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Every time I make garlic mashed potatoes, I remember why boxed potatoes could never touch the real thing. My garlic mashed potatoes are silky, buttery, rich, and always have folks going back for seconds and scraping the bowl.
Whether you’re serving this under a smothered chicken, next to your chicken fried steak, or just eating it on your own, these mashed potatoes are gonna hold their own. Creamy with a little texture, garlicky but not too bold, and just the right touch of freshness.
I love having these mashed potatoes on the table during the holidays. Pair it with turkey and collard greens for a delicious meal.
Key Ingredients
- Yukon Gold Potatoes – Naturally buttery and tender, perfect for mashing.
- Cream Cheese – Adds tang and richness that keeps the potatoes smooth and velvety.
- Heavy Cream – Brings the creamy, luscious texture that separates basic mash from real mash.
- Garlic – Infuses the cream with warm, savory flavor.
- Butter – Adds that classic richness and shine, you can’t skip it.
- Salt & Pepper – Essential to balance the richness and bring out the potato’s natural flavor.
- Chives – Fresh, oniony brightness that cuts through all that cream and butter.
Tips for making the best garlic mashed potatoes
- Salt the water– Always salt the water you boil your potatoes in when making mashed potatoes. The potatoes will soak up the salt, creating a nice balance of salt throughout.
- Peel the skin– For super fluffy potatoes make sure you peel off all the skin before boiling.
- Don’t over cook – You want to make sure the potatoes are just fork tender so too much water doesn’t get into them. This can lead to the potatoes being gummy.
- Choose the right potato – Yukon gold or any yellow potatoes make for the fluffiest and creamiest mashed potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes have the perfect balance of starch and density.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ – 1.8 lbs yukon gold potatoes
- 2 tbsp cream cheese, or sour cream
- ¾ c heavy cream
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp butter
- ¼ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- 1 tbsp Chives , chopped
- ½ tbsp melted butter
Instructions
- Peel all the skin off the potatoes and cut your potatoes into quarters.
- Add the potatoes to a pot with enough cold water to cover. Add about 1 tbsp of salt to the pot, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling remove the lid. Reduce the heat to medium and let the potatoes simmer for 20 minutes.
- Ten minutes into the potatoes boiling, warm up the cream cheese, heavy cream, garlic, pepper and 3 tbsp of butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Stir occasionally until it’s all melted. Once melted and smooth, remove the saucepan from the heat.
- When the potatoes are soft, drain from the water and add them to a potato ricer for extra fluffy potatoes. If you do not have a potato ricer, just use a regular potato masher.
- Once the potatoes are mashed gradually add in the warmed dairy mixture and mix together with a spoon, mashing some more with the back of the spoon. Once everything is incorporated, add ½ of the chives and stir.
- Taste the potatoes and add some more salt or pepper if needed.
- Add the mashed potatoes to a serving dish and drizzle with the melted butter and sprinkle the remaining chives on top.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
FAQs about garlic mashed potatoes
You can use sour cream instead of the cream cheese in this mashed potato recipe.
Yes. Reheat them gently on the stovetop with a splash of cream or milk to loosen them up.
Fresh is best, but if you’re in a pinch, dried chives will work, just use a bit less since they’re more concentrated.
