Ranking Fast Food Mashed Potatoes From Worst To Best

I'm forever in pursuit of potato perfection. I've tackled a list of the best mashed potatoes in NYC, and now it's time for fast food spuds to get their chance in the spotlight. Why mashed potatoes aren't a more common fast food menu item I'll never know. The South has a broad swath of options, with well-known chains like Cowboy Chicken and Golden Chick, but folks in the Northeast aren't as lucky. French fries dominate the potato hierarchy at most fast food chains, and somehow mashed potatoes never really got the credit they deserve. As the ultimate warming comfort food, the best mashed potatoes should be rich and creamy, but fluffy enough to melt onto your tongue like butter. I tracked down the few fast food joints in my area that offer mashed potatoes, ordered them, and sampled them to determine the best one.

Despite having seemingly straightforward ingredients, each fast food chain shells out its own unique approach that goes beyond mere potato, butter, and salt. Some chains were decent, while some could fool the average eater into thinking it's homemade. The overall texture and flavor of each side were the primary considerations for this ranking, but I also factored in price and portion size. Moreover, mashed potatoes without gravy is like peanut butter without jelly; all of the brands included a drizzle on top of their mashed potatoes. While I'm not necessarily ranking the mashed potatoes based on the gravy, I did factor in how the potatoes absorbed and mixed with the oozy gravy. 

Crown Fried Chicken can be found on practically every corner of Brooklyn and Queens; everyone's favorite location is generally whichever is closest to their apartment. Crown's mashed potatoes were some of the cheapest in this ranking, but sadly, they weren't my favorite. 

The golden brown gravy reminds me of pure childhood cafeteria comfort; it's goopy and nostalgic. I had to dig through that thick layer of gravy to uncover the hidden scoop of mashed potatoes, which were a bit too dense for my liking. Crown's mashed potatoes were by far the thickest and heaviest of the ones I sampled, though it didn't amount to an automatic loss. Rather, these potatoes were also missing flavor. There's a dry, gummy quality that's hard to miss — and it may be a indication that these potatoes were reheated rather than made fresh.

I'm not expecting freshly-whipped potatoes (especially for this price), but I don't want them tasting like they just popped out of the microwave either. I'm not above microwaves, but I don't want my mashed potatoes to have that previously-nuked texture. If you desperately need some mashed potatoes with your fried chicken, Crown will suffice. Crown Fried Chicken might not always be practicing the best way to reheat mashed potatoes, but customers deserve a fresh batch every time. 

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is one of America's top fast food options for fried chicken and mashed potatoes – a good, old-fashioned meal by the South's standards. Colonel Sanders, the man behind the chicken, had humble beginnings slinging chicken off a Kentucky highway before opening KFC in Utah in 1952. And what goes perfectly with fried chicken? Mashed potatoes.

It had been a long time since I indulged in a KFC meal. The mashed potatoes were more unique than I remembered. They were incredibly light and smooth — a stark difference from Crown's gluey potatoes. The potatoes has been whipped into oblivion without a lump in sight.

They're almost too thin to carry any creaminess, but there is a buttery quality that helps give the spuds an unmistakeable smoothness. KFC practically mixes the rich gravy into the potatoes when it packs the spuds into the small plastic container, which I can appreciate. The creamy gravy tastes like it was made with peppery pan drippings, and it might even be thicker than the mashed potatoes. Ultimately, KFC's mashed potatoes are closer to a whipped dip than the traditional side dish. Don't get me wrong, they're delicious, but I'd call it a "potato puree" before "mashed potatoes."

The first time I had Popeyes, I was in awe. The spicy fried chicken reigns supreme in my opinion, but it's not complete with a side of gravy-soaked mashed potatoes. The Louisiana-inspired fast-food chain is all about Cajun flavors – and doesn't stop at just the fryer. The creamy mashed potatoes are doused in Popeyes' Cajun gravy, which might be the best part about this side dish. It comes out to just a few cents more than KFC's so-called mashed potatoes, but with the right consistency and way more flavor.

The other potatoes on this list keep it pretty simple flavorwise, sticking with tried-and-true seasonings like garlic and parsley, but Popeyes mashed potatoes are loaded with flavor that you can see and taste. Chunks of green chiles and big specks of black pepper can be spotted in every spoonful, which gives it a way deeper flavor than the rest of the brands I sampled. If I was ranking gravy, Popeyes may have scooted up on the list, but the mashed potatoes themselves didn't wow me enough to edge out Jollibee's spuds. I would never leave it off my Popeyes plate, but without the peppery gravy and a crispy drumstick, it's a pretty basic side of mashed.

Jollibee serves regional Filipino dishes, though its menu may also appear to a range of eaters. Beyond fried chicken and mashed potatoes, it also serves spaghetti, "burger steak," and the popular Filipino noodle dish palabok.

It was tough calling it between Popeyes and Jollibee, but ultimately Jollibee won — thanks to the flawless texture of its mashed potatoes. After sampling the other savory mashed potatoes, the sweetness of Jollibee's potatoes caught me by surprise. I usually avoid the optional teaspoon of sugar in savory recipes because I prefer a sharp and spicy flavor, but Jollibee has figured it out. It uses the right amount of salt to even things out. The brand has officially converted me.

Jollibee's mashed potatoes are the only ones I tried that had evidence of an actual potato. Unlike the other brands, which may use instant mashed potato flakes, Jollibee seems to mash up the real thing. There are reddish-purple potato skins throughout the bowl. These pieces add texture and an earthy flavor, and they offered the occasional mini chunk of potato, too. With the right balance between rich and fluffy, these mashed potatoes are pretty impressive. They're extremely buttery and slightly thicker than Popeyes' potatoes, but are still being creamy. The hearty mashed potatoes are completed with a moat of rich gravy that adds just enough saltiness and depth to the sweetened potatoes.

Last but far from least, we have Boston Market: home of the world's fluffiest mashed potatoes. The Massachusetts-born restaurant and eatery may be a fast-food chain, but the mashed potatoes taste as close to home as you can get from a chain. The other mashed potatoes hardly stood a chance against Boston Market, thanks to its genuine starchy-yet-airy texture.

These are the priciest potatoes on the list, but the portion size is the largest out of all the brands I sampled. Considering the others pale in comparison to Boston Market, the cost of these mashed potatoes isn't bad. They're whipped up, but have more volume than KFC's almost-soupy monstrosity. The gravy measures up as well; it tastes far bolder and more meat-forward than the others. It's a light-brown color with a creamy consistency that accentuates the fluffy potatoes without masking the flavor or taking over the texture (ahem, Crown). These mashed potatoes come closest to homemade; they're simple, perfectly seasoned, creamy, and rich.

I chose the most popular fast-food restaurants serving mashed potatoes in the NYC metro area to assemble this list. I focused on chains that have dozens of locations, mostly nationwide, and factored in price and consistency. All of the mashed potatoes came with gravy, which is why I sampled it with each serving of mashed potatoes. 

I determined the ranking by tasting each side of mashed potatoes and gravy and assessing its texture and flavor. The highest-ranking mashed potatoes were fluffy, light-bodied, and well-seasoned, while the lowest-ranking potatoes were dense, bland, and not very fresh.