This Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe is an easy way to get creamy restaurant-style mashed potatoes with the fragrant flavor of garlic. Garlic-infused melted butter and sour cream are added to the potatoes for a decadent side dish that is perfect to serve during the holidays or with a weeknight dinner.
It's time to up your mashed potato game. Make them extra special by turning them into these creamy, dreamy, fragrant Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
Unlike most methods, where roasted garlic is stirred into the potatoes, I like to infuse melted butter with the garlic first.
This means you can easily strain out the cloves if desired. Then, you still get all the flavor, without any garlic chunks!
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One of the best ways to elevate your mashed potatoes is to add the lovely fragrant flavor of roasted garlic.
In this recipe you’ll roast 2 heads of garlic in the oven and then add it to a creamy mashed potato base.
Roasting garlic mellows any sharpness in the flavor, but you still get that great classic garlic taste.
You'll definitely know that these are the best garlic mashed potatoes, but the flavor isn't so strong that you'll be reaching for the mints.
It's subtle, delicious and perfect in a bowl of creamy mash.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
You’ll learn how to easily roast whole heads of garlic in the oven.
You’ll be able to make a restaurant-style dish at home.
The ingredients are budget friendly and are found at all grocery stores.
Garlic mashed potatoes can be made ahead saving time in the kitchen.
It’s a great side dish for the holidays or to serve with a weeknight dinner.
You've seen Idahoan Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes in the stores, but man, dried potatoes are nasty! This recipe is soooo quick and easy so you'll love the difference in taste by making it homemade from scratch.
Ingredients
Heads of Garlic: This is what you’ll roast up in the oven whole to get a decadent and deep garlic flavor.
Oil: Adding this to the heads of garlic helps it roast properly to bring out the flavor.
Potatoes: You can use russet, golden or any potato you like. These are peeled and quartered making up the base of the garlic mashed potatoes.
Softened Butter: Gives a great buttery tasted to these spuds.
Milk: Adds a creamy texture to the potatoes.
Sour Cream: Adds a creamy texture as well as a slight tang to balance out all the flavors.
Step by step tutorial
Follow this step-by-step photo tutorial, then scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredients list and method.
Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Rub the oil onto the whole, unpeeled heads of garlic, then wrap them in foil and place on a baking tray. Bake for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water until soft, then drain, cool slightly and chop.
When the garlic has cooled enough to handle, cut in half, then squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into a small pot. Add the butter and heat until melted.
Remove from the heat and allow the butter to infuse with the garlic for at least 5 minutes. If you have time, leave it longer for a more intense garlic flavor.
Mash the cooked potatoes with the melted garlic butter (including the cooked cloves, or you can strain them out), milk and sour cream and season with a little salt and pepper.
Tips
Garlic can be roasted in the oven up to 2 days ahead of time. Just wrap and store in the fridge until ready to infuse the butter.
If you don’t want chunks of garlic, then remove them from the garlic butter before mashing. Strain them out with a mesh strainer or use a slotted spoon.
You can make the garlic butter ahead of time and leave it to infuse longer for a more intense flavor.
Make it lighter with skimmed (1%) milk and low fat sour cream for a lower fat option.
You may have seen the Pioneer Woman roasted garlic mashed potatoes recipe, where the garlic is stirred into the potatoes. My kids don't like the chunks of garlic, so we love my recipe with infused garlic butter. You can strain out the garlic and still get lots of great flavor. That's what makes these the BEST!
Serving Suggestions
Goes great alongside this Easy Mushroom Tart.
Bring it to a holiday celebration with this Vegan Sage Stuffing.
Serve with this Vegan Turkey Roast.
Drizzle with Mushroom Gravy or Vegan Gravy.
Serve underneath these Mini Bundt Chestnut Loaves.
Serve with this pretty Stuffed Butternut Squash.
Perfect served with Mushroom Wellington.
Variations
Keep the skins on the potatoes for extra fiber, nutrients and an earthy flavor.
