Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Published Mar 29, 2023
Updated Mar 24, 2025
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In less than an hour, you’ll have these Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes ready, which are superior in taste to other mashed potatoes. The addition of rosemary and garlic inundates the potatoes with flavor.
They are creamy and buttery and make the perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving table, the holiday season, or everyday dinner.
Rosemary and garlic are a match made in heaven! Add them to mashed potatoes to create really tasty Mashed Potatoes, and pair them with Herb Roasted Chicken, Pan Grilled Salmon, Pan Seared Chicken Tenders, Pan Seared Lamb Chops, or Roasted Turkey Thighs.
We love flavorful meals at home, so how about a mashed potato recipe that tastes so good that you can eat it by itself? That would be Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes!
And if you love potatoes, check out our Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, Easy Roasted Potatoes, and Roasted Baby Potatoes.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
Everyone needs a good mashed potatoes recipe that they could use over and over again, whether for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Sunday Supper, or those dinner nights when they want a great meal.
So here is your handy go-to mashed potatoes recipe loaded with flavor and prepped to impress. You’ll love this recipe because:
- Rosemary and garlic: This herb and spice duo works together to make really tasty meals. This combination also adds great flavor to pan-seared steak.
- Creaminess: Mashed potatoes have to be creamy, and this recipe makes creamy mashed potatoes by combining whole milk and butter.
- Make ahead: This is a great do-ahead mashed potatoes recipe. Make it, place it in the fridge, and reheat it the next day. It’s the perfect addition to your holiday menu. See instructions for reheating below!
The Ingredients
This comforting side dish requires simple basic ingredients. For the best garlic rosemary mashed potatoes, you need:
- Russet Potatoes: Starchy potatoes are a go-to for mashed potatoes, but waxy potatoes like Yukon gold or red potatoes could work here as well.
- Garlic: Use fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor! Mince the garlic or easily grate it so it incorporates well into the mashed potatoes. Roasted garlic would work well here too.
- Rosemary: Rosemary is tasty, but it could be overpowering. Add it in little bits and adjust the rosemary flavor as needed. I prefer mincing fresh rosemary sprigs, but you could use dried rosemary too.
- Whole milk: Milk adds creaminess and should be slightly heated before use. Use almond milk for a dairy-free alternative.
- Butter: For buttery flavor in the potatoes and to top the mashed potatoes because there’s nothing like the look of pools of butter over potatoes.
- Salt and pepper: Black or white pepper would work. In fact, if you do not use white pepper, consider adding that to your spice collection for a more piquant flavor in meals.
- Garnishes: Fresh herbs like minced parsley or chives sprinkled over mashed potatoes make a tasty presentation.
For the full list of ingredients with measurements, check out the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations
- Potatoes: Consider using Yukon gold potatoes instead as they have a buttery flavor that already makes for tasty mashed potatoes from the get-go. You could also use half Russet and half Yukon gold potatoes.
- Cream: For extra creaminess in the mashed potatoes, substitute the milk with heavy cream or even evaporated milk (unsweetened). Warm the cream or evaporated milk before adding. You could also add sour cream for more creaminess.
- Cheese: Add cheddar cheese or any other cheese like parmesan cheese for cheesy mashed potatoes.
- Cream cheese: Consider adding cream cheese for a creamier mash and a hint of tang from the cream cheese. If you use any cheese, reduce the salt used, as cheese is already salty. You could plain Greek yogurt for a bit of tanginess.
- More herbs: Add other herbs like thyme, dill, or oregano to your mashed potatoes.
- Bacon: Add bacon bits for more flavor and meatiness from the bacon.
- Chicken bouillon powder: For really tasty mashed potatoes, replace half of the salt with chicken bouillon powder. Taste and add more bouillon powder as needed.
Step By Step Process
Here is how to make Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes in 4 easy steps:
Step 1: Peel and dice potatoes, place potatoes in a medium or large pot with water, then boil on high heat for 15-20 minutes until fork tender.
