Duchess potatoes are an elegant, deceptively easy side dish! Creamy mashed potatoes are piped into swirls then baked until crispy and golden on the outside and rich and fluffy on the inside. The texture combination is irresistible and addictive! A show-stopping, make-ahead, freezer-friendly potato recipe perfect for the holidays!
I'm obsessed with pretty food! So when my niece made duchess potatoes (pommes duchesse in French) for Christmas dinner when she was training to be a chef, I fell immediately and hard. I dreamed about these elegant piped potato swirls with their crispy, frilly golden edges.
One of the best things about these vegan duchess potatoes is they look fancy so it seems like you fussed, but really you didn't! They're as simple as making mashed potatoes with 2 extra steps: Pipe the mashed potatoes into swirls, then bake them. These two extra steps create the magic: perfectly crispy golden lacey edges with creamy rich potato middles. A truly impressive, show-stopping potato side dish!
Vegan Duchess Potatoes Ingredients
A traditional duchess potato recipe includes eggs to add structure and richness, but this vegan version is made without eggs. You won't miss them - trust me! You need only 4 main ingredients:
- Potatoes: Either russet or Yukon gold potatoes work great to create the signature creamy, fluffy light texture! Note: Yukon gold potatoes create the light yellow duchess potato while the russets create a lighter white potato as seen in the photos.
- Butter: Best tasting vegan butter or margarine.
- Vegan heavy cream: Adds richness in place of eggs. You'll need raw unsalted cashews, water, and a blender (preferably a Vitamix or similar high speed blender).
- Seasonings: Fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and ground nutmeg to taste.
- Fresh herbs: I like chives, parsley, rosemary or thyme to garnish the potatoes.
Find the full printable recipe in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Optional Ingredients
Feel free to play around with this traditional duchess potato recipe to customize it and make it your own. Here's a few ideas:
- Make them cheesy: Add ½ cup grated parmesan cheese or any vegan cheese.
- If you love garlic: Add a couple fat garlic cloves to the potato water to make buttery garlic mashed potatoes (I do!).
How to Make Duchess Potatoes without eggs
These ruffled, mashed potato swirls are quite easy to make plus they're gorgeous so they get a lot of oohs and ahhs! Here's how to make them:
- Boil the potatoes: Fill a pot with water, salt, and the peeled potato cubes. (Add some garlic cloves to the water for garlic mashed potatoes.) Bring up to a boil then reduce the heat to simmer. Cook until potatoes are fork tender - this should take ~10-15 minutes.
- Make the vegan heavy cream: While the potatoes are boiling, whip up the vegan heavy cream (cashews + water).
- Drain and mash the potatoes: Drain the potatoes into a colander. Rice* or mash the potatoes and garlic back into the pot. Fold in the butter, cream, and seasonings. *I love the fluffy texture of riced potatoes for this recipe.
- Pipe the potato mixture: Transfer the mashed potato mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Press the potatoes down toward the tip to remove any air pockets. Hold the bag at the top of the potatoes and twist the bag to keep the potatoes tightly packed to the tip. Pipe single portion sized spirals onto a prepared baking sheet.
- Bake: Sprinkle the potato swirls with melted butter being careful not to ruin the piped design. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and delicious.
- Garnish & serve: Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped chives, green onions or fresh herb of choice. They are incredible served with gravy too - just sayin!
TIPS & FAQ
Duchess potatoes are a great way to use up leftover boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes! Here's a few helpful tips for making this recipe:
- What potatoes work best for duchess potatoes?: I like Yukon gold or russet potatoes for this recipe. Both starchy potato varieties create a fluffy, light potato texture.
- Piping tips: After filling the piping bag, push the potato filling down toward the tip so there are no air pockets. Twist the piping bag at the top of the potatoes to keep them tight to the tip. To pipe the potatoes, hold the filled piping bag at an 80 - 90º angle. Squeeze the bag from the top and start swirling the potato mixture into a tall wide base swirling up as you go.
- Duchess potato swirls: Make any size swirls you prefer from one-bite size to a larger individual serving. Don't make the swirls too tall and thin (skyscraper) as they topple more easily. Pro Tip: If your potato swirls fall over or are leaning, don't fret! Using a fork gently coax them back into place when they come out of the oven.
- Piping bag and tip options: If you don't have a large open star tip or another large piping tip, you can use a plastic bag with the corner cut out or a piece of parchment paper rolled into a cone. You won't get the same swirly edges though.
- MILLION DOLLAR TIP: Warm potatoes are easier to rice and pipe. So, rice the potato cubes while warm. When it comes time to pipe the swirls, pop the bowl of potatoes into the microwave to warm slightly if needed before loading the piping bag.
