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It is the season of mashed potatoes! But let’s be real, every season is mashed potatoes season in this house, especially when they’re served up with my Mom’s Easy Honey Garlic Chicken or my smoked paprika baked chicken thighs. I could eat these buttery garlic mashed potatoes all day, every day; just hand me a spoon, and I’m good to go!
Buttery Garlic Mashed Potatoes
This mashed potatoes recipe is bursting with that amazing roasted garlic flavor and it’s the ultimate easy-to-make comfort food! Whether it’s a simple side for a weeknight dinner or a special occasion, this velvety mashed potatoes dish is wonderfully decadent and satisfying. I mean it’s literally infused with buttery garlic goodness.
How To Make The BEST Mashed Potatoes
- Put the potatoes in a large saucepan and fill it up until they’re covered in water, then stir in the salt.
- Bring to boil over a medium to high heat and then lower the heat until the potatoes are just about simmering.
- Continue to cook the potatoes until they fall apart when you pierce them with a fork, then remove them from the heat and drain.
- Let them sit to drain whilst you work on the next part of the recipe.
- Heat the half and half, the garlic puree and butter over medium heat until slightly simmering, then remove from the heat and set to the side.
- Go back to the potatoes and mash with a masher or potato ricer until they’re nice and smooth.
- Mix in the garlic mixture until thoroughly combined.
- Serve while it’s nice and hot!
Tips And Tricks For Making Amazing Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- You can keep any leftovers for up to 5 days in the refrigerator once they’re stored in an airtight container. But seriously… do you really think you can leave them that long?! Use the leftovers in my garlic mashed potato cakes for another treat!
- I used Russet potatoes here as they get lovely and creamy when they’re cooked but you can use Yukon potatoes too. You really want to avoid potatoes that will get too mushy or grainy after cooking. Make sure you use new potatoes as older potatoes will lose their texture when cooked.
- If you use too much water it’ll change the texture of the end result so make sure you don’t use too much when you’re cooking the potatoes.
- If you like, you can roast the garlic heads in advance, just keep them wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in a container in the refrigerator until needed.
- If you want to mix things up a bit, you can add some Parmesan to make garlic Parmesan mashed potatoes! Add about half a cup of grated Parmesan and leave out the salt.
- If your buttery garlic potatoes turn out a bit lumpy it’s because they were under-cooked before you mashed them. Next time, just make sure to check your potatoes with a fork before taking them off the heat. If they’re ready, the fork should slip into the potatoes easily (i.e. they’ll be “fork tender”).
More potato-based recipes to try:
The Absolute Best Ever Twice Baked Potatoes
How to Make Salty, Crispy Skinned Oven Baked Potatoes
Rich & Creamy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Rosemary Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Happy cooking!
Love,
Karlynn
The BEST Buttery Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds russet potatoes peeled and diced, all the same size
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic puree
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and fill until they are covered in water. Stir in the salt.
- Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a lower heat until the potatoes are just simmering, a low rolling boil. Keeping it at this lower boil will help prevent them from boiling over.
- Cook until the potatoes fall apart when pierced with a fork.
- Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water in a colander. Let them sit there draining.
- Heat the half-and-half, the butter and the garlic puree in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering slightly, then remove from the heat and set aside.
- Mash the potatoes using a masher or a potato ricer until smooth.
- Mix in the hot garlic mixture until combined through.
- Serve while hot.
Gayle M. Kahler says
these honestly were THE best mashed i’ve ever had. i think the roasted garlic was the secret. i did have to google how to make garlic puree, though, so a link or directions would be helpful. was also confused that all of the salt went into the cooking water. was that a typo?
Karlynn Johnston says
Nope, cooking them in salted water makes them a little salty and why they’re so good!.
Gayle says
ahh…thanks, karlynn. i didn’t see this response until i just went back to jot this recipe down. so i get putting some salt in the water, but do you not add any salt to the recipe itself?
Tim says
Delicious!
Sophie Anderson says
Very good and easy. Next time I’ll probably add a little more garlic, though.