Potatoes are an incredibly versatile vegetable but one of the best things you can do to one is mash it. Mashed potatoes are a widely used side dish found on many menus due to how well it pairs with a variety of main dishes.

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You only need a few ingredients to create a bowl of mashed potatoes. Typically, you only need some peeled potatoes, butter, milk, or cream with some seasoning. If you want to create a dish that is a little bolder and then add some garlic, chives, or parsley.

Though your guests and family may be accustomed to a dish of creamy mashed potatoes, you can really surprise them with your pairings. By pairing mashed potatoes with a range of delicious, you can show how versatile this dish can be.

What To Eat With Mashed Potatoes: 20 Delicious Pairings

Quick Answer: What can you eat with mashed potatoes?: Mashed Potatoes typically goes well with meat dishes such as Beef Stroganoff, Bratwurst in Beer with Onions, Beef Stew, Roast Beef, Beef Wellington, Meatloaf, Sausage, Peppers and Onions, Steak, Meatballs, Pork Chops, Barbecue Ribs, and Pork Roast with Sauerkraut.

As a side dish, you can also put a dish of Mashed Potatoes alongside poultry and fish including Roast Turkey, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Coq au Vin, Chicken and Gravy, Southern Fried Catfish, Fish Cakes, Fried Chicken. Try it with Stuffed Peppers too.

Recipe Preparation Time

Beef Stroganoff	30 minutes
Bratwurst in Beer with Onions	60 minutes
Beef Stew	70 minutes
Roast Beef	308 minutes
Beef Wellington	130 minutes
Meatloaf	90 minutes
Sausage, Peppers, and Onions	50 minutes
Steak	11 minutes
Meatballs	40 minutes
Pork Chops	25 minutes
Barbecue Ribs	195 minutes
Pork Roast with Sauerkraut	210 minutes
Roast Turkey	200 minutes
Chicken Cordon Bleu	45 minutes
Coq au Vin	75 minutes
Chicken and Gravy	25 minutes
Southern Fried Catfish	30 minutes
Fish Cakes	95 minutes
Fried Chicken	30 minutes
Stuffed Peppers	45 minutes

Beef Stroganoff

Total calories (per 100g): 154
Total preparation time: 30 minutes

Most meat dishes that involve a heavy sauce should go really well with mashed potatoes. Beef Stroganoff is one of those dishes, especially when you can incorporate sour cream in the mashed potatoes to go with the main dish itself.

Flatten some beef steaks with a rolling pin or a mallet, slice into stripes and then season. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet and quickly batch cook the steak strips until browned then place on a plate.

Turn the skillet down and melt some butter with sliced onions then add mushrooms and cook until golden. Add some flour and cook for a minute then incorporate a cup of beef broth before adding the rest.

Add the sour cream and mustard until thickened over a medium-low heat and return the steak strips and any juices on the plate to warm them up. You can serve this over pasta yet mashed potatoes works incredibly well too.

Bratwurst In Beer With Onions

Total calories (per 100g): 333
Total preparation time: 60 minutes

A simple dish that takes a bit of time, Bratwurst is well worth the wait. Especially when you find out how well sausages cooked in beer and mashed potatoes go together for a decadent meal.

Melt some butter over a medium-high heat in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Add sliced onion and sprinkle over the caraway seeds then cook until the onion has started to soften.

Kosher salt can be added for seasoning, then fit in the Bratwurst sausages and add a bottle of your favorite ale. Bring it all to a low boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for around half an hour.

You can remove the sausages and finish them off under a grill to return to the skillet.

Serve the sausages in buns with some mashed potatoes to dip into. Grainy, coarse mustard works well with sausages and it works well with mashed potatoes too making this a great dish.

Beef Stew

Total calories (per 100g): 303
Total preparation time: 70 minutes

For a simple dish that your family can all enjoy, beef stew can come with various accompaniments and these should include mashed potatoes to soak it all up.

Heat up some olive oil in a large stockpot then batch cook some seasoned steak until evenly browned then remove from the pot. Add chopped celery, carrots, and onion until tender and then add mushrooms and garlic.

Mix in some tomato paste and flour until lightly browned then stir in some wine to help you remove those browned bits at the bottom of the pot.

Stir in beef stock, bay leaves, and thyme and return the steak to the pot and bring it all to a boil then simmer for around half an hour.

