To Find the Best Potato Mashers, I Smashed 20 Pounds of Potatoes

Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew—potatoes are, in my (and Samwise Gamgee’s) humble opinion, one of the best starches you can eat. They can transform into crispy golden fries or a silky mash. If making the latter, a potato masher is one way to achieve the creamiest, dreamiest mashed potatoes to serve alongside roast chicken, meatloaf, or a couple of seared bangers. (My mouth is watering as I type.) 

But no one wants gloppy, gooey taters or to have to laboriously bash away at them. So, to find the best potato mashers, I mashed 20 pounds of golden, waxy potatoes and fluffy russets. A whole lotta spuds later, the winners were clear.

The Winners, at a Glance 

The Best Potato Masher

Zyliss Stainless Steel Potato Masher

$22 at Amazon $22 at Walmart $15 at Sur La Table

This masher made it easy to make creamy or fluffy mashed spuds. The handle has a silicone grip, so your hands don’t slip when you're smashing away, and the perforated masher was easy to get into the corners of the pot. While it might not be the most aesthetically pleasing masher, it was the best. 

Another Great Potato Masher

All-Clad Stainless-Steel Potato Masher

$48 at Williams Sonoma

This sleek all-metal option features a unique perforated masher head with one side that curves upward. This curved part helps crush potatoes against the edge of the pot, adding a little extra oomph with each smash. 

The Best Budget Potato Masher

Prepara PP02-FM100 Potato Masher

$20 $14 at Amazon

If you don’t want to throw a lot of cash at a unitasker, this was one of the more affordable options I tested that still performed well. Its simple design features a grippy handle and a perforated head that easily mashed both waxy and floury potatoes. The masher part folds up, making it easier to store.  

Another Good Budget Potato Masher

Joseph Joseph Delta Folding Potato Masher

$11 at Amazon $11 at Walmart

With a triangular head that folds up, this sub-$20 potato masher is easy on the wallet and can be stashed away without fiddling. It mashed fluffy and creamy potatoes well, and while it did get clogged with potato, a few thwacks dislodged most of the spuds. 

The Tests

• Creamy Mashed Potato Test: I used each masher to make one pound of creamy mashed potatoes, using yellow potatoes, milk, and butter. I noted if the mashers were easy to hold, how many mashes it took to get a creamy consistency, and if they were easy or difficult to use. 
• Fluffy Mashed Potato Test: I used each model to make one pound of fluffy mashed potatoes, using russets, milk, and butter. I noted if the handle was comfortable to hold, how many mashes it took to get fluffy potatoes without any chunks left, and if they were efficient. 
• Cleaning Test: I hand-washed each potato masher and noted if it was difficult to get spick and span. I also ran dishwasher-safe ones through the wash. 

What We Learned

What’s the Difference Between a Potato Masher, a Ricer, and a Food Mill?

How many ways can you mash a potato? More than you’d think. While this review focuses on potato mashers, which feature a handle and either a curved wire or perforated masher, there are a couple of other ways to smash spuds. Ricers consist of a perforated basket with a disc attached to a handle; when squeezed, the disc presses against the potatoes in the basket and forces them through the small holes. They are great for making ultra-creamy potatoes, though it’ll take multiple rounds of squishing spuds to finish. Food mills also have a perforated basket, but instead of a handle and a pressing motion, they employ a metal wing attached to a spinning handle that, when spun, slowly pushes the potatoes through. They take a bit longer than a potato masher or ricer and are bulkier. The results are creamy and smooth, though. So which should you choose? If you just want to quickly mash potatoes and aren’t looking for the silkiest puree ever, a potato masher is a great choice. If you don’t mind taking the time to press or mill potatoes, then you’ll be rewarded with silky-smooth results. 

The Best Potato Mashers Had Holes 

Before testing, when I thought of a potato masher, I pictured the squiggly wire kind. So I was surprised to find that most of the mashers were not those at all, but rather had round, perforated discs for squishing spuds. And, it turns out, that kind was the best. The discs not only mashed against the potatoes but also forced the starchy tuber up through the holes, resulting in crushed, creamy potatoes. This style of masher was much faster and more efficient than the squiggly wire ones, which were hard to get into corners and crushed less potato with each pressing motion. The silicone-lined Tovolo masher was particularly troublesome because the rubbery wire head sometimes slipped and slid on the bottom of the pan, flinging mashed ‘tato everywhere. 

Masher Shape Was Important, Too

The shape of the masher dictated whether or not I could easily smush bits of potato that had escaped to the corners of the pot. The best ones, like the Zyliss and All-Clad, were round and petite, easily cramming into hard-to-reach spots. The larger, oval-shaped OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Potato Masher was tricky to get close to the edges of the pot; I had to turn my hand in awkward positions to do so. The Joseph Joseph was a surprisingly good contender in this realm, with its triangular masher disc. At first, I was skeptical it would scrape near the edges of the pot, but the points stuck into the curved corners nicely. 

Handle Comfort and Length Mattered 

Mashing potatoes is tiring, so a comfortable handle is a must. I found longer handles were often better since shorter ones brought my hands close to the hot spuds. The all-metal Rösle had the shortest handle of the bunch (a mere four inches) and a metal cross guard that dug into my hands when mashing—not ideal. Then there was the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Potato Masher, which had a horizontal handle that was less comfortable than a vertical one. Paired with an oval masher, and it was an act of acrobatics to turn the masher to get into the corners. Stick with a vertical handle, ideally a longer one with some grip to it. 

