These pretty and easy Duchess Potatoes look like roses and will be the star of any dinner plate. What makes them even better is that they can be made using leftover mashed potatoes. Talk about an impressive way to serve leftovers!
These easy-to-make mashed potato roses are an extraordinary way to turn ordinary leftovers into a memorable presentation and with hardly any effort!
Jump to:
- Additional ap"peeling" potato recipes:
- 🛒The ingredient list for making duchess potatoes from scratch:
- 🎯How to make piped potatoes using leftover mashed potatoes?
- 📋Instructions:
- 🔑The key ingredient for making mashed potato roses?
- 🥔What varieties of potato work best for piping?
- 🔪What are the most important kitchen tools for making this recipe?
- ❓FAQ's
- 📅How to make duchess potatoes in advance?
- 🔔Important tips and tricks for success:
- 💡Additional topping suggestions and garnishes for duchess potatoes:
- Printable Recipe Card
Additional ap"peeling" potato recipes:
If you're a potato lover (as I am), or belong to a potato loving family, then having leftover mashed potatoes in your fridge is potentially something that happens on a regular basis, especially if you make enough to serve a hungry bunch.
Some of my all-time favorite mashed potatoes are these, that I call Make-Ahead Cheesy Horseradish Mashed Potatoes. They're cheesy and zippy and would make a wonderful "spud base" for piping potato rosettes.
Another of my favorite and super easy mashed potato recipes is this one for Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes. They're a simple and flavorful way to liven up an ordinary mashed potato for the holidays, and everyone loves them. Make extra!
And finally, these Celery Root Mashed Potatoes are the ultimate comfort food. The flavor of potato and celery root complement each other amazingly well, so you'll want to make a double batch if only for the leftovers!
🛒The ingredient list for making duchess potatoes from scratch:
- Mashed potatoes (roughly 6 cups). Leftovers work well if you have them, or you can make the mashed Yukon gold potatoes from scratch. The entire printable recipe for mashed and piped Yukon gold potato roses is listed below.
- Half and half, heavy cream, or milk. I used half and half when writing this recipe. However, heavy cream will make the mashed potatoes richer in flavor, and using milk will lighten the flavor and the mashed potato consistency a tiny bit.
- One large egg, beaten.
- Melted butter. I always prefer salted.
🎯How to make piped potatoes using leftover mashed potatoes?
When you want to use leftover mashed potatoes to make an elegant new side dish, here's how to do it:
Reheat chilled leftover mashed potatoes with a little warm milk or half & half. For easier piping and a prettier presentation, leftover mashed potatoes need to be as lump free as possible, so it's best to re-mash them (if needed), or add them to a bowl and blend them well with a hand mixer or stand mixer.
The consistency you're looking for is like a smooth buttercream frosting. Stiff, but spreadable and able to hold it's shape.
📋Instructions:
- Press the boiled potatoes through a ricer for the smoothest mashed potato texture.
2. Stir in beaten egg, or if making scratch mashed potatoes add melted butter, half & half, salt and pepper.
3. Use a spatula to transfer half of the mashed potatoes to a large piping bag fitted with a star piping tip.
4. Starting from the center, pipe circular mashed potato rosettes in any direction you prefer, onto parchment lined baking sheets. See video clip below.
🔑The key ingredient for making mashed potato roses?
The key to piping pretty potatoes is all about the beaten egg, and the consistency of the potatoes (mentioned above).
Because the egg acts as a binder, it will hold the potatoes together in pretty piped shapes. Without the egg you'd have a lump of potatoes without that picture perfect piped presentation.
🥔What varieties of potato work best for piping?
When making fancy piped potatoes from scratch, I tend to stick to a waxy potato like a Yukon gold (as shared in the recipe card) or red potatoes, because I trust they will hold their shape when it comes to piping and baking.
However, if you’re using leftover mashed potatoes for this potato technique and have mashed potatoes made from starchy potatoes (such as russet), no worries at all.
Piping pretty potatoes that hold their shape in the oven is really all about the egg, as stated above.
🔪What are the most important kitchen tools for making this recipe?
For me, I find that a potato ricer is the best tool when it comes to making the smoothest mashed potatoes.
I also like using a large piping bag (either disposable or reusable) along with a large star tip for making potato rosettes.
❓FAQ's
Approximately 6 but if you have less that’s ok. You won’t be able to make as many mashed potato roses as this recipe states (this recipe, as written, makes about 20 – 3” mashed potato rosettes).
No, but the potatoes need to be as lump free as possible, so they won’t clog the star tip while piping.
Yes. Just be careful not to overbeat and make them too soft and mushy.
A lump free, smooth, and not too stiff mashed potato is best. Extra lumpy or too stiff of a mashed potato will get stuck in the piping tip and be a nightmare to work with.
If making from leftover mashed potatoes, you're looking for a consistency like buttercream frosting. Thick, but still spreadable. Add warm milk or half & half, a small amount at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Stir in 1 beaten egg and you are now ready to pipe.
No, not necessarily.
If you’d like to use a gallon sized zip-top bag as a makeshift piping bag that’s perfectly fine. Snip off a bottom corner of the bag after you’ve added the mashed potatoes and you’re ready to pipe. A medium to large hole will be best for piping potatoes.
That said, to make pretty textures and shapes without a piping tip, a fork can be used to make swirly designs, or you can get creative and see what other kitchen tools you have at your disposal to make other attractive patterns.
Store them in a single layer in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
For roughly 6 cups of mashed potatoes I use one whole egg.
However, if you have 5 or less cups of leftover potatoes beat one whole egg in a small bowl and then add half of the beaten egg to the potatoes and stir to combine.
