Ultimate French Mashed Potatoes (Joël Robuchon)
Published Oct 22, 2018
Updated Apr 23, 2025
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Joel Robuchon's Mashed Potatoes - the best mashed potatoes recipe in the whole world. Learn how to make perfect mashed potatoes, complete with step-by-step picture guide.
Table of Contents
Mashed Potatoes
Joël Robuchon was a famed French “Chef of the Century” and restaurateur.
Unfortunately, he passed away in August 2018 and left behind a legacy of the best and highest rated Michelin restaurants, plus a trove of recipes in his cookbooks.
I am a fan of Joël Robuchon restaurants and had tried a few of them; his mashed potatoes is really the BEST in the world.
The technique used produces the creamiest, silkiest and most delicious mashed potatoes you’ll ever make.
You can also make this recipe into Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes and pair it with Garlic Butter Pork Chops.
Recipe Ingredients
This recipe calls for only 5 ingredients:
- Russet potatoes
- Unsalted butter.
- Full milk.
- Sea salt.
- Ground white pepper.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make French Mashed Potatoes
Grab a big saucepan and toss in your potatoes with about 8 cups of cold water and a good tablespoon of coarse salt. Bring it up to a simmer—no need for a rolling boil—and cover the pot. Let them cook until you can poke a knife through one easily, usually around 30 minutes. Once they’re tender, drain the water, let them cool just enough to handle, then peel off the skins.
Now, grab your potato ricer and pass those peeled potatoes through into a big bowl. It’ll make everything super smooth and fluffy—way better than mashing with a fork!
Just take your time and slowly pass the potatoes through the ricer. Don’t rush it! You want them nice and smooth, so go at a steady pace.
Alright, while your milk is heating up and coming to a boil, grab your riced potatoes and toss them into a Dutch oven or saucepan. Over medium-low heat, start adding the chilled butter cubes to the potatoes. Just keep stirring for about 5 minutes, and you’ll see everything come together into this smooth, creamy goodness.
Now, slowly pour in that super hot milk in a thin stream, and make sure you’re stirring the whole time—this helps everything blend together. Keep stirring until all that milk is absorbed and your potatoes look nice and creamy. Once you’ve got that perfect texture, turn off the heat and stir in your salt and a pinch of white pepper. Taste it, and adjust if you want more salt or pepper.
Once those mashed potatoes are ready, serve them right away. If you’re feeling extra fancy, throw a little cube of butter on top while they’re still hot—let it melt in for that extra richness. Enjoy!
How To Make Best Homemade Mashed Potatoes
Having made Joël Robuchon’s recipe, I can now share the following secrets with you:
- Use a potato ricer. The ricer produces the softest, silkiest and smooth texture.
- A good brand of butter. I used Challenge brand butter.
- Use full milk or full cream milk.
- DO NOT use ground black pepper as they become speckled dark spots in the potatoes.
Why Joël Robuchon’s Recipe Is the Best
It’s all in the techniques, potato to butter ratio, plus the texture and flavors.
No recipes produce the texture of silken, creamy mash except this recipe.
Scoop up the potatoes in tiny helpings and savor slowly, it just gets better as you slowly devour the mash.
I strongly urge you to try this recipe. You will never go back to other mashed potato recipes, I can guarantee you that!
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 485 calories per serving.
What To Serve With French Mashed Potatoes
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Other Recipes You Might Like
Ultimate French Mashed Potatoes (Joël Robuchon)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (1kg) russet potatoes, scrubbed but unpeeled
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 10 oz (280g) unsalted butter , (2 1/2 sticks), cut into cubes
- 250 ml. whole milk
- 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 3 dashes ground white pepper
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a saucepan with 8 cups of cold water and 1 tablespoon of coarse salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until a knife easily slips into the potatoes, about 30 minutes. Drain the potatoes and peel them.
- Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer into a large bowl.
- Slowly pass the potatoes through the potato ricer.
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk until it comes to a boil. Meanwhile, transfer the riced potatoes to a Dutch oven or saucepan. Over medium-low heat, add the chilled butter cubes to the potatoes and stir continuously for about 5 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
- Pour in the very hot milk in a thin stream, stirring briskly. Continue stirring until all the milk is absorbed. Turn off the heat and add 2 1/4 teaspoons of salt and ground white pepper.
- Serve the mashed potatoes immediately. If desired, add a small cube of butter on top before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Keep up the great work, I can’t understand why some of these readers are so critical. Haven’t they heard of the word adapt? Not everybody can purchase the variety of potatoes mentioned. Adapt people, adapt!
Hi
A couple of comments – I use Agria potatoes for this recipe, they are a well regarded variety here in New Zealand.
I find it easier to peel the potatoes before cooking, but I don’t throw out the peelings – I simmer them in the milk while the potatoes are cooking and then strain the milk into the mash as per the recipe. This way you preserve that lovely earthy flavour.
That’s great to know.
Your photo shows a food mill not a ricer. This is a ricer
https://www.amazon.co.uk/OXO-Good-Grips-Potato-Ricer/dp/B00004OCJQ/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1G8OD8Z5BY2YV&dchild=1&keywords=potato+ricer&qid=1606145537&sprefix=potato+%2Caps%2C187&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzNEI4QjhISjQxT0xMJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTQwNTMxQldCMFRKS1RHRDNWJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAxNjc0NTkyWUkwSDA2MlFQQ040JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==
Thanks for letting me know.
Recipe is wrong. Joel Robuchon’s recipe calls for la Ratte potatoes not russet. It makes a big difference in the final product.
No, why don’t you find me some La Ratte potatoes? Celebrating a chef’s amazing recipe is embracing it and making the recipe accessible, and not being snobbish about it. No? This recipe is adapted from The Guardian, if you read and check my recipe card thoroughly, the recipe ingredient says: potatoes, preferably rattes or BF 15. That doesn’t mean we can’t use other potatoes if we can’t find rattes and BF 15!
What if we do not have ricer? Will it affect the outcome of the mash?
It won’t, just not as silky smooth. Just mash as fine as possible.
If I am making this dish for Thanksgiving can I make it 1 or 2 days prior? Will the potatoes still be good?
Yes you can because it can be easily reheated. You can also try my Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes here: https://rasamalaysia.com/instant-pot-mashed-potatoes/
3 1/2 T. of salt seems very excessive! Is this correct? 1 T. to cook them in and then add 2 1/2 T. more to mash them.
Hi Darlene, thanks for catching my careless typo (phew!!!) while typing out the recipe. It’s 2 1/4 teaspoons salt for the mashed potatoes. The 1 tablespoon salt is for boiling the potatoes.
I believe a Foley Food Mill was used, not a potato ricer in making the mashed potato recipe.
We used a ricer and it turned out very well! :)
Hi! I read to go with a waxier potato vs starchy (yellow/yukon gold vs russet). When the potatos are cooked and passed through a ricer dry them out in the pot first over med heat before adding the butter. Add chilled butter little bit at a time, not all at once. The Guardian recipe calls for 1kg potatoes to 250g of butter which is actually about 2 sticks (of a 450g/1lb package) per every 2.2 lbs. Then again, the same article starts off writing that the recipe is 2:1 potatoes to butter. So…clearly, no one really knows what the ratio truly is or math/conversion is all over the place.
All the recepies looks delicious, and seems simple to prepare, will definitely try some !
Patricia, yes, this mashed potato recipe is awesome!