By Alexa Weibel
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours
- Rating
- 4(1,801)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Roasted garlic is the secret to these deeply flavored mashed potatoes with a lively crunch from garlic chips. This dish takes a little more planning and prep than your average mashed potatoes, but it is well worth the effort. You can roast and fry the garlic and peel the potatoes ahead of time, storing the prepared potatoes submerged in water in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours before cooking. Feel free to use either red or russet potatoes here: Red potatoes will make a thick and creamy mash, while russets will yield a lighter and fluffier result (see Tip). If you run short on time, trim the garlic chips from your to-do list. Canned fried onions from your local supermarket, or fried shallots or fried garlic flakes from most Asian markets provide the same jolt of texture on top.
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Ingredients
Yield:8 to 12 servings (8 cups)
- 3heads garlic
- 6teaspoons olive oil
- 1cup neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable oil
- 6garlic cloves, thinly sliced crosswise
- Kosher salt
- 4pounds red or russet potatoes (see Tip)
- 2cups heavy cream
- 2fresh bay leaves, or 4 dried bay leaves
- 1tablespoon minced fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish
- 1tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- ¾cup unsalted butter (1½ sticks), cut into small cubes, plus more for serving
For the Roasted Garlic
For the Garlic Chips
For the Potatoes
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
679 calories; 57 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 27 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 40 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 673 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Step
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Prepare the roasted garlic: Set each head of garlic on its side and cut off (and discard) the top ¼ portion at the pointed end. Transfer each head of garlic to a separate piece of aluminum foil, cut-side up, and drizzle each head with 2 teaspoons oil. Pull up the surrounding aluminum foil and crimp tightly to seal. Transfer to the oven and roast until the garlic is softened and caramelized, 40 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of the heads. Set aside to cool.
Step
3
Prepare the garlic chips: Line a plate with paper towels. In a small shallow saucepan or frying pan, heat the canola oil over medium-high until shimmering. Working in batches, fry the sliced garlic, stirring often, until just starting to turn golden, 30 seconds to 1 minute. (They’ll continue to darken from the residual heat, so you’ll want to remove them from the hot oil before they’re fully golden brown.) Transfer garlic chips to the plate using a slotted spoon. Season with salt and repeat with remaining sliced garlic. Set aside.
Step
4
Prepare the boiled potatoes: Fill a large pot with water and season generously with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Fill a medium bowl about three-quarters full with water. Working with one potato at a time, peel each potato, then add it to the bowl of water. Next, working with one potato at a time, dice each into 1-inch pieces, returning each to the bowl of water after chopping. Drain the diced potatoes, then carefully add them to the pot of boiling water. Return the water to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until potatoes are soft and can easily be pierced with a fork, 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain.
Step
5
Meanwhile, prepare the herbed cream: Add the cream, bay leaves, rosemary and thyme to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high, about 5 minutes. (The mixture will bubble up vigorously, which helps reduce the liquid and concentrate the flavor.) Strain the mixture, discarding the solids, and rinse out the saucepan. Return the infused cream to the saucepan and season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside. (You should have about 1⅓ cups.)
Step
6
Return the cooked potatoes to the pot along with the herbed cream and cubed butter. Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from two heads into the potato mixture, discarding the skins, and mash until creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add more roasted garlic, if desired. (Store leftover roasted garlic in the refrigerator for 1 week.)
Step
7
Transfer mashed potatoes to a serving bowl, dot with a generous pat of butter and sprinkle with rosemary, thyme and black pepper. Top with garlic chips, and serve immediately.
Tip
- If you use russet potatoes, rinse and drain the peeled and cubed potatoes three times before boiling, then give them a quick rinse in warm water after boiling to remove as much starch as possible. Pass them through a rice mill before mashing for the fluffiest results.
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Cooking Notes
John mccormick
Would Yukon gold work? I usually don't peel mashed potatoes. Skin adds additional bit of flavor and texture.
Lucinda
Two cups of heavy cream plus a stick and a half of butter? And presumably you’re going to be having turkey, dressing, gravy, rolls or biscuits, sides and dessert? I’m going to take the roasted garlic idea and skip the rest. And garlic roasts quickly if separated into cloves, tossed in olive oil and baked at 350° for 10-15 minutes.
julia
Delicious. For the herbed cream, I used a bay leaf, a couple sage leaves, some thyme branches and a few smashed garlic cloves, just to up the garlic ante. I left everything whole since it was going to be strained anyway. Instead of garlic chips, I threw on some crispy (store-bought) shallots which eliminated a step.
Cheryl
If you don't want to make the garlic chips yourself, almost all Asian grocery stores sell fried garlic in one form or another (Thai versions are my preferred ones) and that substitute well. They're also a must-have in a plethora of specific dishes, so they're great to keep on hand.
John Manor
Dairy is the main issue when reheating. You could mash, season with salt and pepper and butter, then add warm cream/milk the day of. Or, perhaps, consider a recipe that makes mashed potatoes as a casserole, so all you have to do is reheat in the oven. (with some buttery panko and fresh herbs on top!)
