Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

ROASTED GARLIC MASHED POTATOES😍

Gonna put out a bold statement and say mashed potatoes are the best part of Thanksgiving dinner. Because of their simplicity, they’re often overlooked, but with a few quick tips you can have super creamy and flavorful mashed potatoes that just might overshadow that beautiful turkey everyone slaved so hard over. Whole30 and non-Whole30 versions below!

I highly recommend using roasted garlic in this recipe as it’s got a bit of sweetness and gets out that raw garlic taste, but if you’re pressed for time, you can either throw garlic cloves into the boiling broth and then mash with the potatoes, or you can actually buy roasted garlic in paste form at Vons and other grocery stores.

I’ve found skin on red potatoes make the best mash as they are creamy, not grainy, and more forgiving than russets if you overmix them. I like to leave the skin on for a more rustic mash and to save time, but feel free to peel them.

For ultra creamy potatoes, make sure to heat up your cream (or coconut milk) and butter (or ghee) in a saucepan before adding to your potatoes.

I don’t recommend making these too far ahead of Thanksgiving dinner since they do taste best fresh, but you can make them about 1-2 hours in advance and keep them warm in a slow cooker. Just add 2 tbsps of butter and 1/4 cup cream to the top but don’t stir. Then stir just before serving, adding more liquid if they look a bit dry.

You can easily make the roasted garlic 2-3 days in advance (I like to throw it into the oven while I’m already using it to not turn on the oven just for roasted garlic. The temperature below is recommended, but you can really cook it at whatever temperature your oven is already at, just make sure to adjust the time). Keep in fridge until using.

Serves 5-7 as a side.

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

• 4 large red potatoes (about 2.5 pounds)

• 24oz or 4 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)

• 2-4 cups water

• ½ stick butter (or ¼ cup ghee for Whole30)

• 1 cup half and half (or nutpods for Whole30)

• 1 whole head of garlic

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• Large pinch of salt

• Pepper

For the Roasted Garlic:

• Slice the top ¼ of the whole garlic head to expose the cloves. Place on a sheet of tin foil, drizzle with olive oil and season with a pinch of salt.

• Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes until cloves are soft.

• Let cool until safe to handle, then push out the cloves and chop into smaller bite sized pieces.

Directions:

For the Creamy Mashed Potatoes:

• Cut the skin on potatoes into 1” cubes and add to a large pot.

• Cover with broth and add water, if necessary, to just cover the potatoes. Season with a pinch of salt.

• Bring up to a boil uncovered, then cover and reduce for 8-10 minutes until tender.

• Meanwhile, heat up a small saucepan on medium-low heat with the butter and milk. Add in the roasted garlic.

• Drain all broth and return the potatoes to the pan. If you want to use less milk or cream, reserve some of the broth you cooked the potatoes in to mash the potatoes.

• Slowly pour in the saucepan mixture, mashing as you go until you reach the desired texture. When almost all the liquid is incorporated, taste and season with salt and pepper, then add the rest of the liquid. It will help the salt incorporate. Use additional liquid as needed for a creamier mash.