Make ahead garlic mashed potatoes are the perfect holiday side dish. The potatoes and garlic have more time for the flavor to develop and making them ahead of time gives you a less stressful option for your holiday gathering.
Have you ever had those conversations around THIS YEAR we need to plan a less stressful holiday meal? Yes? Me too. Sometimes, I try and cut down on the menu and ask everyone to choose one favorite side dish. The problem with that method seems to be that everyone has a different favorite side dish! For Thanksgiving or turkey dinners, my favorite side dishes are mashed potatoes and dinner rolls. Weird, I know. But if I get to pick mashed potatoes, the question became how do I make those less stressful? The answer was that you just make them earlier. Then you keep them in a crockpot so that they can be warm when serving. It's a total win-win.
But why garlic mashed potatoes? Garlic mashed potatoes, made with red potatoes with the skins on, are one of those foods that were truly transcendental for me. I can still remember the exact moment I tried them. We were living in Utah at them time, and we went to the Sundance Film Festival to have dinner and see some version of the Cinderella story. I don't remember much about that version of Cinderella, I have no idea what the restaurant was called, and I can't remember what main dish I ordered. But I do know that those garlic mashed red potatoes were the most heavenly mashed potatoes I had ever eaten. And they had the skins on too! Ever since, I've left the skins on every chance I get. I try to always use red potatoes too, and I often add roasted garlic to take them to the next level.
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Ingredients
- Red potatoes
- Roasted garlic
- Cream cheese
- Sour cream
- Salt
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Red potatoes - I love using red potatoes for mashed potatoes, but you could easily substitute your favorite potato.
Equipment
For mashing mashed potatoes, a stand mixer, or sturdy hand mixer, is the best equipment. You could use a hand masher, but a mixer is so much quicker and easier.
Storage
Store leftover garlic mashed potatoes in an airtight contained in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Next Level Tips
- Use red potatoes. I think they make the very best mashed potatoes.
- Leave the skins on. your potatoes! The skins are rich in nutrients and fiber. They are super soft after boiling, so it also saves a lot of time not having to peel the potatoes. And it's healthier, too.
FAQ
There are several methods for roasting garlic. You can roast garlic in the oven, in the air fryer or on the grill. I usually roast garlic in the air fryer as I think it's the quickest and most cost effective method. To roast garlic in the air fryer, cut the tops off of the garlic heads. Place garlic heads on aluminum foil. Cover each garlic head in ½ tablespoon of olive oil, and then wrap the aluminum foil around garlic heads. Cook in the air fryer at 375℉ for 30-40 minutes. Check at 30 minutes. If the tops of the garlic heads are golden brown and the garlic is soft, they are done.
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
Make Ahead Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
- 1 Stand mixer or sturdy hand mixer
Ingredients
- 5 pound red potatoes
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 2 heads garlic roasted
- 2 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Roast the Garlic
- Cut the tops off of the garlic heads and set aside. Place the garlic heads on a piece of aluminum foil. Cover each garlic head in ½ tablespoon of olive oil.
- Wrap the aluminum foil around the garlic heads.
- Cook in the air fryer (or oven) at 375℉ for 30-40 minutes. Check at 30 minutes. If tops of the garlic heads are golden brown and the garlic is soft, remove them from the air fryer (or oven).
Make the Potatoes
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
- Cut the red potatoes in half and leave the skins on.
- Carefully add the red potatoes to the boiling water. Add the garlic tops that were set aside while making the roasted garlic and 1 teaspoon of salt. Reduce temperature to medium heat.
- Boil for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, check to see if the potatoes are fork tender. They are fork tender when a fork can easily pierce the potato center. The skins will start to peel on some of the potatoes. If the potatoes are fork tender, remove the pot from heat. If they are not done, boil for another 5 minutes and check again.
- In the stand mixer bowl, add half of the potatoes, the roasted garlic, the cream cheese, the sour cream and the salt. Mix until combined and there is more room in the mixing bowl. Add the rest of the potatoes and mix until combined. Don't over mix. There should still be some lumps in the potatoes .
- Taste. Add additional salt if desired.
Keep the potatoes warm.
- Add the finished potatoes to a crockpot on the low setting. Keep on low setting, stirring occasionally.
- About 30 minutes before serving, turn the temperature to high. Stir after 15 minutes and before serving.
- Serve plain or with other optional toppings like butter or gravy.
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