Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes

Perfectly creamy, buttery, and easy Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes with roasted garlic, thyme, sour cream, and milk. Makes an easy and comforting side dish for your regular weeknight or holiday meat dish!

Contents… Recipe Ingredients Recipe Substitutions Are red potatoes good for mashing? How Long To Boil Red Potatoes For Mashed Potatoes? Can You Make Mashed Red Potatoes Ahead Of Time? Storing and Reheating Instructions What To Serve Them With? More Potato Recipes How to Make Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes Watch How To Make It

Mashed red potatoes are my go-to side dish for protein. Aside from the fact that it’s easy to prep, that smooth texture perfectly complements well with the doneness of the meat. I love how it melts in your mouth and the flavors linger in your palate. Absolutely a joy to eat!

It’s a wonderful side to any proteins, especially steak and pork chops. Vegetables are great with garlic mashed potatoes, too. 

Recipe Ingredients

Don’t be intimidated by the number of ingredients needed as they are pretty basic and readily available in your kitchen pantry. 😉

• Garlic – in this Mashed Red Potatoes recipe, we’re going to roast the whole garlic until soft and golden. This is to really get all the fresh garlic aroma and flavor.  
• Thyme – using a fresh sprig of Thyme is best for this red potato recipe because it’s more flavorful and aromatic. However, dried thyme can be used as well.  
• Cooking Oil – drizzle about a teaspoon on top of the whole garlic head so it will cook evenly and you can easily squeeze out garlic cloves individually. 
• Red Potatoes – leave the skin on when making this garlic red skin mashed potatoes. Because half of the fiber content of the red potatoes is found on the skin and we don’t wanna waste that. 😉
• Salt – the cheapest flavor enhancer and the most important, too. Leaving the salt out will leave any dish taste bland.
• Butter – I love the buttery taste it gives in this garlic mashed red potatoes, plus it also gives rich flavor and moisture to this dish.
• Sour Cream – Make sure to let it come to room temperature before adding to the mashed potatoes so it can be easily absorbed.
• Milk – it needed to be warm so it can be easily incorporated into the mashed red potatoes. Besides, cold milk will just cool down the mashed potatoes which may lead to clumpy and dry mashed potatoes.
• Pepper – go hand in hand with salt to enhance the flavor of any dish. It adds a hint of heat which you can adjust depending on your palate.
• Parsley – sprinkle chopped parsley on top to make it more appealing and inviting. The aroma and added flavor are also a bonus. 😉   

Recipe Substitutions

• Heavy Cream or Half-and-half – can be used as a substitute for milk with a 1:1 ratio. It works as great and will make this mashed red potatoes recipe even creamier and thicker.
• Almond milk, Soy milk, or Coconut milk – are the best replacement for milk if you follow a certain diet like keto or low-carb.
• Plain or Greek Yogurt – is the next best thing to use if you don’t have sour cream available.

Are red potatoes good for mashing?

Most people would agree that peeled Russet or Yukon potatoes make the best mashed potatoes just like this Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe as they are buttery and tasty.

But if you want to take the skin-on version, the best choice for that would be red potatoes as they have slightly higher starch content than compensate for their slightly tougher skin. And it’s visually appealing, too, with that specks of red in a creamy white mashed potato.

PLUS, potato skins also contain vitamins C and B6, minerals, fiber, and iron which is a great immune booster.

How Long To Boil Red Potatoes For Mashed Potatoes?

Waxy red potatoes retain their shape, so it’s advisable that you bring them to a boil until they appear to be tender or fork-tender and start to fall apart. It will take about 15-25 minutes depending on the size of the red potatoes.

Can You Make Mashed Red Potatoes Ahead Of Time?

Yes, you can make them a day before. But I strongly advise you to make this on the day you’re going to serve them. Because freshly cooked garlic mashed red potatoes is tastier, creamier, and more flavorful compared to day-old mashed potatoes.

They tend to lose flavor and the consistency changes once refrigerated and we don’t want to that one serve our guests, right? 😉

But if you don’t want to get caught up with all the cooking, you can prepare the boiled potatoes a few hours early.

• Hold them in a heat-proof bowl covered with a plastic wrap and over on a simmering pot of water for up to 2 hours.
• Place them in a slow cooker with a warm setting. You can place them in there before you mash ’em up!

Storing and Reheating Instructions

Storing

If you happen to cook way too many of this creamy garlic mashed potatoes recipe,

• You can place the leftovers in freezer-friendly ziplock bags or air-tight containers.
• Refrigerate them for up to 3 days. NOTE: discard them right away if not consumed in those days.
• Or you can freeze them for up to 1 month.

Reheating

• Oven – place the leftover in a baking dish evenly spread and reheat at 350˚F for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.
• Microwave – heat on medium power for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Occasionally stir at 30 seconds intervals.
• Stovetop – I wouldn’t recommend this as the starch from potatoes will just stick to the bottom of the pan and might get burned easily.

Tip: Before heating, add a splash of milk and butter to bring back moisture. You may also add a little bit of salt and pepper to add more flavor.  

What To Serve Them With?

Pair this lovely, tasty, and fluffy garlic mashed red potatoes with some of these amazing meat dinner recipes below.

• Prime Rib Roast
• Spiced Roast Turkey
• Slow Cooker Pork Loin
• Beef Stroganoff
• Meatloaf

More Potato Recipes

• Fondant Potatoes
• Hasselback Potatoes
• Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin
• Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
• Twice Baked Potatoes

How to Make Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes

Roasting the Garlic

• Preheat your oven to 400° F
• Cut the top of the garlic – Cut the top ¼” to ½” off of a whole head of garlic, so that each individual clove should be visible. Make sure every garlic clove is exposed.
• Season with thyme – Place the head of garlic on foil paper together with the thyme. Drizzle the top of the garlic with a bit of oil, about 1 teaspoon.
• Wrap the garlic with foil and roast – Wrap it up and place it in the oven to roast for about 30 minutes or more. It should be soft, fragrant, and golden. (Photo 1)
• Squeeze individual cloves out – Let the garlic cool, then squeeze individual cloves out of the skin. (Photo 2)

Preparing and Boiling the Potatoes

• Clean and cut the potatoes – Scrub potatoes, clean and remove any spoiled spots, such as bruising and discoloration. Cut into big even-sized chunks. (Photo 3-4)
• Wash and rinse – Wash the potatoes and rinse until water runs clear. (Photo 5)
• Place the potatoes in a large pot – with about 1 -2 teaspoons of salt and enough water to cover the potatoes. (Photo 6)

• Boil until tender – Bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork-tender. (Photo 7)
• Drain and reheat on the stovetop – Be sure to drain the potatoes after cooking. Then gently reheat the drained potatoes on the stovetop to remove moisture from the potatoes. (Photo 8)

Making the Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes

• Transfer potatoes into a large bowl.  Then add the soft butter, sour cream, garlic, and black pepper. (Photo 9-11)

• Mix with warm milk – Start mixing while adding warm milk as you go until the mashed potatoes are soft and fluffy. You may add more milk if desired. (Photo 12)
• Season – to taste with salt and pepper.

Watch How To Make It

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This blog post was first published in November 2018 and has been updated with an additional write-up, and a video.