The Worst Instant Mashed Potato Brand We Tried Was 'Borderline Inedible' — You've Been Warned
When we ranked 13 different instant mashed potato products earlier this year, we learned that mashed potato products can vary greatly from flavor to texture. Of the ones we disliked most, we realized that flavored instant mashed potatoes were universal duds, mostly falling in the bottom half of the ranking. But there was one flavor of mashed potatoes we really couldn't abide by, and it's based on a salad dressing that America is obsessed with: ranch.
Our taste tester panned the Idahoan Hidden Valley Ranch Mashed Potatoes, declaring that ranch seasoning doesn't belong in everything we eat. "Idahoan did it anyway, and the results are borderline inedible," our writer said. "It's a concept that seems tasty, but in reality, it's like eating a liquified, pasty salad." And it's not for lack of loving ranch — we love it in lots of applications, like on roasted vegetables, but it just doesn't belong in mashed potatoes (though it's perfectly at home on ranch-flavored potato chips). Our taste tester concluded, "Upon my initial bite, I could smell the ranch flavoring. It was slightly tangy, with that familiar fermented aroma. That's great for a cold dish, but warm, it was off-putting."
Most of the instant mashed potatoes we disliked featured too much of one ingredient
Though mashed potatoes are generally a humble dish featuring only a few ingredients, one key ingredient kept showing up in high quantities in our least-liked instant varieties: salt. For example, the Idahoan Hidden Valley Ranch Mashed Potatoes contained 540 milligrams per serving, which is nearly 25% of your daily sodium intake. Walmart's Great Value Microwavable Buttery Flavored Mashed Potato Cups had salt clocked in at a whopping 680 milligrams, which accounts for 30% of your daily recommended intake.
When it comes to mashed potatoes, salt is one of those ingredients you can add in, but cannot subtract once it's in the mix. Considering we like to doctor up our mashed potatoes (sometimes with ingredients that also contain extra salt), having an already sodium-heavy base can prove to be too much. So as a general rule, though the idea of any type of pre-flavored mashed potatoes sounds good, add the seasoning yourself to your preferred taste. And whatever you do, avoid the ranch-seasoned ones at all costs.