Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Everyone has that one side dish they’re sort of known for. That one that you’re repeatedly asked to bring whenever there’s a potluck style dinner party. I get plenty of requests for my smoked baked beans, my always hit, along with my cranberry stuffing. That said, my roasted garlic mashed potatoes are what’s requested most, by a long shot. To be honest, I’m pretty proud of them.

Mashed potatoes should be one of the dishes that are hard to mess up, but that’s not exactly true. If you’ve ever had mashed potatoes that are more like a soup than anything else or have the consistency of glue you know that not all mashed potatoes are made equally. These roasted garlic mashed potatoes are definitely on another level, and they’re easy to make.

Mashed potatoes are one of those side dishes that literally go with anything. They make the perfect partner to beef, poultry, and pork; and don’t forget potato pancakes with the leftovers. They also take on flavor very well making them versatile for things like jalapeño mashed potatoes, loaded mashed potatoes, and chipotle mashed potatoes. So what’s the secret to the best mashed potatoes?

Secret to the Best Mashed Potatoes

This “secret” is really rather simple⁠—it’s starting with the right potato in the first place. I said earlier that not all mashed taters are created equally, the same can be said for the variety of potato. All too often I see mashed potatoes being made with russet potatoes.

Russets are great for baking, but they have far too much starch in them to do well with being boiled. Long story but that’s where the glue texture comes from. But I digress. The secret to the best mashed potatoes is using Yukon gold potatoes.

Yukon golds have less starch and already have a mild buttery flavor. You’ll sometimes find them labeled “butter potatoes” at the market and they are perfect for boiling and mashing.

How to Infuse Potatoes with Garlic

Over the years I’ve tried all sorts of ways. For a time, it was popular to boil garlic with the potatoes and mash them together. I’ve done that and what you end up with is, well…boiled garlic. No real flavor at all comes from this method.

I’ve seasoned with garlic powder and while that does infuse a garlic flavor, it isn’t the sweet and nutty roasted garlic flavor. It’s almost artificial tasting when added to potatoes. I’ve also used the pre-minced garlic in a jar⁠—that’s just nasty. 10/10 don’t recommend that method.

Suffice it to say, I’ve tried a number of ways and the best way to infuse potatoes with garlic is to roast the garlic first, and then incorporate the roasted garlic into the mash. The roasting process turns an otherwise very strong flavor into a mild, sweet, and nutty flavor experience that really shines.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potato Recipe

Serves: 6-8 | Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
2.5 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2” squares
1 head garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1 stick butter (quality butter)
½ cup heavy cream
Sea salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

How to Make Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400° F.

Step 2: Slice off top of the head of garlic. Take as little off as possible in order to have each individual clove exposed. Place garlic on aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil and a pinch of coarse sea salt. Wrap garlic in foil and put in preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove and set aside.

Step 3: Add enough water to cover potatoes in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add a pinch or two of coarse sea salt to water.

Step 4: Cover and boil on medium heat for about 15 minutes. Potatoes should be somewhat resistant to being pierced by a fork or temperature probe.

Step 5: Drain water off potatoes and allow them to sit covered for additional 10 minutes. This allows the potatoes to finish cooking and dry out some. This step is crucial. After 10 minutes the potatoes should easily pierce with a fork.

Step 6: In small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. When butter is melted, add in the individual roasted garlic cloves and mash them in with a potato masher. Continue mashing garlic while adding the heavy cream. Once the butter, garlic, and cream are all mixed together and steaming (not boiling), add half the mixture to potatoes.

Step 7: Mash the potatoes with roasted garlic butter mixture until completely incorporated before adding remaining half of mixture. Mash together and taste. At this point, you are likely going to need to season with salt and pepper, but with mashed potatoes it’s important to mix, taste, season, and repeat as necessary in order to get the perfect amount of salt for your taste.

Step 8: Serve potatoes and garlic with parsley garnish. Don’t be afraid to add a little extra butter to the top as they’re served.