When it comes to comfort food, only macaroni and cheese can challenge mashed potatoes' dominance. Whether smothered with gravy, loaded with bacon bits and cheese, or dressed up with snazzy flavors like truffle oil or roasted garlic, a pile of mashers means good eats for just about anyone.

The only problem is that homemade mashed potatoes take a bit of time to make. You've got to peel, cut, boil and mash the potatoes -- OK, that first step may not be mandatory -- and that puts the whole thing out of reach for most weeknight dinners.

Fortunately for those of you craving some mid-week comfort food, there are a plethora of instant or pre-made mashed potato products out there. But will any of them take the place of the buttery, slightly chunky, incredibly rich mashers you make from scratch?

For starters, if you're one of those who like to mix in some Yukon gold or other non-standard potatoes, prepare for disappointment. All of the leading time-saver 'taters are made from 100 percent Russet potatoes, the traditional one. You will, however, find a multitude of flavor options, from roasted garlic to various cheese, sour cream and chive, and other mixtures. Let's face it: Potatoes don't exactly peg out the flavor meter. Adding flavors is natural.

In this test, however, the regular flavors of all the brands were tested. Since not every brand offers the same flavors, it was the only way to compare apples to apples. We found three dehydrated flake brands, two refrigerated and one frozen option. There are more out there, and certainly many store and regional brands, but the spread selected offered a good representative sampling.

Each entry was given an A-F grade based on taste and consistency. The information for the flaked products is based on the dry flakes, not the prepared product.

Made From Flakes

Idaho Spuds: 80 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 20 mg sodium, 17 grams carbs.

Prepared exactly according to package directions, these flakes produce an end product that is roughly the consistency of baby food. It's completely smooth, with an appearance more like grits than potatoes. The flavor was fairly weak, mostly dominated by the margarine used in the preparation. Final grade: C-.

Idahoan: 80 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 15 mg sodium, 18 grams carbs.

These flakes mixed up to a thick, nicely textured product that looked the most like from-scratch potatoes of any of the dehydrated products. The flavor was a bit pasty, but with some definite potato notes present. Final grade: B+.

Hungry Jack: 80 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 20 mg sodium, 19 grams carbs. These came out slightly more watery than the Idaho Spuds product, spreading out more like gravy than potatoes when plated. The flavor was similarly watery. The box offers adding extra flakes as a modification, but since the other two flaked entries were prepared exactly by the box directions, that wouldn't have been fair. Final grade: D.

Refrigerated Spuds

Country Crock Homestyle: 180 calories, 9 grams fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 470 mg sodium, 23 grams carbs.

These came out slightly stiffer than the Idaho Spuds potatoes, but not quite as chunky as the Idahoans. The butter flavor was very strong, bludgeoning any other taste that might have been present. There was a slightly greasy mouth feel that was no doubt linked to the heavy butter taste. Final grade: C+.

Simply Potatoes Traditional: 100 calories, 4 grams fat, 10 mg cholesterol, 440 mg sodium, 14 grams carbs.

The name says it all here. These were slightly chunky and very much like homemade mashers, although with a lighter butter flavor than you might be accustomed to. There were actual chunks of potato in the finished product, a refreshing change. Another good note: the saltiness present in other processed products was very well controlled here, adding to rather than dominating the flavor. Final grade: A-

From The Freezer

Ore-Ida Steam n'Mash: 80 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 260 mg sodium, 17 grams carbs.

This is an interesting product, and a good choice if you have a few extra minutes to get your potatoes ready. It consists of diced potatoes with a bit of salt in a microwaveable bag. After 10 minutes in the microwave and a couple of minutes standing, you pour the cooked potatoes into a bowl and mash them just as you would homemade, adding milk and butter or margarine. The finished product is as close to homemade as you'll find without peeling the spuds yourself. Final grade: A.

Even though it takes longer to make, the Ore-Ida entry is the clear winner in this comparison, and while it's more expensive than the flaked products the quality of the finished product makes it the clear best buy of the bunch. Just don't tell your grandmother they're not from scratch.