This Mashed Potato Skin recipe takes all of the flavors of a favorite side dish – fried potato skins – but makes them better for you! This potato recipe is still loaded, and definitely full of flavor!

If you love mashed potatoes, make sure you also check out my Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes and for more adventurous eaters, my Blue Cheese and Walnut Mashed Potatoes. Or these Mashed Sweet Potatoes are fantastic, as well!

I may be in the minority, but I always feel like I have to have a side dish of some sort on the plate for dinner. For some reason, if I just serve the main dish alone, it feels so lonely and like there just isn’t enough food on the plate. Even my kids will wonder where all the food is if I don’t include something on the side. So I’ve been trying to work on my arsenal of side dishes over the years. I’ll always be ok with some roasted veggies, or a simple green salad. But sometimes, I feel like we just need more.

I originally made this Mashed Potato Skin Recipe back in 2009, and have been making them ever since.

If you are a fan of the fried potato skins, then you will love these. There are a lot of the same kinds of flavors, but made easier and a little lighter by mashing everything together. You’ll never want regular mashed potatoes again!!

What Potatoes to Use

For this mashed potato recipe, you’ll want to use small red potatoes. Red potatoes have a thinner skin, which you’ll need since you’ll be leaving the skins on.

You can also use a yellow skinned Yukon gold. You’ll just want to make sure that the potatoes have thin skins.

Tips For Making These Mashed Potato Skin Recipe

Here are a few tips to make the best mashed potatoes with skin:

I like to bake the bacon, but you can cook it in a pan as well. I do like to make sure the bacon is crisp, though.
I use small red potatoes and cut them in half before boiling them. If you are using a bigger potato, make sure all of the potatoes are cut into pieces that are similar in size so that they all cook through at the same rate.
Start the potatoes in cold water, and make sure to season the water with salt.
Don’t overcook your potatoes, as they will not have the best texture if they are overcooked. Drain them when they are just fork tender.
Usually, I like to use butter and milk (or cream), but this recipe uses buttermilk and I love this substitution. You save a few calories (although these still aren’t “diet” potatoes) but you still get super creamy and flavor-filled mashed potatoes.
Don’t forget to season to taste with salt and pepper! The seasoning can make or break these mashed potatoes.

What to Serve These Potatoes With

These potatoes would be perfect on your holiday table – Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even Easter!

I also love to serve them with these other recipes:
Buffalo Sloppy Joes
Cheesy Mini Meatloaf Recipe
Chicken Supreme
Salisbury Steak Recipe
Chicken Fried Steak Fingers

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