Mashed potatoes are a perfect Thanksgiving side. The only downside with them is they can’t be made in advance, as they tend to harden up in the refrigerator and lose their silky texture. However, Justin Chapple’s latest Mad Genius Tips video has a hack to fix that, and it involves a common ingredient that’s probably already in your pantry—mayonnaise.

It might sound strange, but the results are undeniable when Justin demonstrates dropping a spoon into two refrigerated bowls of mashed potatoes. One spoon bounces off, and the other sinks into the potatoes—you can guess which bowl of potatoes had the mayo in it.

Check out Justin’s step-by-step guide from the video below, and get the recipe here.

Prepare the potatoes

Justin’s recipe calls for four pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes, which he peels, and then cooks for 15-20 minutes until they’re just tender. Once they’re done cooking, he drains them.

You’re still going to need butter…

The reason that classic mashed potatoes harden up in the first place is because the butter solidifies in the fridge. However, butter also adds a lot of flavor to the potatoes, so Justin still uses it in this recipe—he just substitutes some of it for mayo, so the potatoes re-heat well.

…so heat it up with milk

In a pot, Justin combines 1.5 sticks of unsalted butter and about 1.25 to 1.5 cups of milk or heavy cream—you can pick whichever you prefer. Put it on the stove over low heat to melt the butter.

Photo: McCormick

Rice your potatoes

Although you can mash your potatoes, Justin prefers using a ricer, because it makes the potatoes really fluffy. (You can find one at a kitchen supplies store.) Just scoop them in and squeeze them into a bowl, repeating until you’ve gotten through all of the potatoes. After that, add in the butter mixture.

It’s mayo time

Justin then adds the mayo into the bowl. It doesn’t harden up in the refrigerator, so your potatoes will still stay silky, soft, and light. Once everything is mixed together, he seasons the potatoes generously with salt and white pepper, and they’re all ready to enjoy. Or put them in the fridge and save them for the next day—when you re-heat them, they’ll be just as creamy and flavorful.

Bonus—use mayo on your turkey, too

While you’re at it, you should also consider slathering your Thanksgiving turkey with mayonnaise. The mayo, when spread on the inside and outside of the bird, helps to baste the meat while it roasts, resulting in an incredibly juicy turkey. It doesn’t affect the taste, really—if you’re game to try it, check out Justin’s instructional video.

This article was written by Bridget Hallinan from Food & Wine and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.