Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Cream Cheese

✨Why you'll love this recipe?

• Less than ten ingredients: that can be easily found in most grocery stores
• One-pot recipe: Using the same pot in which you boiled the potatoes to mash and whip them up makes this an easy-to-clean one-pot recipe.
• Easy to make: ready in 45 minutes with easy steps - boil, mash, and whisk.

📋Recipe Ingredients

• Potatoes - I love the yukon gold or any yellow potatoes that are light and butter to use in this recipe but russet or Idaho potatoes will also work.
• Cream Cheese - a non-traditional ingredient for mashed potatoes but works really well for that slight tanginess. I use garden vegetable cream cheese here for some added savory notes.
• Butter - use the real deal here. I use salted butter in this garlic mashed potatoes recipe, but if you have unsalted butter, you can use it and then adjust the seasonings.
• Heavy Cream - use heavy cream for added creaminess and to adjust the consistency.
• Chives - I use chives as an optional garnish at the end as they add a fresh onion-garlic flavor to the mashed potatoes.

Don't forget to check out the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients along with the quantities.

📖Substitutions, Additions and Variations

• Cream Cheese - instead of using vegetable cream cheese, you can use plain cream cheese or jalapeno cream cheese for added spiciness.
• Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt - use sour cream or greek yogurt in addition to milk in place of heavy cream.
• Roasted Garlic—The minced garlic can be swapped with roasted garlic for a deeper garlic flavor. It's never a bad choice!
• Fresh herbs - I love to add fresh thyme or rosemary to switch up the flavors.

👩‍🍳Steps to make this recipe

Step 1: Add washed potatoes to a pressure cooker and cover with water (Image 1). Close the lid and pressure cook for one whistle. turn the heat off and let the pressure release naturally.

Step 2: Drain and peel the potatoes and return them to the same pot. Lightly mash them with a fork or a potato masher (Image 2).

Step 3: Turn the heat on low and add butter, minced garlic, cream cheese, salt, and black pepper (Image 3).

Step 4: Mix all the ingredients using a whisk (Image 4).

Step 5: Add more cream if needed to get the desired lightness and consistency (Image 5). Turn the heat off.

Step 6: Scoop the garlic mashed potatoes with cream cheese into a serving dish (Image 6) and serve warm.

Boil the potatoes in Instant pot or saucepan

• Instant Pot Method: Add 1 cup of water to the Instant Pot and place the steel trivet in it. Arrange the potatoes on the trivet. Close the lid with the valve in the SEALING position and set the Instant Pot to STEAM for 8-10 minutes (depending on the size of the potatoes). Let the pressure release naturally. Open the lid, remove the potatoes carefully, peel them, and proceed to make mashed potatoes in a saucepan, as explained above.
• Saucepan Method: Peel and cut the potatoes into quarters. Cook in boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes. Test doneness by poking with a fork; potatoes should easily pierce through.

Make mashed potatoes ahead of time

Make the garlic mashed potatoes, transfer them to a storage container or a foil tray, and let them cool completely. Once cooled, cover with a lid or plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. When ready to use, take the potatoes out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. Add a few pats of butter and bake in a 325-degree oven until warmed through—about 10 minutes.

🫙Storage, freezing, and reheating instructions

Store or freeze the leftovers in an airtight container. When heated with a splash of cream or milk, they reheat pretty well in the microwave or a pan.

Repurpose leftovers

Got leftovers? Don't worry - leftover garlic mashed potatoes with cream cheese can be repurposed in following recipes:

1. Mashed Potato Casserole
2. Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
3. Aloo ka parantha (stuffed potato flatbreads)