Vegan Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe (2024)

You’ll love the hearty flavors in this creamy vegan garlic mashed potatoes recipe. If you’re after dairy-free mashed potatoes, this one delivers with only five ingredients! Be sure to serve them with some vegan gravy over the top.

It’s officially the time of year when we break out sweaters and jeans and mashed potatoes. I don’t know why, but mashed potatoes are really only a thing in the fall and winter. That’s why one of my big goals when I went vegan was to find a way to make my mashed potatoes vegan. Priorities…right?

But we love serving easy mashed potatoes as a side dish, especially in the colder months. That’s why I’m sharing this recipe with you. I know you’re going to love it!

Ingredients

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:

• Potatoes— It’s true that russets or golds have a higher starch content and thus make creamier mashed potatoes. However, I grew up using red potatoes, and their texture is excellent. You’ll need 5 to 6 potatoes.
• Garlic — This is an optional ingredient, but I like to add 2 to 3 clovesof garlic to the potatoes to infuse some mild garlicky flavor.
• Butteror Olive oil — You can use either vegan butter or olive oil. I’ve used both, and they’re great. However, I do love the buttery flavor that comes from using vegan butter.
• Plant-based milk— Three things to note here: 1) make sure you use plain, not vanilla-flavored milk, and 2) Use unsweetened milk, and 3) I find soy milk has the most neutral flavor, whereas almond milk has a mild nutty flavor to it.
• Salt — We’ll add a little bit of salt to the potatoes. People can add more salt to their servings if they so choose.

Ingredient Spotlight

How to Choose Red Potatoes

Look for red potatoes that are firm and smooth. Smaller potatoes work best for this recipe as they create a creamy texture that makes them perfect for mashed potatoes. Red potatoes have thinner skin which is why they work best for skin-on potatoes. They cook quickly, so keep an eye on them so they don’t get too mushy.

How to Make Vegan Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Wondering how to make mashed potatoes without milk? It may seem complicated, but it’s not! Here are the steps:

1. Place the chopped potatoes in a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender.
2. Sprinkle chopped garlic over the potatoes and remove the pot from heat.
3. Transfer drained potatoes into a large bowl. Mash in the vegan butter and plant-based milk until you achieve a creamy consistency.
4. Stir in the salt.
5. Serve warm.

Here are more detailed step-by-step instructions.

Step One: Prepare the Potatoes

Rinse off the potatoes and chop them into small cubes. I leave the skins on, but that’s because I’m going for a homestyle type of mashed potatoes with some texture.

Place chopped potatoes in a pot with water and bring them to a boil. Continue boiling until the potatoes are tender. Insert a fork into the potatoes to test them.

Step Two: Add Garlic

Peel 2 to 3 cloves of garlic and chop them. Once the potatoes are done, sprinkle the top with garlic and then remove from heat. This will soften the garlic and create a more mellow flavor.

Step Three: Mashing Potatoes

Drain the potatoes and transfer them to a large bowl. Add the vegan butter and plant-based milk as you mash the potatoes until you achieve the desired consistency.

See my notes below for making creamy mashed potatoes.

Finally, stir in the salt. Add more or less based on your taste preferences. Remember, you can always add more salt, but it’s not easy to take salt out of a dish!

Serving

Servevegan garlic potatoes warm, with an extra pat (or two) of vegan butter to make them look even more enticing than they already are. You’ll also want a simple, easy Vegan Gravy Recipe because there’s nothing like vegan garlic mashed potatoes with gravy!

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

If you prefer creamy mashed potatoes, here are some tips for you:

• Peel the potatoes — I like the texture and nutrition added from the potato peel, but for the creamiest potatoes possible, you can peel the potatoes
• Keep Your Ingredients Hot — Be ready to whip the potatoes while they’re hot. And when you add the plant-based milk, be sure to heat it up for a minute or so first.
• Use a Mixer — You can mash potatoes by hand with a potato masher, but to get a super whipped consistency, a mixer is the best way to go!

More Vegan Potato Recipes

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This post was originally published in 2016 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2020.