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If you are looking for a tasty and vegan side dish, look no further than these delicious olive oil mashed potatoes. These homemade potatoes are so easy and quick to make and can be made ahead of time too, perfect if you are planning to serve them for Thanksgiving or the holidays.
Ingredients & substitutions
- Potatoes: The best potatoes to use when making mashed potatoes are starchy potatoes. Yukon Gold is a favorite as they get really nice and fluffy. Avoid waxy potatoes like fingerlings and reds.
- Garlic: Garlic is an easy way to add a burst of flavor to this side dish.
- Salt and pepper: For seasoning.
- Olive oil: Use extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor and texture. The oil replaces the need for any milk or butter so that the mashed potatoes are plant based and yet still luxuriously creamy.
- Thyme: Use both fresh and dried thyme to add a great earthy freshness and works great with the garlic.
How to make mashed potatoes with olive oil
- Place the potatoes and garlic in a pot or salted boiling water.
- Cook the potatoes until they are fork tender. Then you can drain the liquid but keep some if needed to soften the mixter later.
- Mash the potatoes with the rest of the ingredients.
- Adjust the seasoning or add more olive oil or starchy cooking water to reach your desired consistency.
Tips for making VEGAN mashed potatoes
- Make sure potatoes are fork tender before draining. To test, poke a couple potatoes with a fork and make sure that they easily split apart.
- Start the potatoes in cold water that you bring to the boil. This will cook them more evenly than if you placed them straight into boiling water.
- Wash your potatoes well before peeling them. Avoid getting specks of dirt on the flesh of the potato by rinsing and scrubbing them in cold water.
- Salt the water that you are boiling the potatoes in. This will help them to start absorbing flavor right from the start, similar to what you’d do when cooking pasta.
- Don’t toss the cooking liquid. This warm starchy liquid can help with mashing the potatoes so you don’t have to use any dairy or overdo it with the olive oil.
Frequently asked questions
These olive oil mashed potatoes are a great make ahead side dish. Let them cool to room temperature before storing in a container in the fridge. They will keep well for 3 to 4 days. Reheat the potatoes gently on the stovetop, stirring so that they don’t stick.
If you have time, once you have peeled the potatoes, let them sit in a pot of cold water for 15 minutes. This helps to make the final mash less gluey, but if you use Yukon Gold you don’t necessarily need to do this.
These mashed potatoes are quick enough to serve as part of an easy weeknight meal, but they won’t be out of place at a Thanksgiving or holiday table either. They work wonderfully with so many dishes. Try them with:
Thanksgiving Turkey
Beef Stew
Air Fryer Salmon
Sautéed Chicken and Mushroom
More potato recipes:
- Healthy Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Lebanese Spicy Potatoes (Batata Harra)
- Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Air Fryer Potatoes
- Cheesy Gouda Scalloped Potatoes
If you try this healthy-ish feel good Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds yellow potatoes like Yukon Gold, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 6 garlic cloves peeled
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for serving.
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- Fresh thyme for serving
- Freshly cracked black pepper for serving
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add potatoes, garlic and salt and cook on medium heat until potatoes are fork tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Drain potatoes and garlic, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Using a potato masher, fork or beater, combine the potatoes, garlic, olive oil and thyme in the large pot. Add as much of the reserved cooking liquid to reach desired consistency.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, and serve warm with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh thyme and freshly cracked black pepper, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
These were delicious and easy. I even forgot to do the garlic in water sonI added a little garlic powder. They were amazingly good.
I love that! So glad you enjoyed!
This is the only way I’ll make mashed potatoes from now on!! Not a fan of dairy in my food so I definitely appreciate this recipe. I love the tip to reserve some cooking liquid, that’s what helps get the potatoes smooth and not dry. My family loved it!
So glad you loved it!! Thank you!!
I tried the olive oil mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, 💯!! I was worried how the mashed potatoes would taste without dairy but they were good 😋😋
So happy to hear that! Thank you!