🥣 Early origins

Mashed potatoes could not exist until potatoes were brought from the Americas to Europe in the late 1500s.
So mashed potatoes are a post-Columbian invention.

🌎 Before 1500

• No mashed potatoes existed anywhere in the world because potatoes were only grown in the Andes (Peru/Bolivia).
  
  

• Indigenous cooks had many potato preparations, but not “mashed potatoes” in the European sense.
  
  

🇫🇷 The first written mashed potato recipe (1660s–1700s)

The earliest known recipe for mashed potatoes appears to come from France.

• In 1664, French chef François Pierre La Varenne included a recipe for pommes de terre mastic (strained potatoes) — essentially mashed potatoes.
  
  

• This is the earliest reference to cooked potatoes being mashed and mixed with butter or cream.
  
  

By the 1700s, mashed potatoes were becoming common in French cuisine, especially among the upper classes.

🇬🇧 Spread through England (1700s–1800s)

Mashed potatoes became a staple in Britain during the 18th century.
They were:

• cheap
  
  

• filling
  
  

• easy to prepare
  
  

• good with meats and gravies
  
  

By the Victorian era (1800s), mashed potatoes were standard in British households.

🇺🇸 Mashed potatoes arrive in America

Potatoes arrived in North America in the 1600s, but mashed potatoes didn’t spread widely until the 1700s–1800s, when British and French cooking traditions mixed with American ingredients.

By the late 1800s, mashed potatoes were common across the United States.

🧈 When butter and milk became common

Classic modern mashed potatoes — smooth, light, and buttery — only became widespread in the 19th century when:

• butter became cheaper
  
  

• milk and cream were more available
  
  

• kitchen tools (like potato mashers/ricers) became common
  
  

🍽️ Instant mashed potatoes (1950s)

A major milestone:

• 1957: Idahoan and other U.S. companies introduced instant mashed potatoes (dehydrated flakes).
  
  

• This made mashed potatoes extremely convenient and boosted their popularity in home cooking and military rations.
  
  

⭐ Summary timeline

Time

Event

1500s

Potatoes brought to Europe from the Andes.

1660s

First recorded mashed potato recipe in France.

1700s–1800s

Mashed potatoes spread across Europe and America.

1800s

Becomes a staple comfort food in Britain and the U.S.

1950s

Instant mashed potatoes invented.

Today

One of the most popular potato dishes worldwide.