The best mashed potato recipe! These Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes are ultra-creamy, fluffy, and full of flavor! This recipe will be the star of your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal.

Mashed potatoes have always been a favorite of mine! I love the creamy texture and delicious taste. It’s a side-dish that never disappoints. This recipe for Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes might sound ordinary but with just the right ingredients and method of how you add them, you will have the best buttery, and creamy mashed potatoes ever!

For years, you have all LOVED my recipe for Garlic Parmesan Red Mashed Potatoes. That is why I created this similar recipe. It’s slightly different in that I use Yukon Gold Potatoes and go for ultra-creamy mashed potatoes.  But it also has garlic and outstanding flavor!

These mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish to go along with turkey, holiday roasts, stews, and so many delicious main dishes. I love to serve mashed potatoes when the main dish has a thick gravy or sauce.

This recipe is simple to prepare! And I have included instructions below on how to make it ahead, and reheat it.

How to Make Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes?

Start with Yukon gold potatoes or a mix of Yukon and Russet. Yukon gold potatoes give it a creamy and buttery flavor and Russet potatoes are starchy so they absorb the butter and milk well giving the potatoes a fluffy texture. If you prefer you can keep the peel on. Sometimes I just peel half of the potatoes.

1- Wash and peel the potatoes then quarter them into even-sized pieces.

2- Add the potatoes and garlic cloves to a pot of cold water. Salt the water, bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are fork-tender.

3- Drain well then mash the potatoes along with butter and warm cream. Add salt and pepper.

4- Enjoy the creamiest and tastiest mashed potatoes ever!

Secrets for Making THE BEST MASHED POTATOES:

Follow my instructions and you can’t go wrong! 

Add the cut potatoes and garlic to a pot then add cold water. You don’t want to start with hot water.

Drain the potatoes well. In the instructions, I put to add the drained potatoes and garlic back to the pot and keep on low heat until the extra moisture evaporates.

Add butter that is cold not melted. You probably haven’t heard this tip before! When butter is melted, the milk and fat solids separate, by adding cold butter the butter will melt beautifully into the mashed potatoes as a whole and distribute the fat and milk solids evenly.

Add the hot cream to keep the potatoes warm. You don’t want to add it cold or it will cool the mashed potatoes down. You can warm it up on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Add the cream slowly. It may seem at first this recipe calls for a lot of cream but as the potatoes cool it will absorb the liquid. But feel free to add a little less cream if desired.

Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes. If you want the smoothest mashed potatoes possible use a potato ricer. If you decide to use an electric mixture don’t mix the potatoes for more than a minute. Overmixing with a mixer can make the mashed potatoes gluey.

A few important notes on the Ingredients:

Garlic- You can either omit the garlic if you want a more classic mashed potato recipe. OR if you love garlic mashed potatoes you can add more garlic cloves. The recipe calls for 2 cloves of garlic but feel free to add 4 or 6 garlic cloves. 

Heavy Cream- This recipe is all about being ultra-creamy. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup heavy cream. But if you’d like to lower the calorie/fat content you can instead add any of the following:

1/2 heavy cream + 1/4 cup milk

2/3 cup half and half 

1/2 cup of milk

Butter- This mashed potato recipe can easily be adjusted so feel free to add less butter if desired. I would suggest if you add less to add 4-6 tablespoons. (Instead of the 8 tablespoons it calls for.)

How to Store and Reheat Mashed Potatoes:

Mashed potatoes are just as good reheated later! It’s a great dish to make ahead a couple of days before you need it.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. 

Reheat: Microwave them for a minute, then stir, repeat until evenly heated through.

Or warm up on the stovetop adding a little more milk/cream to get the right consistency. 

To keep mashed potatoes warm, keep them in a Slow Cooker on the warm setting. If they need to be warmed up first, start it on the low setting until the desired heat level is reached.

If the mashed potatoes get dry, add a little more cream or milk to add moisture back into it.

How to Freeze Mashed Potatoes:

Scoop out the mashed potatoes on a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. Once frozen, place in a freezer bag or airtight container. Keeps well in the freezer for about 1 month. To reheat, place frozen or thawed mashed potatoes in an oven-safe dish and heat in the oven at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes or until heated through.

You can also reheat it in a slow cooker.

Add more butter and milk/cream as needed for more moisture.

The general rule is 1/2 pound of potatoes per person but I personally think a little less is more common. There are so many side dishes at Thanksgiving and if there are kids eating too, they will have a smaller serving.

I made this recipe with 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes so it’s super easy to double for a 5-pound bag of potatoes and then double again if needed to a 10-pound bag of potatoes. 

Enjoy!

More Thanksgiving Side-Dishes You Will Love:

Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Sweet Potato Casserole with Oat Streusel

Cranberry Salad

Pistachio Pudding Salad

Winter Fruit Salad

Yield: 5-7 servings

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

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Simple creamy garlic mashed potatoes that are full of flavor!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 ½ pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes (or Russet Potatoes or half of each type of potato)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• Kosher salt
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, warm
• 1 stick cold butter, cut into 6 pats
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• Optional: fresh parsley for topping

Instructions

1. Wash, peel, and quarter potatoes. Place the potatoes and garlic in a large pot. Cover with cold water about 2 inches above the potatoes. Season generously with salt. Bring to a low boil and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20-25 minutes.  Drain the potatoes and garlic and return the pot, toss over low heat until the moisture evaporates, about 1-2 minutes.

2. Warm the cream in the microwave or on the stovetop. While the potatoes are still hot, add 1/3 of the warm cream and the 6 pats of cold butter and mash with a potato masher. Repeat this process 2 more times until all the cream has been incorporated. Make sure you are slowly adding the cream, as the potatoes cool down it will absorb the cream better. You can use a little less cream if desired, depending on the texture you want. Add the 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Keep mashing with a potato masher until smooth. Taste the potatoes for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed.

3. Serve warm, top with more butter and fresh parsley if desired. If serving later, cover with foil and keep warm in an oven on low heat or a slow cooker on the warm setting.

Notes

For more garlic flavor add 2-4 more garlic cloves.

For a lower calorie/fat content instead of the ¾ heavy cream add any of the following:

1/2 heavy cream with 1/4 cup milk

2/3 cup half and half 

1/2 cup of milk

You can also add less butter, instead of 8 tablespoons, add 4-6 tablespoons butter.

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