These super creamy Red Skin Mashed Potatoes are the perfect side dish to any meal. They're full of garlic, fresh herbs, butter, whole milk, and heavy cream for silky smooth mashed potatoes. It takes about 30 minutes to make and is one of my favorite things to whip up with dinner!
If you love these mashed red potatoes, you'll love my Brown Butter Garlic and Herb Mashed Potatoes, Cheesy Mashed Potatoes, Blue Cheese Mashed Potatoes with Toasted Breadcrumbs!
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If you're looking for an easy side dish to go with a juicy steak or pork chops? Or maybe you just want mashed potatoes and only have red-skinned potatoes on hand? Well, this recipe is here for you! You dinner table is in for a treat.
These are the creamiest mashed potatoes you'll ever eat. They're buttery, creamy, garlicky, and have the best texture.
Best part? It only requires 7 simple ingredients which means it's ideal pairing for an easy weeknight dinner. But also good enough for the holidays too (it's not Christmas dinner unless we've got a big bowl of extra creamy potatoes to go with the roast)
Save this red potatoes recipe for special occasions for when you want a steakhouse style meal or an everyday dinner side dish.
Ingredients
Red Skin Potatoes: the type of potato that you use for mashed potatoes is critical. A lot of recipes call for russet potatoes or yukon gold potatoes because of their starch content. However, red skin potatoes are amazing as well and deserve some love. They're considered waxy potatoes and are exceptionally good for mashing because of their creamy texture. They also have thin skin so you don't have to worry about peeling them unless you want to (I personally prefer the skin on as it adds a nice pop of color).
Butter: what's a mashed potato recipe without butter?! Butter adds flavor and gives the mashed potatoes their great texture. You can use unsalted butter if you prefer.
Heavy cream and milk: these are give the mashed potatoes that super silky smooth texture. It also adds creaminess!
Seasonings and herbs: fresh chives and onion powder are all that you need! I also used fresh garlic too - all of these seasonings and aromatics combined makes
Tips and Substitutions
Take this simple side dish up a notch with some of these tips!
- For super flavorful potatoes, boil them in chicken broth.
- If you have a bit more time, add roasted garlic to the mashed potatoes. Cut a head of garlic and place it in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 40 minutes. Then mix into the mashed potatoes. It adds a ton of flavor!
- If fresh garlic is too strong for your liking, you can use garlic powder instead.
- Make the potatoes cheesy by adding a little cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese.
- A good idea to give these red skinned mashed potatoes a nutty flavor is to try browning the butter in a small saucepan prior to mixing it into the mashed potatoes.
- DO NOT use a food processor or an electric mixer to make these potatoes. This will turn your fluffy mashed potatoes into a gluey, sticky mess.
How to make Mashed Potatoes
- Cut the red skin potatoes in half (this cuts down on cooking time) and place cut potatoes a large pot of cold water and then place on the stove and bring to a boil. Why? Because adding potatoes to boiling water makes it so that the outside cooks before the inside. It'll leave you with chunky potatoes as opposed to smooth.
- Bring water to a boil and boil for about 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Drain excess water from the cooked potatoes and add to a large mixing bowl. Mash with a potato masher or potato ricer (if you don't have either, the easiest way to mash the potatoes is with the bottom of a wooden spoon). Add butter and heavy cream and mix together, then add milk, chives, onion powder, diced garlic, and a large pinch of salt and black pepper.
- Mix until combined and garnish with green onions for extra flavor.
What to serve with Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes goes with just about any savory meal. Try these for starters:
- Balsamic Braised Beef with Pears
- Cajun Seafood Boil
- Creamy Dijon Braised Beef
- Low Country Boil
- Roasted Beef Tenderloin
- Creamy Mushroom Chicken
- Salmon New Orleans
- White Wine Herb Roasted Chicken
FAQs
Red potatoes have high moisture content and less starch which makes them ideal for mashing because of their smooth and creamy texture. Although they are less starchy potatoes, be sure not to over mash them.
I do not recommend peeling the potatoes prior to making them. The buttery red skin adds so much flavor to the potatoes without making the potatoes lumpy. The skin is thin so it doesn't affect the overall texture. The skin also adds a lot of nutrients too!
Absolutely. Potatoes are root vegetables, meaning that they grow in the ground. It's also best practice to wash your veggies prior to cooking/eating them.
This depends on the size of the potatoes. For smaller potatoes, 15-20 minutes is ideal. For larger potatoes, 20-25 minutes, until fork tender is optimal.
More Side Dishes!
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Red Skin Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Potato Masher or Ricer
- Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Red Skin Potatoes , cut in half
- ½ cup Salted Butter
- 2 cloves Garlic , diced
- 1 tbsp Chives , diced
- 2 tsps Onion Powder
- 1 cup Whole Milk (or your favorite milk of choice)
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- 2-3 tsps Kosher Salt , as desired
- 2 tsps Black Pepper
Directions
- Cut red skin potatoes in half and add to a large pot filled with cold water. Bring to a boil and boil potatoes for about 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.
- Drain excess water from the cooked potatoes and add potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Mash with a potato masher or potato ricer (if you don't have either, the easiest way to mash the potatoes is with the bottom of a wooden spoon).
- Add butter and heavy cream and mix together. Let the heat of the potatoes melt the butter. Then add milk, chives, onion powder, diced garlic, and a large pinch of salt and black pepper. Mix until combined and garnish with green onions for extra flavor.
Notes
- For super flavorful potatoes, boil them in chicken broth.
- If you have a bit more time, add roasted garlic to the mashed potatoes. Cut a head of garlic and place it in aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 40 minutes. Then mix into the mashed potatoes. It adds a ton of flavor!
- If fresh garlic is too strong for your liking, you can use garlic powder instead.
- Make the potatoes cheesy by adding a little cheddar cheese or parmesan cheese.
- A good idea to give these red skinned mashed potatoes a nutty flavor is to try browning the butter in a small saucepan prior to mixing it into the mashed potatoes.
- DO NOT use a food processor or an electric mixer to make these potatoes. This will turn your fluffy mashed potatoes into a gluey, sticky mess.
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