream, shredded cheese, parsley, salt, and ground black pepper. Use your hand mixer to combine or stir well with a wooden spoon. Next, transfer all of the caramelized onions to the pot of mashed potatoes and use a rubber spatula to fold the onions in. Do this gently as to not break the onions up too much.

At this point, the mashed potatoes are ready to serve. You can serve them onto individual plates or you can transfer them to a serving bowl and top them with extra melted butter and fresh parsley for garnish. To keep the potatoes warm, leave them in the pot and cover with a lid. Keep the potatoes on a burner of the lowest heat setting. Stir regularly to avoid burning the potatoes or drying them out.

HOW TO KEEP MASHED POTATOES WARM

Want to keep mashed potatoes warm without risking them becoming gluey? Leave them in the pot and cover them with a lid. Keep the potatoes on a burner on the lowest heat setting possible. Stir regularly to avoid burning the potatoes or drying them out. If condensation forms on the lid, do not tilt the lid allowing the moisture to fall back into the potatoes. Carefully hold the lid in a level position and tilt it over your sink to drain off the water. Pat the lid dry and place it back onto the pot.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!