Fluffy Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes
“Is butter a carb?” That quote kept running through my head as I was making (and devouring) these super fluffy Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes. It’s one of the best movie lines EVER and the perfect example of what not to ask yourself while eating these Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes. Don’t even let yourself think about whether you should or shouldn’t be eating them. Just enjoy every living moment of it. They’re buttery rich, fluffy like a cloud, full of garlic-herb goodness, and pure potato heaven.
Fluffy Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes
How to make mashed potatoes fluffy not gluey:
It’s all about rinsing your potatoes. Not once, but twice. You know how when you’re peeling and dicing your potatoes everything gets that milky-powdery white stuff all over it? Or when you begin to boil your potatoes it gets that white skin on top of the water? That’s potato starch, which will make your mashed potatoes heavy and gluey in texture, rather than light and fluffy. Rinsing those starches off of the potatoes before coking and after cooking will give you the lightest and fluffiest mashed potatoes you’ve ever eaten.
To garlic-herb or not to garlic-herb…
I used my All-purpose Garlic Herb Seasoning to quickly season these potatoes, but you could leave that out to make plain mashed potatoes, or replace it with any herb or spice blend you like. Prefer to use fresh garlic? No problem. Sauté some minced garlic in the melted butter for a minute before you add and warm the milk.
Freeze your mashed potatoes
If you’re the type that likes to cook ahead and fill your freezer with quick, ready to reheat food, mashed potatoes are perfect! Simply let your mashed potatoes cool in the refrigerator, then scoop them out onto a lined baking sheet in 1 cup portions (or whatever size portion you prefer), freeze them until solid, then pop them in a freezer bag for long term storage. The potatoes can be quickly reheated in the microwave for a quick side to any weeknight meal.
Fluffy Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes
Fluffy as a cloud and with a rich buttery finish, these Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes will be the star of any weeknight dinner or holiday meal!
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs. russet potatoes $0.87
- 1/2 tsp salt $0.02
- 4 Tbsp butter $0.72
- 1/2 cup whole milk $0.16
All-Purpose Garlic Herb Seasoning
- 1 tsp dried parsley $0.10
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano $0.05
- 1/2 tsp dried basil $0.05
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder $0.02
- 1/4 tsp onion powder $0.02
- 1/4 tsp salt $0.02
- freshly cracked pepper $0.02
Instructions
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Peel and cut the russet potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Place the cubed potatoes in a colander and rinse well with cool water.
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Place the rinsed potatoes in a pot and add enough water to cover the potatoes by one inch. Season the water with 1/2 tsp salt. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Boil the potatoes until they are VERY tender, about 7-10 minutes.
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Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander, then rinse briefly with hot water.
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Add the butter, milk, and garlic herb seasoning o the pot used to boil the potatoes. Stir and heat over low until the butter has melted and the milk is hot.
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Once the milk is hot, add the potatoes back to the pot, turn off the heat and mash with a potato masher. Once the potatoes are mostly mashed, use a hand mixer to briefly whip the potatoes until they are light and fluffy. Taste the potatoes and add salt to taste, if needed, then serve.
Recipe Notes
The amount of potatoes is slightly flexible. I just estimate half of a 5 lb. bag.
Pictured with green beans and Cheddar Cheeseburger Meatloaf.
Step by Step Photos
Star with about 2.5 lbs. of russet potatoes. Don’t kill yourself trying to get exactly 2.5 lbs., just estimate half of a 5 lb. bag. While you can use other types of potatoes, russet will give you the lightest fluffiest mashed potatoes with this method.
Peel and dice the potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Rinse them really well with cool water.
Place the potatoes in a pot and add enough cool water to cover the potatoes by one inch. Season the water with 1/2 tsp salt. Place a lid on the pot and bring it up to a boil over high heat.
Let the potatoes boil until they are VERY tender. This should take about 7-10 minutes. You can test them with a fork to see how tender they are. They should just about fall apart when you pierce them with your fork. Drain the potatoes in a colander and rinse again briefly with hot water.
To the pot you used to boil the potatoes, add 4 Tbsp butter, 1/2 cup whole milk, and the garlic herb seasoning (1 tsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper). Stir and heat these together over low until the butter is fully melted and the milk is hot.
Once the milk is heated, add the drained potatoes back to the pot and begin to mash them up.
Once they’re mostly mashed, switch to a hand mixer to whip them to their final fluffy cloud-like state. Because you’ve rinsed off most of the starches, the whipping does not make them gluey, it makes them awesome.
Give the garlic herb mashed potatoes one final taste and add more salt, if needed. Pile a big scoop on to a plate, add a little extra butter if you’re feeling like a rebel, and dig in!
If you have extras (or just want to pace yourself), let the mashed potatoes cool completely in the fridge, then scoop them into single portions onto a lined baking sheet. Freeze them flat like this until solid, then transfer them to a freezer bag for long-term storage. Then you’ve got homemade garlic herb mashed potatoes ready for a quick reheat any night of the week!
