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.
See this recipe in my Easy Thanksgiving Dinner for Beginners meal plan.
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
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
- Peel and cut the russet potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Place the cubed potatoes in a colander and rinse well with cool water.
- 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.
- Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander, then rinse briefly with hot water.
- 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.
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
Pictured with green beans and Cheddar Cheeseburger Meatloaf. Also pairs great with Salisbury Steak!
How to Make Fluffy Mashed Potatoes – 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!
Oh wow, these are GOOD – really, really good. Fluffy herby deliciousness.
For some reason, the potatoes tasted a little watery. Perhaps I overcooked it, or rinsing it made it watery. It lacked creaminess. I had to add a lot of fat to make it better. It was decent, but I probably won’t make this again.
ok… really two rinsings to get the “starch” off… you lost me. That starch is what makes a potato a potato, that “white” stuff is the cellular lysate as you cut through the potato. If you wanna rinse that off, you might as well as just cook the skins, that white stuff is the STARCH of the potato!
The potatoes are fluffy because of the delicious amounts of butter and other molecules that are in it that interrupt the bonding between the potatoes polysaccharides. Look at your melted butter and whole milk… liquid, now look at your potatoes. Mush… liquid in mush makes… you got it liquidier mush. Now whip liquidier mush whaddaya get? Small air particles embedded in the matrix of the potato/fat mixture. Voila. fluffy potatoes.
Rinse… lul
Would soy milk work in this recipe instead of whole milk?
I wouldn’t recommend soy as it’s pretty watery. You could use coconut milk.
I use almond milk and it works just fine.
can I substitute margarine for the butter?
Yes you certainly can!
I never leave comments on recipes, but this came out so well that I had to. Both my husband and I loved it. Your recommended spice blend works perfectly with the mashed potatoes. The only thing I changed was to use the whipping cream I had on hand instead of while milk. Thank you for a great recipe! :)
Super easy to make, definitely my new go to recipe for mashed potatoes. Loved the seasoning suggestion too
Is there anything I could do to prep these ahead of time and store overnight (save on thanksgiving day work). Wondering about pre-dicing and storing in water or something similar?
Hi Clare! You could make the entire dish a day or two ahead. And then warm them up in the slow cooker or oven the day of. They’ll be fine!
I wish I could find 5lb bag of potatoes for $1.74
Have you looked for a discount grocer in your area?
Can I use heavy whipping cream instead of whole milk?
Yes that would be delicious!
I made the recipe and let me tell you the entire pot was finished in 5 minutes!!!!! So yummy thx Beth
Making these tonight to have with steak! I’m using fresh basil & parsley :)
Yum! We had these with dinner tonight and we all enjpyed them. I started the potatoes boiling, but then had to go take care of the baby. My husband took over and finushed them. As we were eating he said, “these potatoes of mine turned out really good”