Garlic Mashed Potatoes are the easiest way to make your next dinner extra special. Tender potatoes are mashed until rich and creamy with butter, cream and roasted garlic.
While we often make classic mashed potatoes, we love the addition of roasted garlic to make our favorite spuds extra special.
What Potatoes to Use for Mashing
The best potatoes for garlic mashed potatoes are nice and starchy like russets, Idaho potatoes, or Yukon gold.
These potatoes are also great with red skin mashed potatoes. Since red skinned potatoes have thin tender skin there’s no need to peel them if you’d like a bit of texture and color. This particular version of mashed potatoes is great left a little bit chunky, more like a smashed potato (but of course they can be mashed completely smooth too)!
How to Prepare Garlic for Mashed Potatoes
Roasted garlic is easy to make and adds the best flavor. If you’ve never roasted garlic, it becomes buttery and sweet once roasted (and can even be spread over bread just like that).
To roast the garlic, cut the top off of a whole bulb of garlic and drizzle it with olive oil. Wrap the head in foil and bake at 425°F for 45-55 minutes. This can be done a couple of days in advance so you can just put a couple of heads in to roast next to your meal.
No Time to Roast Garlic? No Problem!
There are other options for adding garlic to potatoes even if you don’t have time to roast garlic. Slice 8-10 cloves of garlic and add them to the water to boil along with the potatoes. Drain and mash them with the potatoes.
Finally, if you don’t have fresh garlic, you can use garlic powder (you can even buy roasted garlic powder) once the potatoes are cooked. Heat it up with the milk/butter mixture and stir it in.
How to Make Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Potatoes are washed before they are bagged, but it’s still a good idea to give them a good rinse before peeling, and usually again after the peels are removed to ensure you don’t have any grit or dirt.
Roast the garlic per the recipe below (or prepare garlic to add to potatoes for boiling).
Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Place them in a pot of cold water and bring them to a boil until fork tender. Drain well.
Mash the potatoes with warmed cream, melted butter, and the roasted garlic. Season with salt & pepper and serve.
Just like scalloped potatoes, these garlic mashed potatoes can easily be made ahead of time. Serve topped with beef tips & gravy or as a side to any meal!
Other Additions
- Parmesan: Make these into garlic parmesan mashed potatoes by adding in some finely grated parmesan.
- Herbs: Fresh parsley, chives, dill or thyme all make amazing additions.
- Cream Cheese: A few ounces of cream cheese will make these cheesy and extra creamy.
- Caramelized Onions: I make big batches of caramelized onions and freeze them. They’re perfect to add to this recipe.
- Horseradish: If you’re serving these alongside steak or roast beef, a generous scoop of horseradish is a delicious addition!
Got Leftovers?
Reheat them in the microwave or on the stove. They’re also great to top a shepherd’s pie or to use as a topping to a turkey pot pie.
You can freeze mashed potatoes for up to a year. They retain their quality as long as they have lots of nice fat in them (butter and cream).
To Freeze leftovers, place it in freezer bags, squeeze out the air, and store flat. No need to thaw first to reheat them. Use the microwave on a medium setting or heat up in the oven.
More Mashed Potato Goodness
- The BEST Mashed Potatoes – perfectly creamy every time
- Loaded Mashed Potato Cakes – great for leftovers!
- Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes – no boiling required!
- Loaded Mashed Potato Bombs – bite-sized comfort food
- Roasted Smashed Potatoes– just a few simple ingredients!
- Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes – so creamy & flavorful
Did you enjoy these Garlic Mashed Potatoes? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head garlic
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 pounds potatoes russet or Yukon gold
- 1 cup heavy cream more as needed
- ⅓ cup salted butter
- salt & pepper to taste
- chives and/or parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
To Roast Garlic*
- Slice the top off of the whole head of garlic and drizzle with olive oil.
- Wrap in foil and roast at 425°F for 45-55 minutes or until the garlic reaches a golden brown color and is very soft. (This can be done up to 5 days in advance). Remove golden cloves from the skin.
Potatoes
- Peel and cube potatoes, place in a large pot of cold salted water (add raw garlic if you are not using roasted garlic). Boil uncovered 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain well.
- Heat cream and butter until warm and butter is melted.
- With a potato masher, mash potatoes and roasted garlic until smooth. Add cream mixture a little bit at a time while mashing to reach desired consistency.
- Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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OH MY!! I will never make mashed potatoes again without this recipe. The roasted garlic absolutely makes this recipe. I followed it EXACTLY and these are the BEST mashed potatoes EVER!!!
Yay! That is great, Kathy. So happy you enjoyed this recipe too!
this recipe looks awesome – just like the rest of the recipes. thank you!