Add some fresh or dried herbs to your mashed potatoes when seasoning them. Herb garlic mashed potatoes are amazing!
Grate on a little parmesan or cheddar cheese, then put it under the broiler or grill for a cheese or parmesan crust.
Add a bit of truffle salt to your garlic mashed potatoes for an even more elevated flavor profile.
Use a combination of your favorite potatoes such as red bliss, fingerling or golden potatoes.
To lighten up the calories, mash in some roasted cauliflower.
Storage & Special Diets
Storing: Store this recipe cooked in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Freezing: Place the garlic mashed potato in a freezer safe ziploc bag and remove as much air as possible. Flatten the potatoes in the bag so they are in a single layer. Freeze for up to 4 months.
Special diets
To Make Gluten Free: This recipe is naturally gluten-free but make sure you check the labels on your milk, butter and sour cream for any wheat-containing additives.
To Make It Vegan: To make this recipe vegan, use a vegan butter substitute and non-dairy milk like soy. You can use unsweetened almond or coconut yogurt in place of the sour cream but it may change the flavor slightly so add slowly and test as you go. Often you can find vegan dairy free sour cream at the grocery store.
FAQs
What are the benefits of eating roasted garlic? Roasted garlic is nutritionally beneficial in many ways. It's been shown to reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and contains vital nutrients and minerals.
Can you freeze roasted garlic? You can freeze your roasted garlic mashed potato when it is cooled and mashed. Just add the mash to an ice cube tray and remove once it’s frozen. Then add the frozen cubes to a freezer-safe bag.
Should you bake or boil potatoes for mashed potatoes? Either option will work, however, baking or roasting them will result in a drier potato which may need additional liquid to mash properly.
How do I keep my mashed potatoes from becoming gluey? Be sure to mash your potatoes, and don't blend them or whiz them up in a food processor. This is to keep the starches from developing and taking on a gummy texture. Try not to over-work your mashed potatoes. Also, choosing a variety of potato that works well for mashing is best. Try Russett, Maris Piper or King Edward for light and fluffy mash, or Yukon gold for slightly denser mash.
More Potato Recipes
Hasselback Potatoes with Chile Lime Butter
Easy Bombay Potatoes (Bombay Aloo)
Irish Colcannon
Parmentier Potatoes with Rosemary & Garlic
Broccoli Salad with Potatoes & Herbs
Irish Potato Farls - a great way to use up leftover mashed potato (or garlic mashed potatoes!)
Irish Champ Potatoes
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📖 Recipe
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 heads garlic
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 2 pounds (900g) potatoes peeled and quartered (russets, maris piper etc)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup (170g) milk
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F /175 C.
- Rub the oil onto the whole, unpeeled heads of garlic, then wrap them in foil and place on a baking tray. Bake for 1 hour.
- Add the potatoes to a large pan of boiling water and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, allow to cool slightly and chop.
- When the garlic has cooled enough to handle, cut in half, then squeeze the roasted garlic cloves into a small pot. Add the butter and heat until melted. Remove from the heat and allow the butter to infuse with the garlic for 5 minutes (or longer).
- Mash the cooked potatoes with the melted garlic butter (including the cooked cloves, or remove them), milk and sour cream and season with a little salt and pepper.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors, so is not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietician for special diet advice.
Shanna
These were so delicious and went so well with my turkey. Such flavorful potatoes.
Soniya
Oh yum! I could never get my mashed potatoes correct! This looks amazing and you have explained it so well.. definitely making it tonight
Toni Dash
This is so perfect!! Such an amazing mashed potato recipe!
Tania | Fit Foodie Nutter
Love the addition of garlic. It's so good for the immune system too, especially during these unsettling times! Will be trying your recipe for my family meal tomorrow:) x
Beth
Yummy! This looks so delicious and tasty! My family is going to love this recipe! I can't wait to give this a try!