This easy recipe for aligot potatoes is guaranteed to rock your mashed potato world. Creamy and delicious and so easy to make!
I actually don’t know if I have the words to describe the joy that is aligot potatoes. I had never heard of them until a couple of years ago, when I ran across a recipe for them. Never saw them on a menu, never read about them, had no idea what “aligot” meant.
Now mind you, I consider mashed potatoes one of the great pleasures of life, and I have tried all different approaches to them, none of them quite measuring up to my mother’s homemade mashed potatoes that we get at Christmas.
(One Christmas she mixed pureed turnips into them. Or maybe it was parsnips. That was the Christmas That Almost Wasn’t. I have forgiven her, but it has taken a while.)
Anyway, one of the things every mashed potato recipe tells you not to do, NEVER to do, is to “mash” them in your food processor. You are supposed to use a food mill (aggravating) or a hand masher (exhausting) or a ricer (the best approach, especially if you have a strapping Southern husband to help you).
This easy recipe for aligot potatoes is guaranteed to rock your mashed potato world. Creamy and delicious and so easy to make! However, aligot potatoes are all about the food processor, which may be one of the reasons I love them so. That and the fact that they are incredibly, supernaturally, mind-blowingly delicious.
Imagine if they invented a frosting that was the flavor of mashed potatoes and cheese — that is aligot potatoes. Smooth, silky, laced with melted cheese, topped with ground pepper…mmmmm.
Here is my ultimate proof. One of the first times I made them, our sweet Southern daughter was a teenager, and she had her best friend coming over at dinnertime — always a good opportunity for her to lobby for a pizza to be delivered.
Since we were grilling porterhouse steaks to go with the potatoes, I thought hurray, more for me, and I okayed the pizza. She strolled into the kitchen as I was dishing out the aligot and said “What is THAT? Can I HAVE some?”
This from a person who at the time didn’t eat a thing that has any kind of separate components to it. She did ask me if there was anything in it besides potatoes, and I lied like a rug, told her it was potatoes only, and ladled some into a dish for her.
Which she then carried around with her for the next half hour all around the house, taking little bites to make it last.
So there you go, aligot potatoes, a gift from the heavens. Make them for someone you love today!
Aligot Potatoes
This easy recipe for aligot potatoes is guaranteed to rock your mashed potato world. Creamy and delicious and so easy to make!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put sliced potatoes in large pot and cover with water. Add salt. Bring potatoes to a boil, partially cover and, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 12 minutes. Drain and wipe out pot.
- Put potatoes, garlic and butter into food processor and process for 10 seconds. Add one cup of milk and process until smooth, about 30 seconds more.
- Put potatoes back into pot over medium heat. Gradually stir in cheese, stirring continuously until cheese is melted and potatoes are smooth. If mixture becomes too thick, gradually stir in more milk until creamy. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Updated and spiffed up from a previously published Framed Cooks post!
Lin says
Oh these sound wonderful. I don’t have a food processor and am guessing a Vitamix won’t work.
Hi Lin…I’ve always made mine with the food processor because I like the super creamy consistency, and I think the potatoes would get stuck in the bottom of your Vitamix. But here’s a version from the Kitchn website that calls for a ricer or a food mill – hope this helps! https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-pommes-aligot-cheesy-whipped-potatoes-237559
Theresa Murphy says
Gruyere AND mozzarella?!?! I’m in! And I’m certain you will allow these potatoes to be dinner all by themselves, just for me to enjoy, and no sharing with the family. :)
Oh absolutely – this is a recipe for ONE. As long is the one is us, right? :)
meghan m says
num num num. my food processor wasn’t big enough for all the potatoes so I had to process it in 2 batches. its baking in the oven with ground beef and veg right now. yum yum. can’t wait for dinner!!
Kate says
Hope it was delicious – sounds like it was!! :)
James says
I had to control myself and not sneak bites while I was shooting.
Adrianna says
um so these are simply divine. I was out of Mozz so we used Butterkase instead (both deliciously melty cheeses). They were brilliant and I love them
Tasty Eats At Home says
Yukon Golds make the BEST mashed potatoes. Yum.
Ruiko says
The first time I heard of these, I saw the chefs from BALTHAZAR make them on Martha Stewart. Recipe is slightly different than yours. Check it out:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pommes-aligot?autonomy_kw=Riad%20Nasr
kjaxpink says
Thank you! Actually, they taste even better than they look, I was worried I hadn't done them justice with that shot. I had to control myself and not sneak bites while I was shooting.
Amy Brost says
That is a great picture! I hope they taste as good as they look.
Toni says
Are you trying to kill me? I can never resist a potato….these have my name and hip measurements on them!