Shepherd's Pie in a Cast Iron Skillet
Food - Drink
The Secret Ingredient For Getting Reheatable Mashed Potato Casserole
By ADDISON PAUL
After a night or two in your fridge, mashed potato casserole can turn gummy and gritty, but you can reheat it to the proper soft and creamy texture by using one ingredient.
close up of a pot of rustic mash potato
No matter how you reheat mashed potatoes, their starches — which is what makes them creamy — can be revived by moist dairy products in a process called reverse retrogradation.
Natural fresh dairy products. Butter, milk, yogurt, curdled milk, kefir.
Out of all the dairy staples you can use, sour cream is by far your best bet for incorporating into your mashed potatoes, so they'll still be creamy when you reheat your casserole.
Opened box cream cheese isolated on white background.white plastic box.
Reheating mashed potatoes made with butter or cream yields dry, bland results, while cream cheese is a bit too heavy. Sour cream strikes the perfect balance of flavor and moisture.
Sour cream in a wooden bowl isolated on white. Dairy product.
Sour cream adds a sharp, tangy flavor to the mash, and its dairy density makes the potatoes rich yet light. This makes for a great texture even after reheating your casserole.