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Potato Masher

A good potato masher should swiftly cream potatoes into a smooth mixture, without any large chunks remaining. I liked longer handles, which kept my hands far from the hot potatoes, and preferred ones with a rubbery grip. Mashers with holes excelled over squiggly wire ones, which missed large bits of potatoes with each press. The masher should be easy to press into corners, too. 

Our Favorite Potato Mashers 

The Best Potato Masher

Zyliss Stainless Steel Potato Masher

$22 at Amazon $22 at Walmart $15 at Sur La Table

What we liked: While it might look more akin to a power tool than a potato masher, the Zyliss efficiently crushed and mashed silky golden potatoes and fluffy russets alike. The handle has a rubbery coating on one side that helps with grip and features a silicone scraper to clean the edges of the pot. The rounded masher was easy to get into corners, too, ensuring consistently creamy results. It’s a great buy for under $30. 

What we didn’t like: It was a little hard to clean off bits of potato where the sides met the masher head. It’s also not the most suave-looking masher out there. 

Key Specs

• Handle length: 6 inches
• Head dimensions: 3.5 x 3.5 inches
• Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Materials: Stainless steel, silicone
• Dishwasher-safe: Yes

Another Great Potato Masher

All-Clad Stainless-Steel Potato Masher

$48 at Williams Sonoma

What we liked: The rounded, rectangular perforations and weighty stainless steel construction of this masher crushed potatoes to a creamy consistency without any chunks. I liked the curved edge on one side, which made it easy to mash potatoes against the wall of a pot. This was our winner last time we tested mashers, and in my tests, it was easy to see why. 

What we didn’t like: At nearly $50, it’s pricey for a potato masher. The metal handle is a little slippery. 

Key Specs

• Handle length: 6.25 inches
• Head dimensions: 3.75 x 3.25 inches
• Weight: 8.4 ounces
• Materials: Stainless steel
• Dishwasher-safe: Yes

The Best Budget Potato Masher

Prepara PP02-FM100 Potato Masher

$20 $14 at Amazon

What we liked: At around $20, this is a great budget pick that gets the job done. It took about 25 mashes to achieve smooth golden potatoes, and the same for fluffy russet mash. The perforated masher can also fold upward for easy storage. 

What we didn’t like: Because the masher folds up, it might not be the most durable—every time I mashed with it, it made a clicking sound. 

Key Specs

• Handle length: 4.5 inches
• Head dimensions: 3.5 x 3.5 inches
• Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Materials: Stainless steel, BPA-free plastic
• Dishwasher-safe: Yes, top-rack only

Another Good Budget Potato Masher

Joseph Joseph Delta Folding Potato Masher

$11 at Amazon $11 at Walmart

What we liked: This is a surprisingly good masher, especially considering it’s around $10. The long-ish handle kept my hands away from the hot potatoes, while the triangular mashing head easily got into corners. The perforations smashed solidly into the spuds, extruding them through the holes and creating a smooth mash. The head also folds up, like the Prepara, making it easier to stash. 

What we didn’t like: The head did slip sometimes when mashing, and mashed potatoes gunked up the holes. 

Key Specs

• Handle length: 4.75 inches
• Head dimensions: 3.75 x 3.75 x 3.75 inches
• Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Materials: Stainless steel, nylon, plastic
• Dishwasher-safe: Yes

The Competition 

Also Good

• Williams Sonoma Prep Tools Potato Masher: This was a no-frills masher that crushed and pulverized potatoes efficiently. I liked the silicone-lined handle, too. The only downside is that it’s around $40 and it’s not all that different from the Zyliss or Prepara mashers, which are half the price. 

Not Recommended

• KitchenAid Gourmet Stainless Steel Wire Masher: Squiggly-shaped wire mashers like this one were no match for ones with a perforated mashing head; they took longer and left more chunks of potato. It was also difficult to get into the corners of the pot. 
• Rösle Potato Masher: The handle was too short and the metal cross guard bit into my hands. At $50, it’s more than most of my top picks. It did mash okay, though. 
• OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Potato Masher: I thought I would like the horizontal handle on this masher, but it was less comfortable than taller vertical ones. The oval-shaped mashing head was tricky to get into corners. Overall, using this masher felt like more work. 
• Tovolo Silicone Potato Masher: I have to admit that I’ve had this masher for a few years now: The top of the handle has broken off and the silicone-lined wire squiggle masher doesn’t work great. Instead of gripping into spuds and crushing them, it just slip-slides around the bottom of the pot, and the potatoes squish through the wires without being crushed. 
• OXO Good Grips Nylon Potato Masher: This wasn’t a terrible masher (I liked the grippy handle), but the jagged nylon head was tricky to get into corners and took longer to mash than perforated ones. It was also more work to clean. 

FAQs

What’s the best way to clean a potato masher?

All of our winning potato mashers were dishwasher-safe, which is nice. However, we’d advise cleaning them off quickly, since mashed potatoes dry on like glue. 

Can you over-mash potatoes?

Surprisingly, yes. If you really go ham with a potato masher, you could end up with a gluey, starchy mess. The more potatoes are broken up, the more starch they release—that’s why we don’t recommend using, say, a blender to mash potatoes. You’ll just get goopy glop. 

Should you mash potatoes with a hand mixer?

My mom used to mash potatoes with a hand mixer, but since the beaters spin quickly, the mashed potatoes are more apt to get gluey. To be safe, use a potato masher, ricer, or food mill. 

Why We’re the Experts 

• Grace Kelly is an editor at Serious Eats, where she’s been testing kitchen gear for nearly three years. 
• Before this, she reviewed equipment at America’s Test Kitchen. 
• We first tested potato mashers in 2022, so it was time for a redux. 
• For this review, Grace made 20 pounds of potatoes to find the best potato mashers. 
• Potatoes are her favorite starch.