Mashed potato is a dish prepared by mashing boiled potatoes. Recipes started appearing no later than 1747 with an entry in The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse.The dish was popularised and featured extensively as a running theme in the BBC children's comedy Bodger and Badger which starred Andy Cunningham and had a broadcast run of a decade from 1989 to 1999.

Butter, vegetable oil, milk and/or cream are usually added to improve flavor and texture, and the potatoes are seasoned with salt, pepper, and any other desired herbs and spices. Popular ingredients and seasonings include: garlic, cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, crisp onion or spring onion, mustard, spices such as nutmeg, chopped herbs such as parsley or rosemary, white turnip, and wasabi.