Roasted Garlic Skin-On Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes will forever be an American comfort food. And there’s nothing better than creamy mashed potatoes that are infused with roasted garlic. These are so flavorful you don’t even need to pour on the gravy. Although that’s never a bad idea.

Why I Love These Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

Roasted garlic adds a rich but mellow flavor to one of my favorite side dishes. Mashed potatoes alone are one of life’s simple pleasures. And then of course, when you add roasted garlic, they become an enticing indulgence. The flavor that is released from those little tiny cloves throughout the potatoes takes it over-the-top in deliciousness.

Mashed potatoes have always been considered a comfort food and who doesn’t love to be comforted. Gratifying and satisfying are words that I would definitely use to describe these Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes. A delightful recipe taking me back to my grandma’s kitchen which always smelled of “yumminess. And I promise, “yummy” does have an aroma.

The skin is left on these red potatoes to give the dish a pretty presentation. But it also adds extra texture and nutritional value. I love it when you can bring color to any dish and the skins of red potatoes add beautiful streaks throughout. But the red skins are more than a pretty face. Much of the nutritional value of a potato is found in its skin. Especially red potatoes which are particularly healthy. They’re loaded with fiber, B vitamins, iron, and potassium.

The red potatoes give this dish a creamy and silky feel. Red potatoes are lower in starch which makes for a creamier mashed potato. The key here though is not to over mash. Otherwise, you could end up with them being gummy and sticky.

Roasting the garlic is the key to these heavenly mashed potatoes. 

When you roast garlic, the harsh pungent taste of the raw garlic is removed and it creates a mellow, mild flavor. The transformation of the raw stringent garlic cloves into a tender, butter-like paste when smashed is somewhat “magical.” Through the roasting process, the sugars in the garlic will caramelize and produce a sweetened finished product which is absolutely delectable.

Drizzle some olive oil over the top of the exposed garlic cloves.

It is quite simple to roast garlic bulbs. Depending on how much garlic flavor you want in your mashed potatoes, use one or two bulbs for a 5-pound bag of red potatoes. Leave the outside paper on and cut off the top third of the bulbs to expose the garlic cloves.

Drizzle olive oil over the top of the cut garlic bulb so that the oil seeps down into between the cloves.

Roast the garlic bulb in a loosely closed foil packet for 40-45 minutes.

Use separate foil packets for each bulb and close it up loosely so the air can circulate during the roasting process. It’s really hard to over roast garlic. If you cook it for an additional 10 minutes, it caramelizes into an even sweeter softened bulb.

Garlic, in general, happens to add so much nutritional value to our lives. It’s full of antioxidants and loaded with vitamin C making it as healthy as it is delicious.

Another advantage, Your house will fill up with the most enticing aroma that will drive you crazy (in a really good way) while it’s roasting. You will hardly be able to wait until it is out of the oven. Who would have guessed that the smell of garlic could be so incredibly tempting?

Open the foil packets when fully roasted and let the garlic sit for 5 minutes.

Be careful when you first pull the foil packets from the oven, the bulbs are extremely hot. Open the packets and let them sit out on the countertop for 5 minutes or so until you can handle them easily.

You know the garlic is fully roasted when the cloves easily slip out of their skins. Gently squeeze the outside of the bulb until all the cloves have been removed. You will also notice that the garlic cloves when fully roasted have a golden brown caramelization to its appearance.

There are so many amazing ways to use roasted garlic.

• You can literally eat them right out of their skins. They’re THAT GOOD!
• Mix it with mayo and create a delicious spread for a sandwich or burger.
• Mash the cloves and spread it on a baguette.
• Use it in sauces and purees.
• Combine it with butter to spread on Homemade Bread Rolls.
• Use it in salad dressings or vinaigrettes.

Cut Red Potatoes into 1 to 1 1/2-inch cubes.

One-half pound of potatoes per person is a good indicator when you’re trying to figure out how many pounds you’ll need for a meal. But of course, in our household, we always opt for a little extra because we can never get enough of these.

When you’re cutting potatoes for boiling, cut them in similar sized cubes, 1 to  1/2-inch. In this way, they will cook evenly, And to make your job easier, you don’t have to peel the potatoes. Woo Hoo!! Not only do the skins add texture and nutrition, but they also create a beautiful bowl of mashed potatoes with red streaks throughout. It’s a win-win all the way around.

Boil the red potatoes until tender.

Add enough water to cover the potatoes in the pot and be sure and start with cold water. If you add the potatoes to boiling water, the outside of the potato will over-cook and the inside will under-cook. The water and the potatoes should come to the same temperature at the same time.

Make sure and use plenty of salt (a good tablespoon) in your water. Otherwise, the finished product will be quite bland. Potatoes absorb both water and salt. It’s not enough to salt them at the end.

Be careful not to boil your potatoes. Potatoes will fall apart when there is a full boil happening in the pan. Begin with bringing the water to a small boil over medium-high heat. But then turn the burner to low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender.

Mash the cooked softened red potatoes.

It’s best to remove as much water as possible from your cooked potatoes. Drain the potatoes in a large wire mesh strainer and add them back in the same heated pan. Put the pan back on the stove over low heat and stir for a few minutes. This will help further remove any moisture left in in the potatoes.

Whatever you do, don’t forget the butter at this stage. I always add more than anyone I’ve ever know, usually 1 stick of butter for 5 lbs of potatoes, sometimes even more. But feel free to adjust it to your liking.

For me, half and half is the way to make these potatoes richer and creamier. But don’t add directly from the fridge. Warm it either in the microwave or on the stop before you pour it into the potatoes. Add salt and pepper along with the roasted garlic.

They say a food mill or a ricer makes the fluffiest mashed potatoes, but I’ve always used a hand mixer and have gotten great results. The key though, especially with red potatoes, is to not over mix. Otherwise, the potatoes will become gummy and sticky. Red potatoes tend to be less fluffy BUT more creamy. Once you reach that stage stop the mixing.

And believe it or not, I add MORE butter to these already luscious spuds! Make a well in the middle of the mashed potatoes and pour in some of that yummy melted goodness. Because in my book, you can never have enough butter.

These Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes are perfect all by themselves even without gravy. But if you really want to dress them up as a full-blown comfort food dish, load them up with my Homemade Chicken and Noodles recipe.

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