3-Ingredient easy duchess potatoes that look fancy, but are incredibly easy to make. Perfect to entertain guests, they're also gluten-free and dairy-free!

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Perfect for entertaining, old-school duchess potatoes might seem very elaborated to make, but I promise they're incredibly easy to prepare.

First of all, what are exactly duchess potatoes? A classic recipe of the French cuisine, duchess potatoes are basically a fancy-looking dish made with mashed potatoes, egg yolk, butter and a pinch of nutmeg.

Whilst I love the classic version (scroll down to check how is made), my easy duchess potatoes recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free, which makes them perfect to serve to dinner parties.

They'll be just perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner parties as well, and guaranteed to get rave reviews!

These easy duchess potatoes are ready in less than 30 mins to make from start to finish.

Best of all, you only need 3 main ingredients to make them:

*cooked potatoes

* eggs (preferably free-range)

*extra virgin olive oil

Best Potatoes For Duchess Potatoes

For best results, I recommend using Ratte, Desiree, Yukon Gold or Maris Piper potatoes.

They all have a soft texture and will give your duchess potatoes a wonderful melt-in-your-mouth fluffy texture.

Step-by-step recipe

Making this classic French recipe is a total breeze. It's so quick and fun to prepare you may even ask your kids to help you out in the process.

If you want to start from scratch, place the potatoes in a large pot with cold water, bring them to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes for around 20 minutes or until soft. Peel them and proceed with the recipe.

If you start from leftover cooked potatoes as I do, start by warming up your cooked potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl, then transfer them into a bowl.

You can use a potato ricer or a potato masher to mash the potatoes. If you use a ricer, there's no need to peel the potatoes, as the tool will catch the peel for you, which is kind of handy!

If you use a potato masher, first you need to peel the potatoes, then mash them thoroughly until you have a smooth mixture.

I use both tools interchangeably, but if you want to make this process easier, it's best to opt for a potato ricer (you can check all the differences here).

Whilst the potato mix is still warm, fold in the egg yolks and the extra-virgin olive oil.

Add a pinch of grated nutmeg if you like, and season with sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper.

Place the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, and pipe the potatoes mixture into a rosette shape (or any shape you like) onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Note: the picture below shows duchess potatoes that have been baked on a tray covered with parchment paper, then transferred on a clean baking tray.

Do not bake them without parchment paper, as there's a huge chance they will stick to the baking tray.

Brush lightly with egg-wash and your duchess potatoes are ready to bake until golden and crisp.

There you go! With very little effort you'll have a super fancy potato side dish for your next dinner party or any other special occasion.

Tips & Tricks

Did you know you can make duchess potatoes with leftover mashed potatoes? If you're wondering what to do with leftover mash, this is the answer!

Instead of boiled potatoes, you can use steamed potatoes is you like (steamed potatoes take 12 minutes to cook, depending on the size).

Similarly, if you own an Instant Pot, you can make duchess potatoes with instant potatoes, check this post for instructions.

Duchess potatoes freeze beautifully!

Once they're ready, place them in a baking tray and freeze for 30 minutes, then transfer them into a freezable bag or container, and store in the freezer up to 1 month.

Whenever you fancy, take them out from the freezer, arrange them on a baking tray and reheat them in a hot oven for 5-10 minutes.

They can be made in advance! 

Once you have piped your duchess potatoes onto a baking sheet, place in the fridge and use within 6-8 hours. Brush them with egg-wash then proceed to bake them.

Traditional Duchess Potatoes

I'm dairy intolerant, so I make sure my duchess potatoes recipe is dairy-free (it's also naturally gluten-free).

If you want to follow the traditional route, replace the extra-virgin olive oil with the same amount of butter.

Once your potatoes are cooked, place them in a bowl, and add butter at room temperature.

The heat from the potatoes will melt the butter as you mash them, giving extra fluffy texture to your potato mix.

What To Serve These With?

There are endless ways to serve them, from classic Sunday pot roast, to baked fish, or classic Italian meatballs, just to name a few.

Here are some of my favourite main courses that pair super well with this classic potato dish:

• Wild Mushroom Meatballs
• Classic Lemon Chicken Piccata (Ready in 15 Min!)
• Pan-seared Orange Honey Salmon

So, here's a recap on why you should give this easy potato recipe a try ASAP:

• It's the cutest potato dish ever
• So easy to make you won't even believe it
• Can be made up a day in advance and baked when you're ready to serve them
• Great on their own or with simple condiments like homemade mayo & ketchup
• Allergy-friendly and great to entertain both kids & grown-ups

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook! Looking at your pictures always makes me smile *and super hungry*!

**Post originally published in February 2016 and updated with loads of new helpful info, tips and tricks**