Roasted Garlic Vegan/Plant Based Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are my favorite part of any Thanksgiving or Holiday meal. My grandmother before she passed always made a heaping bowl full, and sometimes I felt like there was always more potatoes on my plate than turkey or ham.

Mashed potatoes are tricky to make without butter, cream or milk but not impossible. I use a combination of non-dairy yogurt and non-dairy milk to create delicious buttermilk that adds dimension to mashed potatoes. The nutritional yeast adds a depth of flavor and umami typically found in animal products.

This recipe is a little more complex than traditional mashed potato recipe but if you are in a time crunch, feel free to omit roasting the garlic. The potatoes will still be a magical addition to your holiday or Thanksgiving table. I’ve put together these tips as well to make sure your mashed potatoes are the best they can be.

Tips to Make the Best Garlic Mashed Potatoes

• Use the right potato. Every potato has a different starch content. I prefer russet potatoes for a starchier, heartier mashed potato, or a Yukon gold for a smoother mashed potato.

• Make sure you cut your potatoes into even-sized pieces. This ensures that the potatoes cook evenly. The smaller the pieces, the faster they cook. However, if you make them too small then they are more likely to turn into a paste when you mash them.

• Don’t boil the water first and then add the potatoes. Go ahead and place your potatoes into the pot and then add cold water before bringing it to a boil. This preserves the starch and also saves us the scary idea of putting potatoes into boiling water.

• Instead of using all non-dairy milk, use half non-dairy milk and half plain non-dairy yogurt. This is a trick I picked up from the Mississippi Vegan. The non-dairy yogurt adds a thickness, richness and slight tang that adds dimension to anything that may call for buttermilk.

• Mashed potatoes can handle a lot of flavor. Add more salt if you need to. If you like your potatoes thinner, add more non-dairy milk.

• The nutritional yeast adds a great flavor but is entirely optional.

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ali Lawrence | 11/20/19

• prep time: 20 minutes
• cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients:

For the Roasted Garlic

• 1 whole bulb of garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil

For the Mashed Potatoes

• 2 lbs potatoes
• 1/2 C non-dairy yogurt
• 1/2 C non-dairy milk
• 2 to 3 Tbsp non-dairy butter (I used earth balance)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp of nutritonal yeast

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Slice the very end of a head of garlic and rub it with olive oil
3. wrap the head of garlic in foil and place on a cookie sheet and bake for about 1 hour until the head of garlic is tender and the cloves can be squeezed out easily. Cool.
4. Peel and cut the potatoes, making sure all of the pieces are even. Place into a pot with cold water and add a heaping pinch of salt.
5. Bring the water to a boil and boil until the potatoes are fork tender and slightly falling apart.
6. While the potatoes are cooking, mix together the yogurt and the milk to make a buttermilk. Squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves out of the skins (they should come out easily) and either mash the cloves into the buttermilk mixture or place in a blender and blend until smooth.
7. Drain the potatoes and place them back into the pot, adding the buttermilk mixture, non-dairy butter, salt and nutritonal yeast. Mash manually or whip with a hand mixture until your desired texture (smooth, creamy, and/or with lumps). If using a hand mixture be sure not to overmix.
8. serve immediately with a dollop of more butter or gravy along side a holiday feast.