- Air fryer option: Oven space tight or too hot to turn the oven on? No worries, use an air fryer (350º F for ~6-8 minutes). The bottoms do not get as golden and crispy in my basket air fryer. There is no better way to reheat duchess potatoes than the air fryer though - irresistibly addictive!
How to Make Ahead, Freeze and Reheat
- Make ahead instructions: Duchess potatoes are a fabulous, make-ahead recipe; and they freeze like a dream making them the perfect potatoes for holiday dinners. Pipe them onto the prepared baking sheet, cover and place in the refrigerator for several hours up to one day. Bring to room temperature while the oven preheats, then bake following the recipe instructions.
- Freezer friendly: These duchess potatoes can be made ahead and frozen unbaked. Make the recipe up to and including piping the swirls onto a parchment line baking sheet. Pop into the freezer for ~30 minutes until frozen then transfer to a freezer bag or container. When ready to use, remove from the freezer, preheat the oven then cook until golden and heated through.
They can also be frozen after being baked then stored in the freezer for several months until ready to serve. - Storing leftovers: Leftover potatoes will keep in the refrigerator for 4 - 5 days. Cover and store then reheat when ready to serve.
- Reheating: To reheat leftover, already baked potato swirls, pop them into a 350º F oven or toaster oven until heated through. Alternatively, reheat them in an air fryer at 330º F for a couple minutes until warm and crispy - the BEST way to reheat them IMO!
Serving Ideas
An elegant and delicious alternative to mashed potatoes, these duchess potatoes make the perfect side dish for holiday dinners or just Sunday night! Here's a few ideas for what to serve them with:
- Vegan Turkey
- Mushroom Gravy (vegan)
- Caramelized Crispy Brussels Sprouts (2 ways!)
- Crispy Crunchy Vegan Chicken Nuggets
- Easy Oven Baked Tofu
Did you make this vegan Duchess Potatoes recipe? Tag me with your photos on Instagram or Facebook. And please leave a comment and rate the recipe below! Appreciate it 🙏🏻
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Elegant Duchess Potatoes (vegan)
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Equipment
- 1 ricer
INGREDIENTS
- 2 ½ pounds Yukon gold or russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 2 teaspoons salt (for water)
- 4-6 tablespoons vegan butter
- 6 tablespoons vegan heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper to taste
- pinch freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Optional
- 4-6 garlic cloves, peeled
- chives or parsley, chopped
- parmesan cheese, dairy free
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 425º F with the rack in the center position.
- Cook the potatoes: To a medium pot, add the peeled, cubed potatoes, ~2 quarts cold water, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring up to a boil over high then simmer until fork tender (but not mushy) ~10 - 15 minutes* once the water is boiling. *Will vary based on potato size.
- Make the cream: While the potatoes are boiling, make the vegan heavy cream.
- Drain the potatoes using a colander, let rest for 3 - 5 minutes (stirring once) to allow the steam and surface moisture to evaporate.
- Mash the potatoes: While they are still warm*, press the potatoes and garlic through a ricer into the same pot (or mash them using a potato masher). Add the butter and cream, continue to mash until no longer lumpy. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg (if using).
- Fill the piping bag: Transfer the warm* potato mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip. Be sure to press the potato mixture down the piping bag (toward the tip) to remove any air bubbles. Then twist the top of the pastry bag a couple times to keep the potatoes tight to the tip.
- How to pipe potatoes: Hold the pastry bag at an 80º angle, apply steady downward pressure and pipe the base of the mound. Working in a circular motion, create the swirl. To stop piping, ease off the pressure on the piping bag, and move the tip away. Continue until all the potato mixture has been piped.
- *At this time either: Bake immediately, cover and place in the fridge for up to a day or freeze for up to several months.
- Bake the potatoes: Brush or drizzle lightly with melted butter making sure not to ruin the piped design. Bake at 425º F until the edges are golden brown (~15-20 minutes). Garnish and serve immediately.
NOTES
- Ricing and piping the potatoes PRO TIP: It is easier to rice and pipe warm potatoes. If the potato mixture cools down and is difficult to pipe, transfer the mixture to a bowl and warm slightly in the microwave before loading the piping bag.
- Mashing the potatoes: I love using a ricer for fluffy, perfect mashed potato texture. No chance of over mixing the potatoes or them getting gummy. Yay!
- Freezing and reheating: Pipe the swirls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Once the potato swirls are frozen, transfer them to a large freezer bag or freezer friendly container for up to several months. When ready to serve, place on parchment-lined baking sheet to thaw while the oven preheats. Then bake following the recipe instructions.
This recipe is from simplyceecee.co food blog. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images or republish this recipe without prior permission. Thank you.
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