The best Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes recipe is super creamy and comforting with the help of fresh garlic, thyme and cream. With the right balance between simple and flavorful (and a few variations along the way!), these mashed potatoes with skin are sure to be the star of the show. It’s the perfect side dish for the holiday season!
Mashed Potatoes. Probably the most debatable side dish of Thanksgiving! Chunky? Smooth? Garlic? Roasted Garlic? Cream? Milk? Butter? Sour Cream? Cream Cheese? The options are truly endless! No matter what your preference is, you should be able to make restaurant-quality mashed potatoes right in your own kitchen.
That’s where this recipe for easy garlic mashed red potatoes comes in. I like mine a little on the boogie side, with lots of flavors and techniques. But my family loves to keep it simple, so I try and find somewhere in between.
What Are The Best Potatoes For Mashing?
Today, it is the colorful red potato. I like my mashed potatoes with the skin, so I choose to use buttery and creamy red potatoes where the skin adds that nice pop of color. Yukon Gold potatoes are a great substitute, too!
Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes Ingredients
- Red Potatoes
- Unsalted Butter
- Heavy Cream
- Garlic
- Thyme Sprigs
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
How To Make Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Bring a large stockpot to a boil and season with salt. Scrub and cube the red potatoes into 1-inch pieces, then add to the boiling water. Cook until fork tender and drain.
- While the potatoes are cooking, in a medium saucepan, add the butter, cream, garlic, and thyme sprigs. Cook over medium heat until simmering, reduce to low and cook for 8-10 minutes.
- In a large bowl of an electric stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the potatoes on low and slowly pour in the cream mixture until potatoes are whipped and smooth. Add 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper as you go. Taste and adjust seasonings to preference. Serve the garlic mashed red potatoes warm, with additional melted butter and thyme sprigs, if desired.
Mashed Potato Variations
- Roasted Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes: Omit the garlic cloves and smash in a whole head of roasted garlic when you begin to mix the potatoes.
- Sour Cream and Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes: Reduce the cream to 3/4 cup and add 3/4 cup room temperature sour cream when you add the hot cream mixture. Add 1-2 Tablespoons chopped chives, if desired.
- Cream Cheese and Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes: Reduce the cream to 1 cup and add 1/2 block room temperature cream cheese when you add the hot cream mixture.
- Cheesy Garlic Mashed Potatoes: Add 1 cup of your favorite shredded cheese (Cheddar, Gruyere, Parmesan, Pecorino) after you stir in the hot cream mix.
- Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes: Add 1 sprig fresh rosemary along with the fresh thyme. The leaves will gently fall off during simmering, so make sure to remove the stem before mixing.
Tips For The Best Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes:
- Liberally season your boiling water with salt before adding the potatoes. Even though we are adding more salt at the end, potatoes need A LOT of salt to enhance their flavor.
- Cook the potatoes until fork-tender. Basically, once you can easily pierce the potato chunks with a fork, they are ready to go!
- To keep the potatoes warm, place the bowl in a hot water bath (bain-marie) during your holiday festivities so you have warm potatoes throughout the day!
More Holiday Side Dish Recipes You’ll Love:
- Maple Whipped Sweet Potatoes
- Fall Harvest Gorgonzola and Apple Salad
- Herb Apple Stuffing with Pecans
- Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
If you make this Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes recipe, I’d love to know how it goes! Please share with all fraaands in the comments below! For more easy recipes and ideas, follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook, too! ♥
Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes
ingredients
- 3 lbs red potatoes
- 1 stick unsalted butter plus extra melted butter for topping
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 3-5 garlic cloves more if you’re a garlic lover!
- 1 Tablespoon thyme sprigs stems removed
- 2-4 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
instructions
- Bring a large stock pot to a rolling boil and season with salt. Scrub and quarter your red potatoes. Boil potatoes until fork tender.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter, heavy cream, garlic and thyme sprigs until mixture is simmering. Turn heat to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes to infuse cream with thyme and garlic.
- In a large bowl fitted with a hand or stand mixer, begin to beat potatoes on low and slowly pour in the cream mixture until potatoes are whipped and smooth. Beat in salt and black pepper. Start with two teaspoons salt and taste as you go. Salt should be added to preference.
- Optional: Serve with more melted butter and thyme sprigs on top.
notes
Waoh…..Red potato gives a nice color to the dish……………Thanks for this recipe…..I love your blog.