Top pick
This masher cuts into potatoes and other foods faster and more easily than the competition. It’s easy to clean and store, too.
Compared with other mashers we tested, the OXO Good Grips Smooth Potato Masher made the best rustic yet fluffy mashed potatoes.
It was also the most efficient model of its kind: With its perforated plate, it cut into potatoes and beans quickly and effortlessly.
The horizontal handle offered the best leverage among the mashers we tested and made it easier to work the OXO tool around a bowl to make sure all of the ingredients were evenly incorporated.
The OXO is dishwasher safe and a breeze to rinse clean. Because of its compact design, it stores easily in a drawer.
Top pick
Any ricer is harder to use and clean than a basic masher, but the Chef’n was the easiest ricer to work with of those we tested, and delivered even smoother potatoes.
For absolutely lump-free mashed potatoes, we recommend the Chef’n FreshForce Potato Ricer.
Not only did it make the creamiest potatoes of any ricer we tested, but it was also the simplest to operate and clean compared with larger, more unwieldy ricers.
This ricer takes a little more effort to set up, use, and clean than a masher, and it occupies more storage space. But all of that may be a worthwhile trade-off for the satiny potatoes of your dreams.