Grace
For the roasted garlic: 60 minutes at 380 cannot be beat, it comes out creamy and sweet (not at all burnt at the ends like mine has at 400).If you are putting in the effort to roast garlic, you might as well make extra. Seasoned with salt and pepper before roasting, food processed with extra olive oil to taste, it becomes a delicious spread you can add to almost anything and lasts about a week in the fridge (much longer if frozen into cubes).
JC Brown
This is a great recipe for savory mashed potatoes. You can up the flavor of this dish by saving the olive oil from cooking the garlic chips and adding it to the mash - which makes this triple garlic mashed potatoes. Another easy flavor boost is to add a few cloves of garlic to the potato water and cook along w the potatoes - mash them in with everything else and you get quadruple garlic mashed potatoes. A perfect bed for Melissa Clark's Mushroom Bourguignon.
Marty M
Wow...I have never said this about any recipe on this site, but, worst mashed potato recipe ever. I followed the recipe perfectly (with red potatoes) and I ended up with a big gooey mess with overwhelming flavors. Maybe russets would have yielded a more desirable outcome. In any case, way too much work and will not be repeating.
Robert Wood
Just finished making this for Thanksgiving. Made it. Froze it. It tastes good, and I think the rosemary will complement the buttermilk-brined chicken I'll make (if you haven't tried that recipe, it's really, really good). But, I'm also developing a theory about recipes, i.e., that some are overly complex for the resulting flavor. This one got me thinking that way. It's good, certainly, but it was also very time-consuming. And, just good; not Wow! good.
Martin S
As someone said, this was good, but not wow, so the output/input (in terms of steps/prep) ratio is perhaps not optimal. I was worried about garlic and added less, which was a mistake. I did not prep the garlic chips, which was fine. Don’t be shy on salt.
Sophie
I’ve been making this every thanksgiving for four years. Anyone speaking negatively about the recipe probably prefers fluffy mashed potatoes and if that is you: this one isn’t for you. This is dense and creamy. My tip would be to cut down on the amount of butter and cream just slightly so it doesn’t give everyone a stomachache. You don’t need fresh bay leaves, dried is better because it doesn’t overpower the flavor.
CLC
These were excellent - I made these as half recipe on a September weeknight and my two teens devoured them. It was a little unclear whether we were meant to boil the cream for 5 min, or if it would take about 5 min just to bring it to a boil.. I decided to boil it only briefly, and the resulting potato mixture was almost too wet, but actually pretty great anyway. If you don’t like very soft mashed potatoes, you may need to adjust the cream-potato ratio (or maybe boil it down more).
DiMo
Made these for Thanksgiving, and they were yummy. I love garlic, though. Mother in law was not as impressed.... My son found it a bit overpowering as well. I think some cheese, maybe cheddar, would go great in these taters.
Personal
Use only garlicUse the 5lb Yukon potatoes Use half-halfUse about 2 sticks of butter.
ColleenL
This was good, but it did have lots of steps for just a ‘good’ recipe. The roasted garlic and herbed cream did add flavor, and we all like these potatoes, but I’m just not convinced that amount of cream and butter were necessary.
Ella
This turned out very liquidy for me at first. I left in fridge overnight and served next day by baking in oven to reheat and it firmed up more. I burnt the garlic chips so tossed and used fried garlic bits from the store. The garlic oil from frying was nice to have on hand for cooking other veggies with. Would make again but maybe with less cream?
Cathleen Gholson
I'm confused. Do we slice the roasted garlic into slices?
Annika
Could someone recommend a Rill Mill machine that the author / chef recommends to use for fluffy texture potatoes in the tip at the end? (looking for UK product/shipping)Thank you!
Cynthia
I'm half Italian and I love garlic, especially where it classically works so beautifully. But not in the simple mashed potato. I don't know why this garlic and potato craze continues, but I don't care for it.
Janie Amerika
Can I use the roasted garlic I find in the olive bar at my grocery store in a pinch?
Jeannie
These are delicious (reduce the cream and butter as you like) but save yourself a step. If you shop at a store with an olive bar, roasted garlic is usually one of the selections. And I never peel my potatoes.
CJ
I discovered that you can "roast" garlic in your InstaPot. Actually, your are more steaming it, but the result is a nice, squish-y garlic that you can save for a few days in the fridg if you don't use it all. I never peel my potatoes, either.
Delicious! my new ‘go-to’
Just made these on Saturday for a friend’s birthday dinner party. I ran out of time and didn’t make the chips. I used Jukon Gold potatoes. Cooked them in my Instant Pot with 1.5 cups of chicken stock. I kept the cooking liquid and only added about a cup of the herbed cream. Delicious. It yielded aromatic, creamy and tasty mashed potatoes.
zacko
This is an enormous amount of work for mashed potatoes.
Meg Rosenberg
Delicious! I cooked the garlic with the potatoes and smushed it when I mashed them. Easier and still delicious.
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