Masher or Ricer? Finding the Best Potato Masher for Your Kitchen

Mashed potatoes look like the easiest side dish in the kitchen, and they are, until the tool gets in the way. A flimsy wire masher bends against a heavy pot, a short handle puts your knuckles on the hot rim, and a masher with the wrong head leaves lumps however long you work it. The right tool turns a pot of boiled potatoes into a smooth mash in a couple of minutes.

This guide covers the three kinds of tool that do the job: wire mashers, perforated plate mashers and potato ricers. It names eight worth buying from Chef’n, Rösle, OXO, PriorityChef, Zulay, Joseph Joseph and HIC, and explains which to choose for fluffy mash, chunky rustic potatoes or a nonstick pot.

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Quick verdict: which potato masher to buy

Five potato mashers and ricers compared

Our five standout tools, one for each kind of cook. All eight are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Types and materials are as each maker or listing states them.

Our picks for the best potato masher

The eight tools below include four ricers and four hand mashers, because they do different jobs. A ricer pushes cooked potato through small holes and gives the lightest, smoothest texture; a masher works in the pot and gives anything from smooth to rustic. Each review gives the maker’s or listing’s specifications, who the tool suits and one honest reason to skip it. If you mainly mash beans for frijoles refritos, our guide to the best bean masher covers the mashers and machacadores built for that job.

Wire, plate or ricer: which style of masher?

Wire mashers

A loop of zigzag wire on a handle. Wire heads are cheap, light and fast for chunky, rustic potatoes, but America’s Test Kitchen found wavy heads left lumps and struggled at the edges of smaller pans. They suit skin-on potatoes and quick jobs.

Perforated plate mashers

A flat disc with holes. Each press forces the potato up through the holes, which breaks it down finer and faster. ATK’s testers preferred this style for mashed potatoes, and a plate also mashes beans well, which is why many Mexican cooks keep one for refried beans.

Ricers

A basket with holes and a plunger. A ricer gives the lightest, smoothest texture because it presses the potato without stirring it, and the result needs only a gentle fold with butter and milk. The trade-offs are cleaning, storage and working one batch at a time.

How to choose a potato masher

The texture you want. Smooth and fluffy points to a ricer. Smooth but quick points to a plate masher. Rustic and chunky, or skin-on potatoes, points to a wire masher.

Handle length and grip. ATK’s testers preferred handles at least 5 inches long that are grippy, such as textured silicone or plastic, and found smooth metal handles slippery. Length keeps your knuckles away from the hot rim of the pot.

Holes, for a ricer. More, smaller holes mean less force and faster ricing, according to ATK. A pot hook that rests the ricer on a pot rim helps, and fewer parts are easier to clean.

Your pots. In nonstick, use a coated or nylon head and mash off the heat. In stainless steel, enameled cast iron or a clay olla, a steel head is fine.

Cleaning. Potato starch sets like glue. Rinse any masher or ricer as soon as you finish, and check that the maker lists it as dishwasher safe if that matters to you.

Potatoes, beans and the rest of the mash

In a Mexican kitchen the masher works as hard on beans as on potatoes. Pinto or black beans cooked soft and mashed in hot lard or oil become frijoles refritos, and a sturdy plate masher or a wooden machacador is the traditional tool; our charro beans vs refried beans guide explains the difference between the two pots. Potatoes turn up too, mashed with chorizo as a filling for tacos dorados, flautas and molotes.

A ricer is not the tool for beans: the skins clog the holes. For beans, choose a plate masher such as the Rösle, or one of the bean mashers in our bean masher guide. For potatoes, a ricer gives the smoothest result, and a plate masher gives the quickest.

How we picked these eight mashers and ricers

We looked at wire, plate and spring mashers and lever, geared, twist and adjustable ricers from Chef’n, Rösle, OXO, PriorityChef, Zulay, Joseph Joseph, HIC, KitchenAid, Norpro, Le Creuset and others, and kept only those showing as in stock on Amazon when we checked. Specifications come from the Amazon listings and the makers’ information; Rösle’s own product page supplied the length and hole size of its masher.

We read America’s Test Kitchen’s potato masher and potato ricer reviews and cite them where they cover a model or a general finding. We did not read or rely on Serious Eats or Wirecutter for this guide. To avoid repeating our bean masher guide, we left out the wire and plate mashers it already reviews. We have not used these tools for this guide.

Potato masher questions, answered

What is the best type of potato masher?

For the smoothest mash, a ricer. For a hand masher, a perforated plate, which America’s Test Kitchen’s testers strongly preferred over wavy wire heads. A wire masher is best kept for chunky, rustic potatoes.

Which potato masher does America’s Test Kitchen recommend?

Its potato masher review named a Zyliss perforated masher as the winner and also recommended the Rösle; Zyliss has since redesigned its masher, and our bean masher guide covers the current version. ATK’s top potato ricer is the Chef’n FreshForce, and it also recommends the OXO 3-in-1 Adjustable Ricer.

Is a potato ricer better than a masher?

For texture, yes: a ricer presses the potato without overworking it, which gives a lighter result. A masher is quicker, works in the pot, handles skin-on potatoes and also mashes beans, which a ricer does not do well.

What is the best quality potato masher?

Look for a one-piece stainless steel head, a long grippy handle and a maker’s warranty. The Rösle is all 18/10 steel with a lifetime warranty; the Zulay carries a lifetime guarantee.

Can I use a metal potato masher in a nonstick pot?

It can scratch the coating. Use a silicone-coated or nylon masher such as the Zulay or the Joseph Joseph Delta, and mash off the heat so plastic heads do not soften.

The masher to start with

Buy the Chef’n FreshForce ricer if you want the smoothest mashed potatoes, and the Rösle plate masher if you want one hand masher for potatoes and beans that will last. Choose the Zulay if you cook in nonstick.

Want the smoothest mashed potatoes? See our guide to the best potato ricers.

A masher belongs in the same drawer as the rest of the basics in our guide to Mexican cooking tools, and a good pair of kitchen tongs is the next tool to reach for at the stove. If you would rather leave the beans and potatoes to our kitchen tonight, see the menu or call to order.