How Long To Boil Potatoes For Fluffy, Creamy, Or Firm Results

When you’re boiling potatoes, it can be tough to figure out how to get the timing just right. For example, if you’re boiling potatoes with the goal of making mashed potatoes to accompany Thanksgiving dinner, your boiling time will be far different than if you’re boiling potatoes to chop up and include in your famous potato salad. Firm potatoes typically require less time — around 12 minutes — of boiling, while creamy potatoes and fluffy potatoes require more time in the pot (about 15 minutes and 20 minutes, respectively).

We reached out to the experts to get tips on how exactly to boil potatoes for fluffy, creamy, or firm results. Emmy award-winning personal chef and author Richard Ingraham, cookbook author and recipe developer Brian Theis, and James Beard Nominee chef and founder, author, and Denver culinary pioneer at Bonanno Concepts Frank Bonanno, all spoke exclusively with Chowhound to share their top tips on how to boil perfectly textured potatoes for a variety of spud-filled dishes. 

“Boiling time makes a huge difference in the texture of potatoes, because heat breaks down starches and pectins in different ways,” says Ingraham. Bananno agrees, stating, “Time is everything with potatoes.” Here, we’ll dig into exactly what you need to know about boiling spuds for fluffy, creamy, or firm results.

If you’re preparing to make potato salad, or you’re parboiling potatoes prior to roasting, you’ll be able to keep the boiling time short. Richard Ingraham recommends boiling for eight to 12 minutes for firm potatoes — and it’s key that you don’t overcook. “The potatoes should be cooked just until barely tender when pierced with a fork,” he says. He recommends removing them from the hot water immediately to avoid carryover cooking. This is super-important if you’re going to mix the potatoes with mayo after they cool, as overdone potatoes can fall apart and become a mayonnaise-mashed-potato concoction that nobody asked for. 

An important note: Keep an eye on your potatoes throughout the boiling process to make sure they don’t lose firmness. Brian Theis says that they are several factors — including the type of potato you’re using — that can affect how quickly your potatoes cook. He prefers Idaho or Russet potatoes for firm results. Ingraham agrees that the type of potato you choose matters, as “different varieties have different starch and moisture levels.” Don’t forget to save a bit of the water you boiled your potatoes in to help take your potato salad dressing to the next level — this small step is what sets Julia Child’s potato salad recipe apart from the standard so-so bowls of spuds that tend to be left half-eaten on the picnic table.

If you’re going for creamy mashed potatoes, you’ll want to boil them for 18 to 20 minutes, according to Frank Bonanno. By the time they’re done, it should be nearly effortless to smash them with a fork. Richard Ingraham agrees, stating, “The potatoes should be fork tender but still holding their shape. This allows the starch to be softened but not overly expanded, which results in a creamy, buttery texture when mashed.” Pro tip: instead of boiling your potatoes in water, try boiling them in half-and-half for an uber-creamy result.

The type of potato you choose to use can also make a difference, says Ingraham. He says that Yukon Gold potatoes are his go-to option when he’s making creamy potatoes — Bonanno and Brian Theis agree. “Yukon Golds are the holy grail for creamy,” Bonanno says. “Just enough starch for smooth but still so much waxy character that there’s body.” Theis says that Yukon Golds are a good “in-between” potato — they’re not super starchy like Idaho potatoes, and they’re softer than red bliss potatoes and others that are a good fit for potato salad.

If you prefer fluffier mashed potatoes, you’ll want to let your spuds boil for a bit longer, advises Frank Bonanno — up to 25 minutes. “The starches within need time to truly rupture so they can absorb butter and cream successfully,”‘ he says. To prep fluffy potatoes after boiling, Richard Ingraham says, “You should use a potato ricer or a food mill instead of a mixer. This prevents overworking the starch, which results in gluey potatoes.” Ingraham also recommends adding melted butter and warm (not straight from the fridge) milk or cream, as this can help create a lighter, fluffier end result (be sure to add butter to the mix before you add milk or cream).

Russet and Idaho potatoes are the best choice for fluffy potatoes, according to Brian Theis. Ingraham agrees, stating that russet and Idaho potatoes “are high in starch and low in moisture, which makes them best for fluffy textures like mashed potatoes.” He recommends looking for large russet or Idaho potatoes that have a dry-feeling peel. Ingraham also says that a little bit of prep goes a long way when you’re working to create fluffy potatoes. “Potatoes should be cut evenly into one to two inch pieces,” he says. “This is best for fluffy or creamy mashes, since they’ll soften uniformly.”