The Best Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes From Scratch

Learn how to make the creamiest, most delicious roasted garlic mashed potatoes from scratch.

Potatoes are one of the staple foods in our household. Fries, baked potatoes, soups, hashes, and more—we love them in any variation. One of my absolute favorite ways to prepare potatoes is by making garlic mashed potatoes. They’re irresistibly creamy, with a slight tang and a robust flavor profile that will make you go back for seconds every time.

What makes for good garlic mashed potatoes?

The type of potato you use can help set up a good base for your mashed potatoes. I use a blend of Russet and Yukon potatoes. You can use just Yukon or just Russet if you prefer one over the other. Another important aspect of the perfect mashed potatoes is finding a tang to balance out the creaminess. I do this by adding a splash of kefir, but you can also add a spoonful of sour cream if that’s more easily accessible for you.

Garlic mashed potatoes ingredients

Potatoes

The first and most important ingredient in mashed potatoes is—you guessed it—potatoes! You’re looking for a starchy potato that is low in sugar and moisture. This includes Yukon Gold potatoes, Russet potatoes, and Idaho potatoes. If you want the best mashed potatoes, try a blend of those three! Feel free to peel your potatoes if you want. I prefer to leave their skins on for my mashed potatoes.

Milk

Milk is what will help blend your potatoes into the perfectly creamy mashed potato glory. I highly recommend using whole milk for this because the higher amount of fat in the milk makes it thicker. This, in turn, helps you make your garlic mashed potatoes the creamiest they can be. If you want to make your potatoes dairy free, try out a neutral flavored plant milk like rice or almond.

Butter

Butter adds to the flavor of the potatoes, making a wonderful, buttery mashed potato. I prefer to use unsalted butter so I have more control over the amount of salt in my roasted garlic mashed potatoes, but salted butter works just as well.

Cream Cheese

Cream cheese adds to the flavor profile of the garlic mashed potatoes while adding a slight tang to them. It also aids in the creaminess of the mashed potatoes.

Kefir/Sour Cream

Kefir or sour cream are how you add that wonderful tang to the potatoes that so many recipes are missing! Feel free to adjust the amount of tang by increasing or decreasing the amount of kefir or sour cream you use.

Spices

You don’t have to use any spices other than salt and pepper for taste, but I highly recommend adding fresh (or dry) sage, rosemary, and thyme to your potatoes. They really help enhance the flavor profile of this potato dish, making your potatoes stand out among the crowd of mashed potatoes.

Roasted Garlic

Technically, garlic is not necessary to make good mashed potatoes. That being said, we think mashed potatoes just aren’t complete without garlic. Roasted garlic adds a rich aroma and vibrant—but not overpowering—flavor that moves the mashed potatoes from being a trustworthy side to being a talking point of your meal.

How to make garlic mashed potatoes

Cooking

Fill a Dutch oven with your quartered mix of Russet and Yukon Gold potatoes. Pour your milk over the potatoes until they are completely covered. Next, you’ll want to add a fresh sprig of sage, rosemary, and thyme to the milk and potato mixture.

After adding these ingredients to the pot, bring the mixture to a simmer on medium-low heat. Be sure to stir occasionally to help prevent the milk from scalding to the bottom of your pan. Once simmering, turn down your heat to low and cover your pot. Let it sit for at least an hour, or until your potatoes are fork tender.

Mixing

Once the potatoes are fork tender, you’ll want to strain the milk out into a medium bowl. Toss out the sprigs of sage, rosemary, and thyme if you added them. Put the potatoes back into the Dutch Oven, keeping the pot on low heat. Squeeze the heads of roasted garlic into the potatoes and start mashing! If you want chunkier mashed potatoes, don’t mash them as much. If you want them super creamy, mash them until there are no large chunks left, or use an electric hand mixer.

After mashing the potatoes, add the butter, kefir/sour cream, and cream cheese. Mix these ingredients in until completely melted into the potatoes. Next, slowly pour the strained milk into the mixture, constantly stirring until you reach your desired level of creaminess. I generally do about a 1/4 cup of the milk mixture at a time. Mix in your diced sage, rosemary, and thyme (if desired), with salt and pepper to taste.

The Best Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Additional Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Learn how to make the creamiest, most delicious roasted garlic mashed potatoes that are a perfect side for any meal.

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Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds Russet Potatoes (quartered) and/or Yukon Potatoes (quartered)
• 2 Cups Whole Milk (or however much it takes to cover the potatoes)
• 3 tablespoons Butter, cubed
• 2 tablespoons Cream Cheese
• 1 tablespoon Kefir or Sour cream
• 1 fresh sprig of Sage, plus a teaspoon of diced sage
• 1 fresh sprig of Rosemary, plus a teaspoon of diced rosemary
• 1 fresh sprig of Thyme, plus a teaspoon of diced thyme
• Salt (to taste)
• Pepper (to taste)
• Two roasted garlic heads

Instructions

1. Fill a Dutch oven with quartered potatoes and cover completely with whole milk.
2. Add a sprig of sage, rosemary, and thyme.
3. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from scalding.
4. Once simmering, turn the heat to low, put the lid on the Dutch oven, and let sit on the stove for an hour.
5. After an hour, drain the potatoes and keep about a cup of the milk mixture.
6. Discard the thyme, rosemary, and sage sprigs.
7. Put the potatoes back into the Dutch oven and keep on low heat.
8. Squeeze both heads of garlic into the potatoes.
9. Mash the garlic and potatoes together until you reach the desired consistency.
10. Add the butter, kefir/sour cream, and cream cheese into the potatoes and mix until fully incorporated.
11. Slowly add the saved milk mixture while stirring until you reach your desired level of creaminess.
12. Mix in the diced sage, rosemary, and thyme.
13. Add salt and pepper to taste.