We Tasted And Ranked 8 Brands Of Instant Mashed Potatoes

Buttery mashed potatoes are a rich, creamy side that pairs perfectly with nearly any meal. Of course, they can take a while to make between peeling the potatoes, boiling them, and preparing them. To solve this time issue, many companies have turned to dehydrating the potatoes and turning them into flakes that take significantly less time to prepare. Instant mashed potatoes are an easy way to have your favorite side dish ready in only a few minutes. The downside? Many boxed brands fall short on taste, smell, or texture — the worst fall short on all three. 

Determining which instant mashed potato brands are worthwhile and which are flat-out unpalatable is usually a matter of trial and error. Thankfully, I put my 15+ years of experience in the cooking industry to work and handled the test tasting for you. I then ranked them from worst to best. To determine where each boxed brand stood on this list, I used my food background and compared each brand with what homemade mashed potatoes should taste, smell, and feel like. I also considered ingredients lists and pricing when making my decisions. You can find a full explanation of my methodology at the end of this article. Let's get into it.

I usually love Bob's Red Mill as a brand overall, but these potato flakes were a big letdown. The price is a little high compared to the other brands that appear on this list, but I will say the bag is pretty large so it evens out some. The first thing I noticed was positive and what I've come to expect from this brand — the ingredients list is especially wholesome and only contains potato flakes. There aen't even any preservatives added, which is fantastic for people who try to avoid them.

Unfortunately, that's where the positive notes end. Upon opening the bag, I noticed the potato flakes smelled a little off — I'd describe the scent as artificial or plasticky. At first, I thought it was just the bag, but the flakes retained the smell even after I pulled some out. After preparing the potatoes according to the instructions, I was rewarded with a very bland meal. It tasted more like I was eating an unseasoned oven-baked potato rather than creamy mashed potatoes. Also, the texture was a little too runny — although the bag said it would thicken up after a few minutes, it never did.

The Amazon Fresh Mashed Potatoes are widely available online like all Amazon products — but unfortunately, I can't recommend you keep these stocked. My first problem is that upon opening the box I noticed these potatoes didn't really have a smell — which seems to be a theme among the lower-ranking brands on this list. Even after preparing them according to the instructions, there was no improvement and even the buttery scent didn't come through, which was weird. But, the texture may have been the worst part of these. Instead of being light and fluffy, they came out dense with a heavy mouthfeel that almost made me gag.

The taste was mostly bland with heavy starchy notes reminiscent of heavily-used pasta water. I tried adding a little extra butter, salt, and pepper after my initial taste test, but it didn't help. While the ingredients list was standard and unsurprising, the price was a little high comparatively. Overall, I wouldn't recommend these.

Bowl and Basket is a store brand that I picked up at my local Shoprite, which means you can find it if you live in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, or Maryland. While I enjoy a lot of Bowl and Basket foods, these instant mashed potatoes aren't one of them. This is disappointing since the flakes were really small like one of the better brands I tried on this list — unfortunately, I can't say there's a correlation in flake size and taste because these were flat-out awful.

The smell was mild in the box, but it did come through a little more once the mashed potatoes were prepared. The price was relatively affordable and the ingredients list was unsurprising. However, the texture was gummy with a very heavy mouthfeel — nothing like the light, fluffy, creamy homemade mashed potatoes I enjoy. The taste was initially subpar, but there was a strange, starchy aftertaste that was hard to get out of my mouth. I definitely do not recommend these.

Great Value is Walmart store brand and I've tried a lot of the products, from its knockoff candy bars to its frozen breakfast sandwiches. That being said, the products are always hit or miss, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. But, upon opening the box, I was immediately disappointed by the fact there was zero smell to the potato flakes. Unfortunately, the prepared mashed potatoes didn't get any better — and since smell is one of my favorite things about food, this was a big letdown.

