Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food– and these homemade creamy garlic mashed potatoes make comfort feel fancy! These potatoes are creamy and flavorful thanks to the minced garlic, heavy cream, cream cheese, and butter. This side dish may just turn out to be the star of the show!
These creamy garlic mashed potatoes are seriously packed with so much flavor! The garlic is enhanced by the butter, heavy cream, and cream cheese and are so delicious eaten on its own or with gravy on top.
It’s the perfect side to pair with this crockpot turkey tenderloin dinner or as an addition to Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
Why You’ll Love These Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Garlic Adds Tons of Flavor – The minced garlic enhances the flavor in these potatoes beautifully. Add more garlic or less depending on your preferences.
- Perfect Side Dish – Mashed potatoes go with so many things! Turkey, chicken, pot roast, on it’s own loaded with bacon and cheese–the possibilities are endless!
- Make the Flavor Work For You – Add the ingredients you want to add and leave out the ones you don’t. If you don’t want as much butter or cream, don’t add as much. They certainly add to the creaminess, but you know your flavor preferences best!
Ingredients
- Russet Potatoes – these potatoes make the creamiest mashed potatoes and are reasonably inexpensive!
- Cream Cheese – makes the mashed potatoes rich and creamy
- Salted Butter – I always use salted butter in my baking and cooking. You could also use unsalted butter and add salt and pepper to your liking.
- Heavy Cream – makes the mashed potatoes fluffy and so creamy!
- Garlic – the flavor star of these mashed potatoes!
- Salt and Pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Wash and peel the potatoes.
Step 2: Dice the potatoes.
Step 3: Fill a large stock pot with water. Add a teaspoon of garlic salt (optional). If you don’t add garlic salt, make sure to add a teaspoon of salt to the water. Add the diced potatoes to the pot. Set the stove to medium-high heat allowing the water to boil.
Step 4: While the potatoes are cooking, mince the garlic and cut the cream cheese and butter into cubes.
Step 5: The potatoes will be ready when you can easily pierce a fork through them. Once ready, strain the water from the potatoes.
Step 6: While mixing with a hand mixer, add the minced garlic, cream cheese, butter, and heavy cream to the potatoes. Some lumps are normal and are a sign that you are eating homemade mashed potatoes!
Hint: Adding the garlic salt to the water will enhance the garlicky flavor! Also, make sure you are using room temperature butter and cream cheese before adding it to the potatoes. The heavy cream should also be room temperature. You want to avoid adding anything too cold to the potatoes!
Substitutions and Variations
There are so many delicious ways to switch up mashed potatoes! Here are just a few substitutions and variations.
- Bacon and Cheese – Spruce up the mashed potatoes by adding crumbled bacon bits and shredded cheese to them.
- Milk and Dairy – If you’d rather use milk instead of heavy cream, feel free to replace it. The cream gives it a creamier texture, but the milk will be close to the same. I’d recommend whole milk. Add sour cream instead of cream cheese. Try adding cheese such as shredded parmesan or cheddar cheese.
- Veggies and Herbs – Add caramelized onions, roast the garlic beforehand for a robust flavor, add chives, rosemary, or thyme. Kick up the heat by adding prepared horseradish.
- Potatoes – I recommend using russet or Yukon potatoes for the light, fluffy potatoes. You may also use red or white potatoes, though they will give a more dense texture.
Equipment
- Potato Peeler
- Stockpot
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Colander
- Mixing Bowl
- Potato Masher or Potato Ricer
- Hand Mixer
Storage
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave and add a bit of extra butter and milk/cream to help add moisture.
You may also freeze these potatoes for up to 2-3 months in an airtight container.
Reheat Instructions:
To reheat, bake them in an oven safe dish at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes or until completely warm. I also add a few tablespoons of butter dispersed throughout the potatoes along with a splash of heavy cream or milk. This will help keep them creamy as you reheat them
Top Tips
When you strain the potatoes, let them sit in the colander for an extra minute or two. You want to avoid adding any extra moisture to the potatoes. Save that job for the cream cheese, butter, and cream that you’ll be adding to them!
Make sure the water is cold when you add the potatoes. Unlike pasta, the water should not already be boiling when you add the potatoes to the pot!
FAQ
Personally, I like a little lump in my potatoes. I find there’s beauty in imperfections and it’s lets me know they’re real! With that said, I know not everyone shares my ideations. So, if you’re looking for absolutely not lumps in your potatoes, I recommend using a potato ricer once you’ve strained the water from the cooked potatoes. That combined with a hand mixer will ensure you get lump free potatoes! Some other helpful tips:
–make sure the heavy cream is warm before adding it to your potatoes.
-ensure you’ve removed any excess water from the potatoes after straining.
-do not over mix! Mix until just combined.
-make sure the potatoes are all diced in uniform size (all the same size).
Do not over mix! Over mashing or mixing the potatoes will result in gummy potatoes. Also, again, make sure that excess water is removed from the potatoes before mashing them. I let my potatoes sit in the colander for a couple minutes to make sure there’s no excess water.
No! Potatoes are not like pasta. You want to add the diced potatoes to cold water and allow the water to boil along with the potatoes.
Nope. I wanted to make sure this recipe was easy and not full of a ton of steps. With that said, you absolutely can roast the garlic beforehand. Simply add the garlic to a pan on the stove over medium heat with a little olive oil or butter and allow it to cook for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure the garlic is evenly cooked.
Yes, you can. It will change the flavor. I highly recommend using actual cloves of garlic. But to get a bit of a garlicky flavor, add 1 tablespoon to the potatoes as you mix them together with the butter, heavy cream, and cream cheese. You can add more of less based on how much garlic you want.
Yes, you can. You can make them and store them in an airtight container for up to two days. To reheat, bake them in an oven safe dish at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes or until completely warm. I also add a few tablespoons of butter dispersed throughout the potatoes along with a splash of heavy cream or milk. This will help keep them creamy as you reheat them.
Yes, you can freeze them for up to 2-3 months in an airtight container. Allow to sit out for an hour and then follow reheat instructions above.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Ingredients
- 5 pounds of russet or Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt optional
- 8 ounces 1 block room temperature cream cheese
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup room temperature salted butter 2 sticks
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and dice the potatoes. Add the potatoes to a large stockpot and fill the pot with enough water to cover all the potatoes. Add garlic salt (or salt) to the pot. Allow the water to boil and cook the potatoes.
- While the potatoes are cooking, mince the garlic and cube the cream cheese and butter.
- The potatoes will be ready when you can easily pierce them with a fork. Once the potatoes are cooked, strain the water out, and transfer the potatoes to a large bowl (or back into the stockpot).
- Add the minced garlic and cubed cream cheese and butter to the diced potatoes. Begin mixing the ingredients with a hand mixer. Gradually add the heavy cream to the potatoes as you mix. Mix until nice and creamy. Some lumps are completely normal.
- Serve the potatoes on a plate and top with gravy or chopped green onions. Enjoy!
Never made mashed potatoes before these and they were so easy to make!