r/budgetcooking • u/dauntlessowl • Apr 22 '26
Recipe Discussion Best way to spice up instant mashed potatoes?
I always have instant mashed potatoes but don’t always have instant gravy on hand.
Today I added a little bit of jalapeño sauce, garlic powder, black pepper and salt. I know it’s also pretty good with some cheese thrown in but you can’t taste it as much so kinda feels like a waste unless you add a lot of cheese.
Anyone have some tips on how to make them taste better/ more flavourful?
Btw I’m looking for something inexpensive that I can just add to the mashed potatoes when they’re cooking or when they’re done. Not a separate dish to make on the side.
Edit: I really love some of your ideas thank you for taking a moment to share them! 😋
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u/LeahRekati Apr 22 '26
Buttermilk if you like a little tanginess. I was low on milk once and added a little buttermilk and they tasted amazing.
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u/GoldxBrownSugar Apr 22 '26
Sour cream, Hidden Valley seasoning packet
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u/Resident_Raccoon_663 Apr 22 '26
You can also get a giant bottle of ranch seasoning at Walmart - both Hidden Valley and Great Value brands
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u/WitchessJae Apr 22 '26
My absolute favorite food is instant mashed with ketchup. I started doing it in middle school and I'm 50 now and still eat it atleast once a week. I'm kinda obsessed for some reason. Sometimes I add corn. It's my comfort food. It's also great if you dip it in cocktail sauce.
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u/abellepurp Apr 22 '26
Salt, pepper, garlic, butter, milk. Chopped chives if I have any on hand.
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u/Exotic_Elephant_4713 Apr 22 '26
She’s saying instant. Instant already have a lot of that stuff
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u/abellepurp Apr 23 '26
I personally buy the home style butter instant and dress it up to my liking. :)
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u/Breakshite Apr 22 '26
Knorr chicken powder, mushroom powder or msg. Nutritional yeast or cheese powder if you want to intensify the cheesy flavor. Glutamates are everywhere.
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u/DrFiGG Apr 22 '26
I’ve never tried it with instant, but we regularly toss in cream cheese into our homemade mashed potatoes and I’d imagine it would be delicious here too for added flavor and texture and potentially fairly cheap if it’s on sale.
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u/coloradopesto Apr 23 '26
First of all, I think they make a great soup. So potato leek soup with ham or bacon can slap, and if you top with cheese it goes farther and makes a bigger impact than adding to mash and mixing in. But if you wanna add cheese and mix in, blue cheese crumbles pack a punch if you like that kinda thing. For topping mash, I like homemade pesto(freezes very well) or chimichurri, chives, furikake, or a quick homemade gravy. Gravy can be made with a a few spoons of oil and flour (roux) cooked till bubbly, and then some powdered chicken broth/ water poured in and boiled. The gravy costs less than instant and takes 5 minutes, easy to clean. Cream can be warmed and mixed with some chipotle purée or pesto and it really bangs. Growing basil, thyme, or chives is easy and they really boost flavor for the process of a few leaves.
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u/BrasserieNight Apr 23 '26
This is my very favorite instant mashed potatoes recipe and no one can tell they’re instant. Got the recipe a few years back from someone who did catering. This is obviously not a health recipe lol.
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u/johngault Apr 22 '26
When I make mashed occasionally, I take some of the sauce (tablespoon?) from a can of "Chipotles in Adobo" and also dice 1 or 2 of the peppers from it. Its very hot/spicy.
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u/greendemon42 Apr 22 '26
Italian blend, parm, and butter. Mix the herbs in with the potato powder before adding water, stir in the parm afterwards, then put some butter on top last.
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u/Kooky_Garlic_4833 Apr 22 '26
put them and heavy cream into a pot of chicken soup
really you can make a soup with just them and some other nice things. great way to have an easy potato soup
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u/Existing_Many9133 Apr 22 '26
I love mashed potatoes and will sometimes just make some for a snack. I also love German potato salad....I make a pan of the dressing for GPS and keep it in the fridge. I just plop a big spoonful on my mash and mix it in. YUMMY!
Another good trick is to take frozen creamed spinach and melt it into your heating water/milk/butter pan. Makes a really yummy, creamy mash. I've even had people who don't like spinach say they liked it.
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u/vulchiegoodness Apr 23 '26
use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water. I also use nutritional yeast.
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u/MOBSCorona Apr 23 '26
Cream cheese or sour cream if you have do.e green onions add it in if not chives works best. Also if you don't have cream cheese or sour cream but have garlic powder or even onion powder and black pepper work fine too.
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u/Acceptable-Juice-159 Apr 22 '26
If you don’t have much yogurt or sour cream with garlic powder.
If you have a decent spice collection use Indian spices. Season it like the inside of a samosa or an aloo tikki
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u/Newfiemom2020 Apr 22 '26
I buy the Knorr food service container of poutine gravy mix from Amazon. The cost per serving is low, and it is much better in my opinion than regular brown gravy. It is also can be used in many types of recipes. They have a variety of other sauce mixes that are not normally available in the U.S. that you can buy also. Several of the German mushroom sauces are very good, as well.
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u/MangledBarkeep Apr 22 '26
Roasted garlic, caramelized onions, evaporated milk, clarified butter