You can add some potatoes to the stew at this point or just leave the mashed potatoes to become the star of the show. Once the sauce has thickened, remove the sprigs of thyme and bay leaves then season and add some chopped parsley.

Roast Beef

Total calories (per 100g): 267
Total preparation time: 308 minutes

A large dinner with friends is ideal for a roast beef joint and mashed potatoes should be one of those side dishes you simply cannot do without. Especially as both the beef and potatoes go so well with mustard.

There are many ways of preparing a roast beef joint but make sure that you insert some garlic slivers, rub it with olive oil, and then season it well.

Brown it first and then lower the temperature to make sure it has cooked through. Leave it to rest and let the meat sing alongside some mashed potatoes.

Beef Wellington

Total calories (per 100g): 305
Total preparation time: 130 minutes

Another beef dish that goes really well with mashed potatoes is Beef Wellington, possibly because it uses mustard too.

Sear your beef fillet then coat in mustard and prepare some mushroom duxelles before wrapping the fillet in the duxelles and ham. Wrap the beef fillet in puff pastry and bake in the oven. It should be medium rare which is ideal for the mashed potatoes to absorb the juices.

Meatloaf

Total calories (per 100g): 204
Total preparation time: 90 minutes

As far as classic meat dishes go, you cannot beat Meatloaf for a family meal. The moreish flavors of the meatloaf go tremendously well with the creaminess of the mashed potatoes.

Create a glaze by combining tomato ketchup, cider vinegar and brown sugar.

For the meatloaf, use a separate bowl to mix some panko breadcrumbs with grated onion then add your ground beef, eggs, garlic cloves, Worcestershire sauce, more tomato ketchup, chopped parsley, dried thyme, beef bouillon cubes, and black pepper.

Mix it well with your hands then form it into a loaf shape then transfer to a loaf tin. Now you can brush over around half of your glaze before baking for 45 minutes.

Brush on the rest of the glaze then bake for another half an hour and leave to stand for ten minutes. The dish works really well if you allow a slice to sit on some mashed potatoes and let the glaze combine with the creamy dish.

Sausage, Peppers, And Onions

Total calories (per 100g): 226
Total preparation time: 50 minutes

You do not have to worry too much about which Italian sausages you pick as the meat will complement the mashed potatoes really well. Fry the Italian sausages in a large pan that comes with a lid and then remove them once browned.

Throw in your sliced bell peppers, garlic, and onions into the pan while the juices from the sausages with some oil will nicely cook the vegetables too.

Simmer together some oregano, a can of crushed tomatoes, and some red pepper flakes then return the sausages to the pan.

Bring it all to a simmer, reduce the heat to low then cover until the sausages are cooked all the way through. Simply serve them on a bed of mashed potatoes or have the mashed potatoes as a side dish.

Sprinkle on some paprika and you have a delicious Italian-American street food dish right there.

Steak

Total calories (per 100g): 252
Total preparation time: 11 minutes

For a quick and simple dish to go with mashed potatoes, prepare a steak.

Season your steak well and cook it over a hot skillet with some garlic butter and then allow to rest. This is such a simple and rewarding dish that you may want to revisit time and time again.

Meatballs

Total calories (per 100g): 202
Total preparation time: 40 minutes

Whichever sauce you decide to cook your meatballs in, they’ll go sensationally well with mashed potatoes.

Use your hands to combine ground beef with breadcrumbs, milk, egg, cheese, oregano, and some seasoning. After forming into balls, you can either bake them or cook them on the stovetop.

Finish them off in a thick sauce, serve them with mashed potatoes and you have a great, filling dish.

Pork Chops

Total calories (per 100g): 250
Total preparation time: 25 minutes

As well as gravy and green beans, pork chops are known to traditionally go with mashed potatoes for a hearty, satisfying meal.

Simply season each chop with salt and a dry rub from sea salt, sugar, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, and cumin seeds then pan fry them until browned.

Barbecue Ribs

Total calories (per 100g): 310
Total preparation time: 195 minutes

If you are hosting a barbecue then having a dish of mashed potatoes alongside all that meat and charred vegetables is a welcome addition.

The smokiness of the food prepared on the barbecue can be offset with the smooth, creamy taste of the mashed potatoes. None more so than with barbecued ribs.