These look like they’d work wonderfully for your Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls. They even make the right amount. Seems like something to try next weekend, though we may do red potatoes, skins on, to be a little lazier (and get some added nutrition).
These were a BIG hit!! I was a little nervous making them for the first time for Thanksgiving with (sometimes hard-to-please) relatives, but everyone loved them – what a difference that second rinse makes! . (slight modification -discovered at the last minute that I don’t have a working hand mixer, so just mashed ’em and fluffed a little with a fork – still got rave reviews!)
Have you (or anyone) tried this recipe with almond milk? I’m planning to try this recipe for thanksgiving this week but my mom is lactose intolerant and insists on ruining everyone potatoes by insisting I use a milk substitute instead of whole milk. We have unsweetened almond milk in the house. Still ok?? Also, should the butter be salted or unsalted? Thanks!
I used salted butter. :) I’m really not sure about the almond milk, though. It definitely won’t be nearly as creamy as the whole milk I used, but it will still help provide moisture, so there’s that.
I often make mashed potatoes vegan. I think the most creamy non dairy solution is a vegan mayonnaise substitute such as vegannaise. That with some veggie stock and some almond or other non dairy milk substitute works great!
I’ve never attempted to freeze my leftover potatoes (if there is any), my boys n I r big on potatoes of almost any way I prepare them as we r from Alabama, ima bonafide southern cook to the core lol so I reckon my question is when using reheated frozen mash do they get at all watery like the nasty 1s n tv dinners?
If there is a little water separation you can just stir it back in. It’s just water. :)
Does the milk need to be whole milk? I only happen to have low fat on hand will this make a difference?
It will definitely be less creamy with low fat milk.
What do you think of freezing the entire batch to re-heat in the oven for Thanksgiving dinner? (so I have one less thing to make that day)
By the way, Beth, I just love your blog. At least half of the meals I cook for my family of five here in Minnesota are your recipes! You keep us healthy and save us the money of eating out more often! My favorite recipe is the Bacon and Spinach Pasta with Parmesan made with kale and white beans.
Hmm, I’ve never tried to reheat mashed potatoes in an oven before, so I’m not sure how that would go. Ovens tend to dry things out a bit when reheating, and you’d definitely need to stir often. Some people also have texture issues with frozen/reheated potatoes, so I suggest testing a small amount first. I’ve never noticed any issues like that, but have gotten a few comments over the years, so just make sure before the big day. :)
First time making mashed potatoes without a box, and what a difference! Recipe was very easy, with an opportunity to cook another recipe while the potatoes are on auto-pilot. No need for gravy. If you pair this dish with the Garlic Herb Baked Chicken like I did, you can use the same spices and they complement each other perfectly.
I used your seasoning mix on some tiny potatoes I cooked in the Instant Pot the other night. My daughter loves potatoes and garlic so I ditched the onion powder in exchange for more garlic. I stirred the entire batch of seasoning and a couple tablespoons of butter into the potatoes coating them all. She loved them! So did I. I imagine she’d love these potatoes too.
I stick the leftovers in the fridge–it’s guaranteed we will eat them up in a couple of days. One thing fora which I like to use leftover mashed potatoes is potato “pancakes.” Just form leftovers into patties and fry them in a dab of butter–it only takes a couple of minutes to brown them on both sides and they are perfect sides for just about anything, ie your meatloaf. A couple of browned potato patties, a green veggie and some reheated meatloaf will be a perfect later in the week dinner. When reheating just the mash, I add a little extra milk and stir them in a saucepan.
“If you have extras, (or just want to pace yourself),”
Best. Line. Ever.
I laughed too hard at this. We would never have mashed potato leftovers in my house by choice!
LOL, story of my life. A lot of my portioning is just in effort to pace myself. 😅
Does your double rinse method still work if you leave the skins on?
It should, yes. :)
I had no idea you could freeze mashed potatoes! Does the texture change at all? This might change my life 😀
I don’t notice any texture changes in potatoes that I freeze, but I have had people over the years comment that they don’t like the texture of potatoes after they have been frozen. So, I don’t know if they are doing something different, if I’m just not noticing it, if it’s something about the way they are being cooked, or if perhaps it’s a certain variety of potato that is causing the problems. But I personally have never noticed any texture changes. :)
Looks great, I’m going to try them the next time I make mashed potatoes. I didn’t know about the double rinsing. I recommend rinsing and cooking with filtered water so they don’t taste like chlorine.
By the way, chilling or freezing starching foods like potatoes, rice, or pasta is the best way to make them healthier. Research shows that chilling them turns the starches into resistant starches, which don’t cause blood sugar spikes. Who knew that leftovers could be so healthy!