Clever Uses for Your Potato Masher

A potato masher is a quick way to make egg salad — one that saves you all that dicing by hand. Try using yours with this pita recipe, which includes dill pickles and green peas for a little something extra.

Walnuts are a soft nut, which means you can easily break them up with a potato masher instead of chopping them with a knife. Then they’re ready to add to salads, ice cream, cakes or muffins, like this recipe with bananas and mascarpone.

A potato masher is the perfect way to break up broccoli or cauliflower for soups, like this cheesy one from Ree Drummond. This technique leaves a great chunky texture behind in your veggie while still breaking it up with ease.

Pluck those perfectly ripe avocados from your counter and get mashing. You’ll have a scrumptious homemade guacamole dip in no time.

Whether you’re a vegetarian or not, tofu scramble is a tasty and low-fat alternative to scrambled eggs for breakfast or brunch. Break up the tofu with a potato masher to get that great crumbly texture while saving yourself some time.

Toss broken cookies or crackers into a large bowl or plastic bag and use the potato masher to break them up into crumbs for baking. You can use the crumbs in recipes like this one for strawberry rhubarb crumble, or to sprinkle on top of your favourite ice cream.

If your baby is ready to move beyond smooth purees, use a masher to break up cooked veggies into a slightly chunky texture — it’s a great way to help your little one move towards solids, and making baby food with fresh fruits and veggies saves money.

When you’re cooking ground meat for a bolognese sauce, use your potato masher to break it up to help ensure it cooks or browns evenly.

Need stewed tomatoes for a recipe and don’t have them on hand? Throw either fresh or canned whole tomatoes into a pan and use the masher to break them up as they cook.