To create the best barbecue ribs, you may have to start them the day before. Cut the ribs into portions you can serve then wrap them in foil twice and bake for 90 minutes.

Unwrap them and place into a large roasting pan. Mix together brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, rum, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, chili sauce, pepper, and mustard for your glaze in a bowl.

Coat the ribs with your glaze and marinade at room temperature for an hour or leave in the fridge overnight. Once the barbecue grill is hot enough, brush the grill with oil and place the ribs while basting with remaining marinade glaze.

Pork Roast With Sauerkraut

Total calories (per 100g): 201
Total preparation time: 210 minutes

With only a few ingredients, pork roast with sauerkraut can be a truly stunning dish. You can complement the juiciness of sauerkraut and the tenderness of the pork roast with a creamy bowl of mashed potatoes.

Pat the pork joint dry then add seasoning and paprika for an easy tasty coating. Simmer some oil in a heavy pan then throw in the pork roast and sear it until a golden brown crust is formed.

Remove from the pan and wipe out a lot of the oil then add the sauerkraut, onions, apples, and caraway seeds. Pop the pork joint on top then cover with a lid and cook in the oven.

Cut the pork roast into slices, add on some sauerkraut mix then add on a dollop of creamy mashed potatoes.

Roast Turkey

Total calories (per 100g): 169
Total preparation time: 200 minutes

For a family roast dinner, turkey tends to underrated and only brought out during the festive season. However, most realize that it goes really well with mashed potatoes as well as several other side dishes.

Melt some butter in a saucepan then add in the juice and zest of a lemon with some thyme leaves. Make sure that the giblets have been removed and give the turkey a wash before patting the outside of the bird dry.

Place it in a large roasting tin with some seasoning and stuff the cavity with some more thyme, half a lemon, a quartered onion, and some garlic. You can brush the outside of the turkey with the butter mixture and sprinkle on some more seasoning.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Once the juices run clear, remove it from the oven and let it rest for around 20 minutes. Serve each slice on a large plate so you can add a dollop of mashed potatoes along with plenty of other side dishes.

Total calories (per 100g): 220
Total preparation time: 45 minutes

You should also look to complement a creamy dish like mashed potatoes with another one such as Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Pound a chicken breast until relatively flat and thinly spread out. Layer on some ham and cheese then roll the chicken breast into a log and secure it with some toothpicks.

Create some adhesive by smearing a mixture of mustard and mayonnaise onto the chicken breast then sprinkling on some breadcrumbs. You can use a typical egg flour mixture and then coat each breast in breadcrumbs too.

Bake for around half an hour until it is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. Now you can remove the toothpicks and serve with some mashed potatoes.

Coq Au Vin

Total calories (per 100g): 330
Total preparation time: 75 minutes

Another chicken recipe which is well worth trying with mashed potatoes is Coq au Vin. The French dish is incredibly moreish and the red wine can be deliciously soaked by the side dish.

You may want to blanch some of the saltiness out of some bacon rashers yet you eventually want to brown pieces in a Dutch oven then remove them. Brown your chicken pieces skin side down then add sliced onions and garlic and spoon out any excess fat.

Next, add in some chicken stock, a mixture of bay leafs, parsley and thyme sprigs, and red wine. Return the bacon pieces to the pan and simmer the mixture until the chicken pieces are cooked through and a meat thermometer shows 165°F,

Remove the onions and chicken pieces to a dish and then discard the garlic, herb sprigs, and bay leaves. Throw in the mushrooms to the liquid that remains then boil to reduce until it’s a thick sauce.

Stir in more butter, return the onion and chicken pieces to the pan and then warm it all up to pour over the mashed potatoes.

Chicken And Gravy

Total calories (per 100g): 133
Total preparation time: 25 minutes

For a comforting Sunday dinner, you can rely on Chicken and Gravy with a side dish of mashed potatoes.

Slice your chicken breasts lengthwise in half then season both sides with kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Sear the chicken in oil and butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet until cooked through to 160°F and remove them.

For the gravy, melt butter in the same skillet then add flour, paprika, dried thyme, white and black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Gradually add in chicken stock while your whisk then stir as the gravy simmers then add heavy cream.

Return the chicken to the skillet, season and cook until the gravy is the desired consistency. Alongside your mashed potatoes, try some sautéed vegetables.

