Duchess potatoes are not only light and fluffy but look totally elegant and have a pretty crispy outside. These are perfect for showing off at Thanksgiving or a Christmas dinner, but can easily be made throughout the year. All you need is 6 ingredients and they are ready in 1 hour. Plus one batch makes about 60, meaning they are great for crowds!
These little potatoes sure do look fancy, but they are so simple to make! You won’t even need piping experience. While they make a great holiday side dish, you can also whip up a batch for any special occasion to make your dinner a little more elegant.
Cornish hens, stuffed pork chops, and roasted beef tenderloin sure do go great with duchess potatoes! Plus, these are more elevated main course meals that fit the presentation. We also love asparagus salad, Brussels sprouts, and honey glazed carrots for other sides.
Why You’ll Love This Duchess Potatoes Recipe
- They look amazing but are actually simple to make.
- Great for holidays and special occasions.
- One batch makes a ton!
- It can be made ahead of time and still tastes great when served!
What Ingredients do I Need for Duchess Potatoes?
- Russet potatoes – Yukon Gold potatoes can be used as well.
- salt
- salted butter
- heavy cream
- white pepper
- large egg yolks
Pro Tip: Make these ahead of time! After piping them onto the baking sheet, place them in the freezer and bake when ready. You can also keep them in the fridge, loosely tented with plastic wrap a day in advance before serving.
How to Make the Prettiest Duchess Potatoes
PREP AND BOIL POTATOES: Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel the potatoes and chop them into chunks. Place in a large pot of salted water (enough to cover) and simmer until they are fork tender. Drain and allow them to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
MASH POTATOES: Press the potatoes through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Stir in the butter, cream, salt, and pepper. Allow the potatoes to cool to room temperature.
PIPE: Transfer the potatoes to a piping bag with a large star tip (#1M). Pipe mounds onto the baking sheet,
BAKE AND SERVE: Cook for 16-20 minutes or until they are golden brown. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with flake salt and parsley if desired.
- Salt the potato water well for extra flavor.
- Taste the mashed mixture before adding the eggs and season more if needed.
- A potato ricer makes these super smooth. If you don’t have one you can use a regular potato masher, just be sure they are no large chunks. These will not go through the tip on the piping bag.
- The potato mounds should be at room temperature before going in the oven. If they are hot, they may puddle during baking.
- Cool the potatoes before adding the eggs, or else you’ll end up with scrambled eggs!
- Some recipes say to brush duchess potatoes with an egg wash or butter before baking. We tested this and saw no difference in looks or taste. It was actually more tedious trying not to crush the delicate edges.
Fun Fact
Duchess potatoes originated in France and are still a staple in their cuisine.
Variations
- To make a duchess potato casserole, spread the potato mixture in a greased dish. Use a fork across the top to create a crisscross pattern. Bake until golden brown.
- If you don’t have a piping bag with a tip, transfer the mixture to a Ziploc bag. Snip the corner and pipe. They won’t be as pretty, but will taste the same!
Leftovers should be covered and stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Stories say that these potatoes got their name because they were first made for a duchess.
Yes. Simply follow the recipe up until the point they are piped on the baking sheet. Place it in the freezer until frozen. Then transfer the potatoes to a freezer bag. To cook from frozen, place them on a sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.
More Mouthwatering Side Dish Recipes
Duchess Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 large Russet potatoes peeled and diced (3-4 pounds)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt for potato water
- 4 T. salted butter
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- Additional salt to taste
- 6 egg yolks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Peel and chop potatoes into pieces. Place potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, adding 1 tablespoon of kosher salt to the water, and cook until potatoes pierce easily with a fork.
- Strain potatoes and allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Press potato chunks through a ricer to finely mash them.
- Stir in butter, heavy cream, white pepper, and additional salt to taste. If the potatoes are still hot, allow to cool until they are about room temperature.
- Stir in one egg yolk at a time, until 6 egg yolks are evenly mixed into the potato mixture.
- Transfer the potato mixture to a large piping bag fit with an open star tip (I use tip #1M). Pipe tall mounds of potato onto the prepared baking sheet. The potatoes will not spread like a cookie might, so you can place the mounds close together.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes or until the mounds are golden brown across the top.
- Brush with additional melted butter and sprinkle with flaked salt (like Madon’s) and finely chopped parsley, if desired.
Notes
Store, covered, for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Notes:
Yukon Gold potatoes work really well in this recipe also. Salt the potato water well so that the seasoning is really infused into the potatoes. Taste the mashed potato mixture after adding everything but before you mix in the egg yolks so that you can adjust the seasonings further if needed. Use a ricer for super smooth mashed potatoes. If you don’t have a ricer, mash the potatoes really well as you don’t want any lumps to clog the piping tip when you’re piping out your mounds. As long as the potatoes are at room temperature when piping into mounds, they can go right into the oven. If they are especially warm, they may puddle when placed in the oven. If you have trouble, chill the pans of potatoes before baking. I didn’t find much difference between room temp and cooled potatoes other than maybe a few extra seconds in the oven. Cool the potatoes before adding the egg yolks so that you don’t end up with scrambled yolks in your potatoes. There are a variety of recipes that will brush the piped potatoes with either an egg wash or melted butter before baking. I saw no difference in the finished look or taste of the potatoes when doing this and I also found it tedious to brush the piped potatoes (even when chilled) without crushing the delicate piped edges. My favorite method was to brush the duchess potatoes with melted butter once they came out of the oven and then sprinkle them with a bit of salt. You can also spread the potato mixture into a shallow casserole dish and create a pattern across the top with a fork. Bake until golden for duchess potato casserole.
Nutrition
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