My easy garlic mashed potatoes are made with a garlic infused butter instead of roasted garlic (which can be time consuming and messy). They are fast and flavorful and I suspect you’ll be making them on repeat for weeknights and holidays to come!
Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Love garlic in your mashed potatoes? Stirring in a clove or two works in a pinch, but if you want true garlic mashed potatoes, this is the recipe for you. My version is creamy, so flavorful, and so EASY with a fantastic garlic flavor, thanks to garlic-infused butter (no roasting needed!).
While there are many options for adding garlic to your potatoes, I really love this method of cooking the garlic in the butter (for a lovely garlic-infused butter). There’s no texture from minced garlic (so if you rice them, they are especially super smooth and creamy), and there’s no fussy roasting heads of garlic (a fun project but way more time consuming). You’ll still get LOTS of garlic flavor, but in an easier, less messy way!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fast: We save time by infusing the garlic in butter instead of roasting it in the oven.
- Flavorful: SO Flavorful! Plenty of garlic flavor along with butter, chives, and creamy notes from milk and cream.
- Easy: No roasting garlic needed! And the garlic sautés while the potatoes boil, so everything comes together super fast.
- Party-friendly: Doubles well if you need to feed a crowd, and can even be made ahead of time and reheated. It works nicely as a Thanksgiving side dish!
What You Need
Just a few ingredients here today besides the potatoes. I’ll review them briefly before we get to the full recipe.
- Potatoes. I prefer Yukon gold potatoes for their creamier, more buttery texture (and the pretty color helps, too). There are notes in the recipe if you want to use a different variety.
- Garlic. You will need eight large cloves of garlic for this recipe. I don’t love measuring garlic this way (number of cloves) because the size can vary so much, but unfortunately this was the best way to do it for this recipe. If you only have small cloves, just toss in a few extra for maximum garlic flavor. Note that we will be keeping the cloves whole and smashing them a bit before we heat them in butter.
- Salted butter. A high quality butter is best–if you can use European butter (my preference for many recipes, like homemade biscuits), that’s even better! However, for those of us on a budget, please rest assured that this recipe works perfectly well and is incredibly delicious even with basic American butter.
- Milk and cream. I found a blend provided rich and creamy results with the best flavor. You can also use an equal amount of half and half. If you need to use a non-diary milk, I provide instructions for how to do so in the recipe notes below.
- Chives. Fresh or dried chives will work, though fresh is my preference. These make a pretty (and flavorful!) garnish. Optional, but highly recommended!
SAM’S TIP: If you’d like to add even more flavor, stir in some cheese (cheddar or parmesan would be my suggestion) or a dollop of sour cream when adding your garlic butter. Yum!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Prep the potatoes
Wash your potatoes and cut them into 1 ½” cubes (the size isn’t critical, what’s important is that the pieces are all very close in size so they cook evenly), then rinse them under cold water and place in a pot of well-salted cool water. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until fork tender.
While your potatoes are boiling, make your garlic butter.
Make the garlic butter
Smash your garlic cloves! This allows the flavor to infuse into the butter. I use a sharp knife to cut off the root, then smash them under the blade of a chef’s knife. This makes it easy to remove the papery skin around the garlic, it should slide right off now (and you can discard it).
Melt the butter over low heat, then add your garlic cloves. Cook for at least 10 minutes, keep the heat low, you’re not trying to brown or saute the garlic. I do this step while my potatoes are boiling.
Once the potatoes are done cooking you can discard the cloves (I just pull them out with tongs and toss them, it’s not wasteful as they’ve done their job and added flavor to the dish). Add the milk and cream and keep cooking until warmed through before you add the mixture to your potatoes.
Mash and serve
Drain your potatoes and let them sit in the hot pot for a few minutes (before you add the other ingredients) to evaporate any excess moisture. Pour in your garlic butter (/milk and cream), then season with salt and pepper. Mash until you reach your desired consistency, taste test, and serve.
SAM’S TIP: While you can use a potato masher, I personally prefer to rice my potatoes for a smoother texture. It can be easier to rice the potatoes before you add all the other ingredients, but if you do it the other way, that’s fine too. Whatever you do, don’t beat the potatoes with an electric mixer–this can over-mix them and causes gluey mashed potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely, russets will work just fine here. You will want to wash, scrub, and peel them just like the gold potatoes. Red potatoes will work, but they’re more waxy and dense and not my favorite choice.
