Red skin mashed potatoes with roasted garlic and cream cheese are a classic holiday side dish and a staple for great family meals! The smooth, rich potatoes still have a few lumps to enjoy all of the wonderful textures of your red potatoes.
Best Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes Recipe
These incredibly easy-to-make mashed potatoes are flavor-packed and have a silky smooth texture from the red potatoes and cream cheese. Just a few lumps left in the mix from being mashed vs whipped with a hand mixer. Yum!
Why use red skin potatoes? Because the flavor and texture are different than starchy potatoes like Russet and Yukon Gold. When you want fluffy mashed potatoes, use Russets.
Yukon Golds, to me, are almost a cross between the Russet and red potatoes for texture and they are also in between as far as starch content.
If you're feeling the need for delicious mashed potatoes, then these Red Skin Mashed Potatoes are your next obsession!
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🥘 Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds Red Potatoes - Any waxy potato will do, varieties like French fingerling, New Potatoes, Red Bliss, Red Adirondack, and Russian Banana.
- Water - Or for extra flavor use chicken or beef stock.
- 4 cloves Roasted Garlic - See my recipe for roasted garlic, so easy to do and adds a ton of flavor.
- ¼ cup Butter - Unsalted or salted, if you use salted butter, adjust the added salt to taste.
- 4 ounces Cream Cheese - This adds a cheesy creamy flavor and texture.
- ½ cup Heavy Cream - Half & Half or whole milk can be substituted.
- ¼ teaspoon each, Salt & Pepper - Adjust to taste. Cracked pepper and Sea Salt are perfect for this mash.
(Optional) Stir Ins
Try some herbs - Parsley, chives, or green onions are great herbs to stir into your mashed potatoes.
Cheeses - like Swiss, Gruyère, smoked cheddar, or Parmesan can be stirred in with butter and cream cheese for more robust cheese flavors.
🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
Just the essentials of great mashed potatoes here! Make sure to use salted water for the best flavor, then get everything boiling while your garlic roasts to perfection!
- Prep the potatoes. Wash and cut the red potatoes, leaving the skin on, into relatively the same size chunks approximately 1 to 1 ½ inches in size.
- Bring to a boil. Place cut potatoes into a large stock pot of salted water (enough water to cover the potatoes, you can also use chicken broth to add more flavor to the mashed potatoes) and bring to a low rolling boil over medium-high to high heat.
- Boil until tender. Cook at a low rolling boil until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot or a large mixing bowl.
- Mix in ingredients. Mash the cooked potatoes, then add mashed roasted garlic, butter, cream cheese, and salt and pepper. Stir to mix, until the butter and cream cheese is melted.
- Finish and serve. Add the heavy cream, half & half, or milk (start with less if desired and add more until you have reached your desired creamy texture) and stir until mixed in completely. Serve warm.
💭 Angela's Tips & Recipe Notes
- For added flavor - Use broth or stock to match your protein, use beef broth for beef main dishes, and chicken stock for chicken dinners. When the cut red potatoes are boiled in the stock, it enhances the flavor and adds that 'steakhouse restaurant' quality.
- Mashed vs Whipped - Mashing the potatoes allows them to retain some texture. This is especially useful with red potatoes as they have less starch than Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. Whipping your red potatoes can make them 'gluey' in texture.
- Roasted Garlic - I prefer to use roasted garlic as it has a milder yet still rich flavor. I know I'm not the only one that doesn't like to bite into chunks of partially cooked garlic!
See my roasted garlic for instructions if you have never made your own. Once done, the roasted garlic is simply squeezed out of the clove directly into your mashed red-skin potatoes.
If you want to skip the step of using roasted garlic, you can also add a few raw minced cloves to the water or stock when boiling the potatoes.
❓ FAQ
Yes, you can. However, the skin-to-flesh ratio may be off and change how well the resulting mash will be. The standard red potatoes work best to yield a nice creamy white mash with gorgeous red skins highlighted throughout.
Yes for sure, this is a key step to add flavor or you will end up with boring plain potatoes.
😋 More Great Recipes
- Grilled Boneless Chicken Thighs
- Honey Roasted Acorn Squash
- Grilled Corn On The Cob
- Grilled T-Bone Steak
- Apple Turnovers
- Baked Donuts
📋 Recipe
Red Skin Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lbs red potatoes
- 4 cups water (or use chicken stock, 1 32 ounce container)
- 4 cloves roasted garlic
- ¼ cup butter (salted - ½ a stick)
- 4 oz cream cheese (½ an 8 ounce package)
- ¼ teaspoon each, salt & pepper (to taste, freshly ground pepper is recommended)
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Wash and cut the red potatoes, leaving the skin on, into relatively the same size chunks approximately 1 to 1 ½ inch in size.2 ½ lbs red potatoes
- Place cut potatoes into a large stock pot of salted water (enough water to cover the potatoes, you can also use chicken broth to add more flavor to the mashed potatoes) and low rolling boil over medium high to high heat.4 cups water
- Cook at a rolling boil until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot or a large mixing bowl.
- Mash the cooked potatoes, then add mashed roasted garlic, butter, cream cheese, and salt and pepper. Stir to mix, until the butter and cream cheese are melted.4 cloves roasted garlic, ¼ cup butter, 4 oz cream cheese, ¼ teaspoon each, salt & pepper
- Add the heavy cream (start with less if desired and add more until you have reached your desired creamy texture) and stir until mixed in completely. Serve warm.½ cup heavy cream
Equipment You May Need
Notes
Tips:
For added flavor - Use broth or stock to match your protein, use beef broth for beef main dishes and chicken stock for chicken dinners. When the cut red potatoes are boiled in the stock, it enhances the flavor and adds that 'steakhouse restaurant' quality. Mashed vs Whipped - Mashing the potatoes allows them to retain some texture. This is especially useful with red potatoes as they have less starch than Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. Whipping your red potatoes can make them 'gluey' in texture. Roasted Garlic - I prefer to use roasted garlic as it has a milder yet still rich flavor. I know I'm not the only one that doesn't like to bite into chunks of partially cooked garlic! See my roasted garlic for instructions if you have never made your own. Once done, the roasted garlic is simply squeezed out of the clove directly into your mashed red skin potatoes. If you want to skip the step of using roasted garlic, you can also add a few cloves to the water or stock when boiling the potatoes.Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
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