Garlic mashed potatoes are great for the holidays or any special family meal. Read more to learn how I perfected this decadent side dish.

Go For the The Gold
Yukon gold that is. Yukon gold’s are definitely my top choice for mashed potatoes. They’re sweeter and have a creamier, silkier texture than a russet.
The russets are almost a bit dry and floury to me if that makes any sense. If you’re a life long russet lover, this recipe will still work well with the spud of your choice.
What’s the best cooking method for mashed potatoes?
In order to perfect this recipe, I compared not two, not three, but four different cooking methods for these potatoes.
1. Cube and boil: The first method was your traditional peeling, cubing and boiling scenario. I found that the potatoes absorbed so much water with this cooking method that they tasted noticeably watery and bland compared to the following methods.
I also found that the russets stood up better to the boiling than the yukon golds. Perhaps the starch or moisture content affected the final result.
2. Boil whole: The next method I tested was boiling the potatoes whole with the skin on. We would sometimes prepare pureed potatoes this way at my old job. At first, I thought this would be the winning method because the flavor was so perfect, but I noticed tiny crumb sized specs of unblended potatoes which didn’t give the best mouth feel.
3. “Steam”: The next method was the winner. I essentially steamed the potatoes. I don’t own a steamer, so I filled a pot with about a half inch of water and brought that to a boil. Then, I added in peeled, cubed potatoes and covered them to steam through, stirring occasionally. My old chef boss also used this method.
The steaming method proved successful, because the potatoes absorbed just enough water to become nice and soft, and yield creamy garlic mashed potatoes. I realized when further testing this recipe, it’s just as important to make sure the potatoes, cream and butter are all warm during the mashing and mixing stages. That made an even bigger difference in preventing lumps than the cooking method did.
4. Bake: The last method I tried was baking. Baked potatoes make an intensely flavored mashed potato, but I found them a bit too dry and again, slightly lumpy.
Ricers for the win.
Just as in my Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows recipe, I like to process the potatoes through a ricer to achieve the creamiest mashed potatoes. You need a ricer to make a good gnocchi or any other starchy vegetable mash. A food mill works equally as well, and both are a relatively inexpensive investment.
You can also use a heavy duty, restaurant level fine mesh sieve, but I don’t expect many home cooks to have this on hand. Please don’t try to put a potato through an average sieve. It will break, trust me.
Ideas for variations
- Add sour cream for tang and additional creaminess.
- Ditch the garlic.
- Add some salty parmesan cheese.
Looking for more holiday recipes?
- Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
- Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Brown Butter Pecan Topping
- Sausage Chestnut Stuffing
- Rosemary Garlic Potatoes
- Apple Cider Braised Turkey Legs
- Kale Apple Salad with Blue Cheese and Maple Glazed Walnuts
- Pear and Pomegranate Salad with Goat Cheese and Pistachios
- Pumpkin Meringue Pie
If you make this recipe, please post a comment and rating down below. If you want to be notified every time I post a new recipe, subscribe to my blog and give me a follow on my social accounts: instagram, pinterest, twitter, youtube. See you next time!
The Perfect Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Garlic mashed potatoes are great for the holidays or any special family meal. Read more to learn how I perfected this decadent side dish.
Ingredients
- 2lbs Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 ½ inch cubes
- 1 head of garlic
- Olive oil or any neutral oil, for drizzling
- 1 stick butter, cubed, softened at room temperature
- ½ to ¾ cup heavy cream, or more as needed, warmed*
- Kosher salt
- Chives, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Roast the garlic: Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim off the top of a head of garlic to expose the cloves. Drizzle with oil and wrap in foil. Roast in oven for 40-60 minutes or until very soft and tender. Allow to cool slightly and then squeeze out of skins and place in a bowl.
- Cook the potatoes: While the garlic roasts, bring about a ½ inch of water up to a boil in a medium sized pot.* Add cut potatoes and cover. Cook, stirring and replacing cover every 5 minutes or so, for about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender and easily fall apart. This should be just enough water to allow the potatoes to cook through before it fully dries up, but add a little more water during the cooking process if needed.
- Rice the potatoes and garlic: Drain potatoes and press through a ricer or run through a food mill while hot. Add back into the warm pot (do not use a room temp bowl as I did in the video). Press garlic through ricer. If you don’t own these tools, a regular masher will be fine, but refrain from overworking the potatoes and making them gummy.
- Add dairy and season: Add softened butter and ¼ cup of warmed cream to potatoes and stir to combine. Season with salt. Add more cream until you reach your desired consistency. Garnish with chives, if desired. Enjoy.
Notes
To warm cream, place into a small sauce pot and bring to a slight simmer. Keep warm on low heat and cover until ready to use. You can also heat the cream in a microwave. I warm the cream while the potatoes are cooking.
This method may also work using a steamer basket with the potatoes making no contact with the water, however, as I do not own a steamer, I have not tested this method.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Side
- Method: Steam
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛ of potatoes
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 23mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 42mg
This post was updated with new images, a video and a slightly adjusted recipe. My original recipe was Potato Puree with Roasted Garlic and Sour Cream.
Leave a Reply