Step 2: Mash the boiled potatoes using a potato masher, then beat them using an electric beater or hand mixer until smooth. Do not overmix. You could also mash the potatoes with a potato ricer. Add whole milk in 3 batches, beating to combine each time. If the mashed potatoes turn too runny, reserve the rest of the milk.
Step 3: Melt butter on medium heat and add minced garlic and rosemary so the flavors can bloom. Pour melted butter with minced garlic and rosemary over the mashed potatoes.
Step 4: Season with salt and pepper and mix everything to combine. It should have a creamy texture. If you like it creamier, add a splash of milk. The milk should be at room temperature or slightly warm. Taste to adjust seasoning.
Mashing the potatoes with a potato masher first breaks down the potatoes so they are easier to beat with an electric beater.
Also, check out this recipe for Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes.
Expert Tips
- Cold water: Start cooking the potatoes in cold water so they cook evenly.
- Warm milk: Slightly warm the milk before adding it to the mashed potatoes. Cold milk could prevent the potatoes from mashing smoothly if you’re going for smooth mashed potatoes.
- Good quality butter: For the best flavor, use good quality butter so the flavor of the butter adds to the mashed potatoes. Use European-style butter like Kerrygold for this.
- Beat potatoes while still hot: Mash and beat the potatoes while they are still hot, straight after draining them. Do not delay mashing so you can mash them easily and avoid lumps in the mashed potatoes.
- Use good potatoes: If the potatoes are starting to get bad, that will negatively impact the texture and taste of the mash.
- Bloom the spices: Simmering the garlic and rosemary in butter for a few seconds deepens their flavor, leading to really tasty mashed potatoes.
- Don’t overwhip! Overwhipped mashed potatoes have a gluey texture, which is unpleasant.
- Cutting potatoes: Cutting the potatoes into 1-inch pieces helps them cook faster.
Reheating Mashed Potatoes
Microwave method: To reheat mashed potatoes, place them in the microwave to microwave for a few minutes, then stir and serve.
Oven method: Place the mashed potatoes in an oven-safe dish and place them covered in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) to heat up until heated through.
Recipe FAQs
Mashed potatoes go well with a number of spices and herbs including garlic, white or black pepper, parsley, dill, thyme, or basil.
A simple seasoning of salt and pepper will take mashed potatoes from bland to tasty! Add the seasoning in little bits then taste and adjust as needed. For more flavor, consider adding in some onion powder or garlic powder.
To make the best mashed potatoes, keep your potatoes hot before mashing, don’t add all the liquid at once, and taste as you make it to adjust seasoning.
Serving
The following dishes pair well with mashed potatoes:
- Herb Roasted Duck
- Pan Seared Ribeye Steak
- Pan Seared Boneless Pork Chops
- Pan Seared Lamb Chops
- Garlic Butter Green Beans
- Baked Turkey Breast
- Pan Seared Shrimp
- Herb Roasted Chicken
Similar Recipes
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If you make this Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe, please leave a star rating or comment below. We love hearing from you!
Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Russet Potatoes About 4-5 Russet potatoes
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 sprigs rosemary leaves removed and minced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black or white pepper
- Chopped parsley or chives for garnish
- More butter for topping mashed potatoes
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and rinse thoroughly. Cut them into 1-inch pieces.
- Place the potatoes into a medium-sized pot. Add cool water to the same level as the potatoes. Bring to a rolling boil on high heat. Boil the potatoes until they are fork-tender. About 15-20 minutes.
- While the potatoes boil, melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and minced rosemary and stir for about 30 seconds to one minute until the flavors bloom. Remove from heat.
- When the potatoes are fork-tender, drain them and place them in a large mixing bowl. Mash them immediately with a potato masher until they are all broken down. Immediately beat them using an electric beater at medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth. Add the milk in 3 batches beating to combine each time. If the mashed potatoes turn too runny, reserve the rest of the milk.
- Add the garlic rosemary butter and beat to combine.
- Add salt and ground black pepper or white pepper then beat to combine. Taste to adjust the seasoning.
- To serve, top with extra butter if desired, garnish with chopped parsley or chives, and serve warm.
