Garlic Butter Mashed Potatoes
Proper mashed potatoes, no shortcuts. Browning the butter with garlic until it’s deep golden and the garlic turns crispy takes this from a basic side to something worth talking about at the table.
Warming the milk before it goes in matters more than people think — cold milk hitting hot mash can turn the texture gluey instead of smooth. If you’ve got a ricer, use it here. It makes a genuinely noticeable difference on a dish this simple.
The crispy garlic gets saved and scattered back on top at the end, so you get little pockets of texture and flavour through every bite rather than it all being blended in.
Garlic Butter Mashed Potatoes
POTATO · SIDE · EASY
Mash, But Actually Worth Making From Scratch
Browning the butter is the one small extra step that changes everything. It brings a nutty, deeper flavour that plain melted butter just doesn't get close to.
Warming the milk first and using a ricer instead of a regular masher both sound like small details, but together they're the difference between good mash and genuinely great mash.
It goes with almost anything — a roast, a steak, sausages, you name it — so it's worth having in your regular side dish rotation.
Garlic Butter Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 kg Potatoes All-Rounder
- 5 Garlic Cloves Grated
- 180 ml Full Fat Milk
- 175 g Salted Butter Cubed
- Salt & Ground White Pepper To Taste
Method
- Place the peeled whole potatoes into a large saucepan or pot and fill with enough cold water to cover the potatoes by 1 inch. Place over high heat, bring to a boil, and cook for 22-24 minutes or until soft but not completely falling apart.
- Once cooked, pour the potatoes through a colander and allow them to drain.
- Place a small saucepan over low heat and pour in the milk. Allow the milk to slowly heat up, but don't let it come to a simmer.
- While the potatoes are draining and the milk is slowly heating up, place a skillet over high heat, add the butter, and allow it to melt. Once melted, bring the butter to a boil and continuously stir just until it starts to foam.
- Add the garlic and turn the heat down to medium. Continuously mix the garlic through the butter for 1½ to 2 minutes, just until both the butter and garlic are a deep golden brown colour, with the garlic nice and crispy. Remove from the stovetop and allow to sit for 5 minutes. You can also remove the milk from the stovetop at this stage.
- Mash the potatoes using a potato ricer or masher, just until extremely smooth. See recipe notes for further details. Check seasoning levels and adjust accordingly.
- Pour the garlic butter (reserving some of the butter) into the potatoes through a sieve to catch the crispy garlic (we'll use it later in the recipe), and pour in the milk. Mix well until smooth.
- To serve, place the mashed potatoes on a plate or in a bowl and drizzle over the reserved garlic butter, topping it with the crispy garlic. Dig in.
