Are you a roasted potato or mashed potato person? Our household is split and to be honest I am a roasted potato person. But mashed potatoes are an essential thanksgiving dish and I like to enjoy them on the holiday! Since I don’t cook with a ton of butter and dairy on a daily basis anymore when I consume a lot of it on a holiday it tends to bother my stomach. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy indulging on holiday foods, but my body doesn’t always enjoy it. So this year I decided to try altering my mashed potatoes so they were not as dairy heavy and success! They are not completely dairy free but they are made with heart healthy olive oil instead of butter.
I love make-ahead dishes. It makes serving time less chaotic and the pots/dishes on the day of less which allows you to enjoy the holiday more! Bonus these mashed potatoes only have 5 ingredients. These healthy make-ahead mashed potatoes are pretty simple to make but there are a few key things that make them so easy and yummy.
Tips for Healthy Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Buy large potatoes they are easier to peel and then you have less to peel because they weigh more!
- Some recipes don’t have you peel Yukon gold potatoes – I thought they were creamier when I peeled them
- Use yukon gold or yellow potatoes for a creamy texture
- Cook the potatoes with a lot of salt – I suggest 1 tbs above this gives your potatoes a lot of flavor
- Cook your potatoes with garlic – it infuses and adds to the flavor as well and then you don’t have to chop or mince any garlic! I learned this trick from Anne Burrell.
- Mash your potatoes immediately on in the same hot pot. This allows the steam to escape so they will not be watery.
- When you use a potato masher instead of a mixer they tend to be fluffier because it reduces the cell damage to the potato and releases less starch.
- Take potatoes out a few hours (up to 4) before you are serving to come to room temperature. This cuts down on the reheat time which prevents them from drying out.
- I like to add a drizzle of olive or truffle oil before and sprinkle with seasoning salt before I serve
Shhh don’t tell my father in law there is no butter in my mashed potatoes 😉
Ingredients
- 4 lbs yellow or yukon gold potatoes
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 1 TBS Salt + 1 tsp salt dividied (you can use seasoning salt for the extra tsp)
- 2/3 cup light sour cream
- 6 tbs olive oil + 1 tsp for reheating
Instructions
- Wash, peel and quarter your potatoes - see notes for tips.
- Add potatoes to your stock pot and cover with water.
- Add garlic and 1 TBS salt to your pot of potatoes and water.
- Cook potatoes for 35 minutes, until fork tender.
- Strain your mashed potatoes and them return them to the pot on the burner you were cooking on (to keep them warm for easy mashing).
- Remove your garlic at this point (you can keep 1-2 cloves but you don't want to mash them all in it will be too overwhelming).
- Mash your potatoes using a potato masher (I find using a blender makes them gummy).
- Add in remaining ingredients 1 tsp salt (or seasoning salt), sour cream and olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until throughly combined.
- Transfer to serving dish or casserole for reheating.
Make-Ahead Instructions
- Let your potatoes cool completely before covering and putting them in the refrigerator.
- Once cooled cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- KEY!! Take potatoes out a few hours (up to 4) before you are serving to come to room temperature. This cuts down on the reheat time which prevents them from drying out.
- Preheat your oven to 350 and mix your potatoes with 1 tsp of olive oil. Bake your potatoes for 30-35 minutes - stiring halfway through baking time.
- Transfer to serving dish or serve in casserole dish. Optional: Drizzle with olive or truffle oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt for serving.
Notes
- Buy large potatoes they are easier to peel and then you have less to peel because they weigh more!
- Some recipes don't have you peel Yukon gold potatoes - I thought they were creamier when I peeled them
- Use Yukon gold or yellow potatoes for a creamy texture - russet potatoes will not give you as creamy of a texture