Any type at all, really. Weeknights to weekends.
That said, because these are a bit on the fancy side as far as presentation, they’re typically reserved for special occasions like weddings, dinner parties, or holiday meals.
Gently place the potato swirls onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes (covered loosely with foil) in a 350-degree preheated oven, or until hot. Drizzle with the garlic-infused olive oil, garnish with spinach leaves, and serve immediately.
Yes.
Once baked, freeze the cooled potato rosettes individually on a baking sheet. Once fully frozen you can store them gently stacked in an airtight freezer container for up to 2 months.
Place the individually frozen potato rosettes in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Allow them to thaw completely. Cover the rosettes loosely with foil and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 7-10 minutes, or until hot.
Personally, I’d like to say five, but I wrote this recipe as a serving size being two.
📅How to make duchess potatoes in advance?
There are a few ways to do it. First: make the mashed potatoes in advance (recipe below, or use leftover mashed potatoes) and keep the potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Second: Allow the mashed potatoes to come to room temperature for the best piping consistency. Add the beaten egg and additional warm milk or half and half (if needed). Pipe the potato roses onto parchment lined baking sheets (see important tips and tricks below for an easy parchment paper hack).
Once piped you can refrigerate the unbaked potato swirls overnight and bake right before serving.
Or, you can bake them right away, cool them completely, and store them in a single layer for up to 4 days.
🔔Important tips and tricks for success:
- Add small dollops of mashed potato to the corners of the baking sheets before adding the parchment paper and then press the paper to the baking sheet. The potato dollops will act like glue and keep the parchment paper in place while you're piping the roses.
- If making the mashed potatoes from scratch (using the recipe below) removing the potato skins under running water is the fastest and easiest way. The skins should pretty much slip off just using your fingers and a slight bit of pressure.
- When piping, do not overfill the piping bag with mashed potatoes. Having a bag that's too full will make it harder to pipe the potatoes and will cause fatigue in the hand and fingers. It's best to add the potatoes to the piping bag in batches.
- Start piping the potato roses from the center outward and work your way back to the center to complete. I like to start in a counter-clockwise direction until two layers are formed. This makes a nice serving portion (two rosettes per person) with two layers of piped potatoes.
- Once the potato rosettes are out of the oven, allow them to cool slightly (4-5 minutes) before moving them to a serving platter or plate. Moving them too quickly after coming out of the oven can cause breakage. Using a gentle touch and a spatula will get the job done with ease.
💡Additional topping suggestions and garnishes for duchess potatoes:
As shown, I sprinkled these with paprika for a bit of extra color and flavor. Smoked paprika would also be a delicious touch.
I also drizzled them with a garlic-infused olive oil (shared in the recipe card), but any sort of herb-infused oil would be amazing.
Finely chopped chives or rosemary would be a pretty touch sprinkled on top of the potato roses, as would finely chopped parsley, sage, or basil.
As shown, I used fresh spinach leaves under the baked potato roses to really make this simple piped potato side dish even more visually appealing. Whole basil leaves or even lemon leaves would also work if you happen to have either of those ingredients handy.
When you make this recipe (and I hope that you will), I'd appreciate it if you'd take the time to come back and give it a star rating along with a comment on why you rated as you did. Search engines such as Google appreciate comments and ratings and, in turn, will show my recipes to more people. Please look for the pink star rating box within the printable recipe card. Thank you!!
Printable Recipe Card
Easy Duchess Potatoes
Equipment
- large stockpot for making mashed potatoes from scratch
- colander for making mashed potatoes from scratch
Ingredients
To boil and rice the potatoes:
- 7 medium (approximately 1½ pounds) Yukon gold potatoes washed, whole, and unpeeled potatoes
- 1½ quarts cold water
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
For the mashed potatoes:
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- ½ cup half and half or heavy cream
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
For the garlic olive oil infusion:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic peeled
For garnish and presentation:
- fresh spinach leaves
- paprika
Instructions
To make the riced potatoes:
- In a large stockpot, boil the unpeeled whole potatoes in salted water until fork tender (approximately 30-35 minutes). Drain potatoes and add them back into the pot. Add cold water to the potatoes to cool until they can be handled easily. Gently slip the skins from the cooked potatoes using your fingers. *Note - this can easily be done under running water.
- Press each boiled and skinned potato through the ricer and add the riced potatoes to a large bowl.
To make the mashed potatoes:
- Add the melted butter, beaten egg, half & half, salt and pepper to the riced potatoes and stir well to combine. The mixture should be creamy and smooth and similar in texture to a buttercream frosting.
- Use a spatula to add the mashed potatoes into the bottom of large a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
How to pipe the mashed potato roses:
- Pipe the mashed potato rosettes (roughly 3” in diameter) onto parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle each potato swirl with a touch of paprika and bake in a preheated 375° oven for 22-24 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking process.
To make the garlic infused olive oil:
- While the potatoes are in the oven, bring the olive oil and garlic cloves to a simmer in a small saucepan. Allow the oil to simmer for at least 5-7 minutes, or until the garlic cloves turn golden in color. Remove from heat.
Serving instructions:
- Place the spinach leaves on a large platter (or individual plates) and use a spatula to carefully place the rose-shaped duchess potatoes on top of the spinach leaves. Drizzle each potato rose with garlic infused olive oil, and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Shadi says
This was amazing and such a treat! Thank you! Everyone in my family loved it.
Renée says
Thank you, Shadi!
Justine says
These were so good and oh my gosh are they ever pretty! My kids loved them, and I think they'd be a great addition at a dinner party.
Renée says
They sure would be, Justine.
Thank you!