Any such thing as a "good" instant mashed potato?

Two that I have found acceptable:

Barbara's Instant Mashed Potatoes

Bob's Red Mill Potato Flakes

Shel

I like Trio brand if I have to use instant. They don't seem to taste as chalky as other brands. I add a little 1/2 & 1/2 as part of the liquid. Not too much or they get pasty. This also works good for dried potatoes like au gratins. You can also buy frozen cubed potatoes and heat them up in the steamer if you have one. Once they're hot, mash as you would boiled potatoes.

Ingredients: Precooked dried, selected russet potatoes, whey solids (from milk), and less than 1% of calcium stearoyl lactylate, corn syrup solids, soy protein, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (palm kernal, soybean and cottonseed) with soy lecithin, sodium caseinate (from milk), mono and diglycerides, preservatives (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bisulfite, BHT), dipotassium phosphate, artificial flavor, datem.

Another great product from J.R. Simplot ...

Shel

Ore-Ida has a "Mashed Baby Reds" which are very good. They have a little bit of the red skin in the potatoes, so it contributes to the presentation of the dish. I add a little heavy cream which adds some richness. I've used these for a base, adding roasted garlic or carmalized shallots. I first found these in bulk packaging in Sam's or Costco.

Any such thing as a "good" instant mashed potato?

The operative word in your question being "good", the answer is "no"!

doc

Why buy instant when fresh potatoes are inexpensive ? Use fresh and don't look back.:chef: