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These Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes are the smoothest, creamiest, fluffiest mashed potatoes you’ll ever have! They’re perfect for the holidays, as a side for your steak and meatloaf, or whenever the craving for delicious, buttery mashed potatoes arises (which for me, is quite often).
Aromatics such as garlic and onion, fresh rosemary, and spices are steeped in heavy cream, giving the mashed potatoes an amazing depth of flavor!
You won’t want to jump straight to the recipe for this one. Keep reading for several tips on what makes a better mashed potato!
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Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes
The Ingredients
This Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potato recipe uses simple ingredients you may already have in your kitchen. The ingredients may be basic, but the flavors and smooth texture of these mashed potatoes is purely amazing!
For the Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes, you’ll need:
- A pot of generously salted water
- Potatoes
- Heavy cream
- A whole bulb of garlic
- Yellow onion
- Dried thyme
- Ground nutmeg
- Unsalted butter
- Salt and pepper
What makes a better mashed potato?
If you’re wondering what makes a better mashed potato, you’re in the right place! I’ve broken down all my tips to help you achieve the perfect mashed potato every time.
PRO TIPS:
- The type of potatoes you use matters: I highly recommend Yukon gold potatoes overall. Yukon gold potatoes have a high starch content, gifting them with the creamiest, most tender texture. When cooked, they’re rich and buttery, making it the perfect potato for mashing/ricing! Russet potatoes are also starchy potatoes and will work, but they tend to absorb more water, making them a bit mushy if overcooked. You’ll want to avoid using waxy potatoes such as red potatoes, new potatoes, and baby potatoes, as these have high moisture levels and low starch levels.
- Heavy cream vs. milk: I suggest using heavy cream if you want the creamiest, most special mashed potatoes you’ll ever eat! I’ve used half & half and whole milk in the past, but it’s just not the same. Heavy cream makes them luxuriously smooth. With that being said, choose what’s right for you!
- Spicing up your mashed potatoes with fresh herbs, aromatics, and spices: Steeping fresh rosemary, a whole bulb of garlic, yellow onion, dried thyme, and ground nutmeg with heavy cream gives these rosemary garlic mashed potatoes provides so much flavor.
- Use room temperature unsalted butter – Ten tablespoons of it! We’re not skimping on the buttery, creamy texture here. I use unsalted butter so I can get the salt content perfect every time, as some salted butter is saltier than others. Once the butter is softened to room temperature, it mixes beautifully into the hot potatoes (more on this below)!
- Salt and pepper – Because if you don’t use salt and pepper while cooking, WYD?
Should you use a ricer for rosemary garlic mashed potatoes?
You may be wondering if you should use a ricer for mashed potatoes. This depends on your texture preference and available tools!
A potato ricer produces a fine, smooth textured potato (especially when you work with hot, very tender potatoes). A masher is not as consistent, therefore the potatoes typically come out lumpy. Some people like the lumps in mashed potatoes, and some people like the skin on!
You can certainly make your mashed potatoes any way you like. But I will be using this potato ricer for the best Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I’m never going back to mashing!
I love the PriorityChef potato ricer (shown in the photo above) because you simply put the potato in the potato press and squeeze on the long handles. They press through seamlessly and evenly, with all the potato skins being caught by the tool. It’s so easy to use, extremely durable, and has grips for comfort. It fits fifteen ounces, therefore there is plenty of room for nearly any size potato. There’s tons of color options; including silver, gold, and rose gold, with different grip colors. It has 4.6 ⭐ from 10,500+ reviews on Amazon so I’m not the only one loving this potato ricer tool!
Do you need to peel potatoes when using a ricer?
If you’re using a potato ricer to make mashed potatoes, you do not need to peel them prior to pressing them through the tool. The potato ricer tool will catch the potato skins for you. However, you will need to remove the skin from the inside of the potato ricer after each press.
But…don’t throw the skins out! If you salted the water generously as suggested, they are a delicious, salty snack to enjoy while finishing up the Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes recipe! 😋🥔
What is a good spice to add to mashed potatoes?
Mashed potatoes are versatile and can take on many different flavors and spices, depending on your preferences. Aromatics, fresh herbs, and spices turn an ordinary mashed potatoes recipe into an extraordinary one!
A good spice blend I add to mashed potatoes is a combination of fresh rosemary, a whole bulb of garlic, yellow onion, dried thyme, and ground nutmeg. These ingredients are steeped with heavy cream then strained through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup or another pourable container. This leaves a flavorful, smooth liquid which is added to the mashed potatoes for extra creaminess!
Should you warm cream or milk before putting in mashed potatoes?
The answer is yes. You don’t want to use cold milk, cream, or butter in mashed potatoes, as it won’t absorb well into the potatoes. It also takes a lot more time to stir in cold dairy which then runs the risk of overworking the mashed potatoes, resulting in a gluey texture.
If you want a soft, fluffy texture; you’ll achieve that by warming cream or milk before putting it in Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
Finishing the Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes
After you’ve incorporated the butter by the tablespoon, and the cream in batches, you can also stir in some goat cheese or freshly grated parmesan cheese. It’s not needed, but will certainly be a tasty addition!
For a nice presentation, swirl a spoon around the Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes and add a slab of butter. Then, crack some black pepper and lay a sprig of rosemary overtop.
I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe for years to come!!!
As always, I’d love to hear from you all! About your experience with this dish, any alterations you may have made and loved (or didn’t love), or just life and cooking in general. Please leave a review/comment/question below, reach out via email, and/or stay connected with me on social media, which I have linked below. Take care! – Jenna 🖤
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Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Ultra creamy, flavorful mashed potatoes! The potatoes are riced for maximum smoothness. Aromatics such as garlic and onion, fresh rosemary, and spices are steeped in heavy cream. So buttery and delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes (russet is okay too)
- salted water
- 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 whole garlic bulb, halved widthwise so the cloves are exposed
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- small yellow onion, halved
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- A bit of goat cheese or freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Don’t forget to take your butter out to allow it to soften to room temperature! Now, scrub your potatoes clean and add them to a pot. Fill the pot with water and add a generous amount of salt. Set a timer for one hour and turn the stove on to high heat. Allow the potatoes to come to a boil and cook until they are very tender (mine take exactly one hour but you may want to check them a little earlier depending on the size and how fast your stove heats).
- Fill a small saucepan with heavy cream. Add in the rosemary, garlic, onion, dried thyme, and nutmeg. Turn the burner to medium/high heat and heat the heavy cream until it’s bubbling (but not boiling), stirring constantly to ensure the milk isn’t sticking to the bottom and burning. Cover and set aside, allowing the ingredients to steep in the heated heavy cream.
- Once the potatoes are done, strain the water and dry them with a paper towel. Immediately push them through the ricer into a large bowl (you can also mash them). Please see the note below for more details! You’ll want to work fast here because mashed potatoes come out the best when you’re working with hot potatoes, rather than cooled ones.
- Slice the butter into tablespoons and add them to the potatoes one by one, stirring with a wooden spoon in between to ensure each tablespoon is fully incorporated.
- Strain the steeped milk into a pourable container/liquid measuring cup.
- Lastly, warm the heavy cream back up on the stove over medium/high, just for a minute or so. To the potatoes, add about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring in between until it is all incorporated, creamy, dreamy, and delicious. Stir in the salt and pepper. You can also stir goat cheese or freshly grated parmesan to elevate the potatoes even further!
- For a nice presentation: crack some extra black pepper, make a well in the center and add a thin slab of butter to it, and toss a sprig of rosemary on top. Enjoy every single bite!!!
Notes
- Scroll up and read the entire post for TIP & TRICKS to achieve the BEST mashed potatoes!
- REHEATING: Be sure to reheat these before serving so they’re silky smooth! You can make them the night before too, and just pop them in the microwave or in a pot to reheat.
- 🥔 IMPORTANT NOTE! I don’t peel the potatoes because I pass them through a ricer which removes the skin for me. Leaving the skin on while boiling also prevents the potatoes from taking on too much moisture on the inside. Moisture creates more watery, gluey potatoes. They will also be less able to absorb the butter and cream. This method makes for perfectly smooth and creamy mashed (riced) potato with no lumps. If you prefer to mash the potatoes instead of ricing them, you can still leave the skin on and peel the potatoes after they’re done cooking.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Side Dishes, Vegetarian
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
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My husband loves mashed potatoes and we have a giant rosemary bush in our backyard. This is a perfect recipe for us to try. Rosemary garlic mashed potatoes – what’s not to love? I can’t wait to get started!
★★★★★
I love that, Laura! I totally agree. What’s not to love? I hope you and your husband enjoy the recipe. 🙂
I am going to make these on Thanksgiving because they sound so delicious but I wish my daughter the creator of this blog will be there with us . that would make it perfect! I will try to make her proud and make them like she does. Love you honey.❤️
★★★★★
Creamy, smooth, and herbalicious are just some of the words I use to describe your mashed potatoes. The presentation is sexy and appealing. Thanks for sharing Jenny.
★★★★★
Thanks so much for your feedback, Kevin! I’m glad my rosemary garlic mashed potatoes look appealing to you!
I’m a sucker for anything made with potatoes and this one sounds delicious!
Hi Davindra! I agree, I love potatoes. I’m glad you think my recipe sounds delicious. Let me know if you decide to try it!
Wow this dish looks super delicious. Can’t wait to try it this year for Christmas dinner
★★★★★
sounds yummy and looks great