Southern Fried Catfish

Total calories (per 100g): 243
Total preparation time: 30 minutes

A dish of creamy mashed potatoes goes really well with various sauces, including tartar sauce. One such fish you can try with mashed potatoes is catfish, especially when coated in cornmeal and fried.

Mix together some buttermilk, water, salt, and pepper then pour it into a flat pan that can accommodate your catfish fillets.

Combine the cornmeal with seafood seasoning and flour then place the mixture in a resealable plastic bag. Add the fillets and shake them around until evenly coated.

Heat the oil in your deep flyer, fry the fillets until golden brown and crisp which should only take around three minutes. Drain them on paper towels then place them next to some creamy mashed potatoes.

Fish Cakes

Total calories (per 100g): 201
Total preparation time: 95 minutes

Another combination of mashed potatoes and fish is fish cakes. They are also served with tartar sauce and that goes supremely well with mashed potatoes, even if potatoes form part of the fish cakes.

Bake a few potatoes and, meanwhile, cook your fish by seasoning the fillets with salt and pepper then cooking in some melted butter until cooked but not yet golden.

Leave to cool while you sauté some garlic with chili, green onion, and thyme in that butter then pour the mixture over the cooked potatoes. Roughly mash the potato then incorporate the fish and create fish cakes that you can cover in egg then coat in breadcrumbs.

Pan-fry the fish cakes until golden then bake them for ten minutes until cooked through. Serve them alongside some mashed potatoes and lemon wedges.

Fried Chicken

Total calories (per 100g): 187
Total preparation time: 30 minutes

As far as classic food combinations go, fried chicken and mashed potatoes are as good as they come. A meal that is finger lickin’ good.

Combine flour with paprika, garlic salt, poultry seasoning, and a healthy sprinkling of ground black pepper. In a separate dish, beat together eggs with water, some salt, and some more flour with black pepper.

Grab your chicken pieces and dip them first in the egg mixture, then the flour mixture until completely coated. Finally, cook the chicken in a deep fat fryer a few pieces at a time and a meat thermometer shows 165°F which should take around 8 minutes per side.

Drain the chicken pieces on paper towels then serve on a plate alongside a portion of mashed potatoes and pour over some gravy.

Stuffed Peppers

Total calories (per 100g): 140
Total preparation time: 45 minutes

You can rely on the minimal sourness of the tomatoes in the stuffed peppers mixed with the ground beef to go tremendously well with mashed potatoes.

Liberally coat a baking dish with some cooking spray and prepare your peppers by slicing the heads off and scooping out the seeds and removing the membranes.

Put the tops back on then cook them under some aluminum foil until softened. Meanwhile, brown some ground beef with onion and garlic then stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, rice, dried parsley, and seasoning.

Fill each pepper with the ground beef mix and bake until the beef is cooked through and the peppers are tender. Garnish the peppers and mashed potatoes with some parsley when serving for a flavorsome meal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Meat Goes Well With Mashed Potatoes?

Most meat that comes with a heavy sauce tends to go well with mashed potatoes. Also, pork chops are traditionally accompanied by mashed potatoes.

What Other Side Dishes Are Made From Potatoes?

Potatoes help form many side dishes including potato salad, potato dumplings, and potatoes au gratin.

Can You Make Vodka From Potatoes?

Various substances can be used to make vodka. This can include fruit and sugar beet molasses as well as more basic substances including potatoes as well as corn, rice, rye, and wheat.

What To Eat With Mashed Potatoes: 20 Delicious Pairings

A creamy dish of mashed potatoes can go really well with a wide range of dishes. Here we look at 20 delicious pairings for what to eat with mashed potatoes

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Jess Smith

Hi, my name is Jess Smith, and I love cooking in my spare time. Around three years ago, I decided to give up my day job as a teacher to pursue my passion for food. While I have enjoyed sharing tips and tricks on Social Media, I have decided to expand my horizons through this blog.

Through this blog I hope to help others learn the basics and more intricate details of cooking. I know from personal experience how frustrating it can be to cook a meal, only to realize you are missing one ingredient from your list. This is why I love to write articles chatting readers through some great substitutes that can be used in an emergency.

I hope you will find this blog useful, and that it will help you to develop your culinary skills, to help you cook up a storm!