Minced garlic isn’t my preference but it could absolutely work. It gives a bolder/sharper garlic flavor and you’ll have the texture of the minced garlic in your mashed potatoes. I’d personally use a heaping Tablespoon of garlic if I went the minced route.
I prefer to instead infuse the butter with garlic flavor, which adds a smooth and very present flavor, no added texture. For what it’s worth, you’re also less likely to end up with garlic breath when you use this method.
Over-mixing potatoes releases their starches and makes them too thick and gluey. Be thorough, but be gentle when mashing so you don’t go too far and ruin the fluffy, creamy texture. I recommend avoiding using an electric mixer for mashing, or if you must use one use the lowest speed and watch your potatoes carefully to not overdo it.
The options are literally endless. I love serving them with my bbq chicken meatballs (a super popular weeknight dish around here that I’ll be sharing the recipe for shortly) or with my pot roast, as a topping for shepherds pie, or a side for baked chicken. While it’s not quite as portable as my loaded mashed potato casserole, it makes a great potluck meal or holiday dinner side dish, with a rightful place beside the green bean casserole, stuffing (or sausage stuffing), cranberry sauce and turkey. Serve with a side of garlic bread dinner rolls to really up the garlic ante.
Do you love garlic? Keep scrolling for more garlicky recipes!
Enjoy!
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Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 lb (1.36 kg) gold potatoes
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter
- 8 large cloves garlic peeled and smashed (see note)
- ½ cup (118 ml) heavy cream
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) whole milk
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Chopped chives for topping optional
Recommended Equipment
- Potato masher and/or ricer
Instructions
- Wash and scrub potatoes, peel, then cut into 1 ½” (4cm) pieces (make sure the pieces are all similar in size, that way they cook evenly). Place in a strainer and run under cold water for at least a minute. Place in a large pot, cover with at least an inch (2.5cm) of cool water and salt generously.3 lb (1.36 kg) gold potatoes
- Transfer pot to stovetop and bring to a boil over medium/high heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until potatoes are tender and easily pierced with a fork. Meanwhile, prepare your garlic butter:
- Garlic butter: While the potatoes are boiling, melt butter in a small or medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, add the garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 10 minutes (I just let them cook while the potatoes boil). After at least 10 minutes of cooking (garlic should be super fragrant) remove the garlic cloves from the butter and discard.½ cup (113 g) salted butter, 8 large cloves garlic
- Slowly pour milk and cream into the garlic butter and stir, cooking until warmed.⅓ cup (80 ml) whole milk, ½ cup (118 ml) heavy cream
- Once potatoes are tender, drain well, return to the pot and let sit for 3-5 minutes (to let excess water evaporate).
- Pour the warmed butter/milk/cream mixture evenly over the potatoes and add salt and pepper. Mash well and run through a ricer if desired. Taste-test and add more salt/pepper if needed.1 teaspoon table salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Serve warm, topped with fresh chopped chives if desired.Chopped chives for topping
Notes
Potatoes
Yukon golds or yellow potatoes are my preference but russet potatoes will work here, too.Garlic
To prep the garlic, use a large knife to cut the bottom of the clove off and place the garlic on a cutting board. Place the flat side of the knife blade over the garlic and firmly smash it to crush/flatten the garlic. Remove the peel after smashing. I use large cloves of garlic, if yours are smaller use a few extra cloves!Milk/cream (and substitutes)
You can substitute half and half for both the milk and cream. For a non-dairy milk, you may substitute a nut milk for both the milk and cream, but you may find you need a bit more and the potatoes won’t be quite as creamy. If you want the potatoes a bit creamier, you can add an extra splash of cream or milk (I do this straight from the fridge if I’m adding just a bit more).Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.Making in Advance/Reheating
I reheat these in a large saucepan on the stovetop over medium/low heat, stirring occasionally. The potatoes can dry out a bit as they sit in the fridge, so you may find you need to add a splash more milk/cream and in turn may need a bit more salt/pepper as well (always taste-test before serving).Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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