When preparing these, I had to add more potato flakes than the instructions said to get a consistency anywhere near mashed potatoes. The texture was okay once I added more flakes, but it looked like hot baby cereal before. The taste was okay — not the worst I've ever eaten, but definitely not the best. Despite a simple ingredients list and really affordable pricing, I don't think I'll be purchasing and eating these again.

As a disclaimer, Idahoan is my usual instant mashed potato brand, and I honestly thought it would top this list. But, as it turns out, I was only using it  because it had become a habit and it did not, in fact, take the top spot. That being said, the Idahoan Original Mashed Potatoes were definitely the ones with the best smell. The flakes themselves had a very mild potato scent, but the prepared mashed potatoes smelled mouthwatering, which I really enjoyed. The price is on the higher side of average for the size of the box. But, the ingredients were still basic and expected, which is something I look for in all my boxed foods.

Compared to other instant mashed potatoes on this list, the Idahoan ones had a slightly off texture. They weren't as light and fluffy, but rather slightly crumbly when made according to the instructions. Despite the textural issue, the taste was good but very mild. I did end up adding a little extra salt after my initial taste test, which helped bring out more of the flavor I was looking for.

The Signature Select Mashed Potatoes are available at one of my local grocery stores, Acme. However, Acme is owned by Albertsons and these mashed potatoes should be available at other stores under this umbrella company, including Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Star Market, Carrs, and several others. I was excited to try them because most other Signature Select products I've tried are pretty good — and these did not disappoint.

We started off strong with an affordable price, especially considering the size of the box. The ingredients list was very standard, with no surprises — just potato flakes and a few necessary preservatives. Neither the potato flakes nor the prepared mashed potatoes had much of a smell, which I found mildly disappointing. However, the prepared product had a rich, creamy taste with strong earthy notes from the potatoes and needed no seasoning beyond the standard sprinkle of salt and pepper I allotted for my taste test. Signature Select came very close to homemade mashed potatoes and I would definitely buy this brand again.

Betty Crocker is an overall reliable brand, so I had pretty high expectations going into the taste test. These Creamy Butter Mashed Potatoes did not disappoint. The pricing was a little higher, but that's to be expected of name brand products — besides which, the slightly larger cost ended up being well worth it. When prepared according to the instructions, these mashed potatoes are creamy, rich, and extra buttery with a fantastic texture that offers a satisfyingly smooth mouthfeel.

But, the smell may be the best part. The potato flakes had a light buttery scent that was nice but mild. Once prepared, that scent really came to the forefront and made this dish deliciously aromatic. The ingredients list was a little longer than the rest of the instant mashed potato brands on this list, but overall, I would definitely purchase these potatoes again — in fact, my partner enjoyed his helping so much that he specifically requested it.

I'd never had anything from Whole Foods Market before, so this was my initial impression of the brand as well as its potatoes. When I opened the box of these 365 Whole Foods Market Instant Mashed Potatoes, I was a little surprised at how tiny the flakes were — they resembled sand more than flakes. But honestly, these had the best texture out of any of the instant mashed potatoes on this list — they were light and fluffy, with a smooth, creamy mouthfeel that was exactly what I'd expect from the homemade version.

The smell was warm and buttery, with light notes of earthiness that got me excited to try them. That first bite was very close to homemade mashed potatoes with a creamy richness and strong potato taste. I would definitely eat these again, despite the price versus amount of product being one of the highest on this list. The ingredients list was fantastic too — only dehydrated potatoes, with zero preservatives. If you haven't yet tried these, I highly recommend you do, so you can see why I ranked them the best instant mashed potatoes.  

I gathered information for this ranking by purchasing brands that were available online or at my local grocery stores, including Acme, Shoprite, and Walmart. Each brand was prepared according to the instructions with a pinch of salt and pepper, and I chose only plain or buttery options to keep the taste test fair.

I relied on my 15+ years of experience in the food industry and decades of home cooking experience when making assessments. The taste, texture, and smell were evaluated based on how closely they came to homemade mashed potatoes. I also considered the price versus size, and the ingredients list to create these rankings.