How We Make Mashed Potatoes Recipe
We prefer red potatoes, but this’ll work with whatever potato is on hand. We mix it up often. You mainly want enough potato to cover the bottom of your pan.
This is a good backbone, and you should spice it up as you desire. We err on the side of low salt and added oils, but you may want this more oily (add more oil) or with more seasonings.
NOTE: if avoiding oils, simply sub in more plant milk.
When doing the garlic sauce, start by heating the garlic in the oil (this browns it better and makes for a nice flavor) and then add in the rest of the ingredients.
Mashed potatoes are one of Ian’s heart’s delights. Smother them with some sort of savory sauce and you’ll have one very contented soul. Luckily for him, crafting food people will love is my own pulmonary pique, so I set to tinkering on a way we could still have flavorful, creamy, rich, rib-sticking, sauce-clinging taters but keep them environmentally-kind and healthy.
What could possibly be healthy about mashed potatoes? Good gravy, let me tell you! Potatoes are packed with:
Minerals and vitamins (Copper, Manganese, Potassium, B3, B6, Vitamin C, and more!)
Antioxidants (<— Why would I want those? They are anti-inflammatory.)
A finished batch of our mashed potatoes: full of flavor and good for your heart! <3
Why do mashed potatoes generally get a bad reputation? It isn’t the fault of the potato: it’s all that cow-breastmilk-byproduct humans throw into them. My pre plant-based version was streaked with saturated animal fats (butter & half-and-half) and it tasted good but the after-result was a sluggish/sleepy soul wanting to snuggle up for a post-feast nap.
We know/hear saturated fats are bad for us, right? Yet we often continue on like a moth drawn to a flavorful flame because the taste is just too dang good, we think there is no better alternative, and/or we’re too comfortable/lazy to change our current trajectory.
In case you want a reminder of why to avoid another animal’s breastmilk, it is:
Increasing our risk of heart disease
Increasing our risk of osteoporosis
We need to reduce dairy farming if we’re going to reach necessary emission caps by 2050
It’s robbing milk meant for a baby calf and subjecting its mother (and the calf) to suffering
Did you know that even Canada removed dairy from its food pyramid and we have doctors here in the United States trying to do the same thing, or to at least post warnings that it is linked to cancer? Did you know that 75% of humans are lactose intolerant and that the numbers are higher in those of Asian and African descent? Did you know there are doctors out there —like Dr. Milton Mills— sounding the alarm that the American Dietary guidelines pushing milk are institutionalized racism?
The new plant-based version tastes just as good as my butter bursting version; but we feel better after eating it (not stuffed & slowed), it benefits our health, benefits the planet, and spreads compassion. Win, win, win.
Twice I have forgotten to take a photo before getting this far. :-)
I started with about 10 potatoes, we prefer reds (purples are my personal favorite), but use whichever spud you prefer. I like enough to cover the bottom of the pot, and I chop them into chunks around 3cm/1.5”.
Season with paprika, salt, grated garlic, and a bay leaf. Top with 4 cups of water.
Cover and bring to a boil, but once it’s boiling take that lid off, bring it down to a simmer and let them soak up that water (uncovered) for the next 30 min. This reduction process makes for a much more flavorful dish.
While the potatoes are bubbling away, start the plant-based garlic butter sauce.
Nutritional Yeast (B12, an essential vitamin) has a complex, cheesy umami flavor; by combining it with oatmilk (or whatever plant-milk you have on hand), garlic, paprika, and a little sunflower oil: you get a rich, creamy, garlic sauce.
Special Notes:
Remember to microwave (I put everything in that pyrex and throw it right into the microwave so I save on the gas emissions of my old stove) or simmer the oil and garlic on the stove for a spell until the garlic has mellowed and browned a bit.
If you’re the sort of soul who loves the sharp brightness of raw garlic, skip that step and rock on with your allium loving self.
When it gets to this stage of thickness (you can move the spoon and get bare spots for a moment) it’s time to turn off the heat.
Remove from heat so you can work with the blender and at the sauce.
If you slightly tilt the pan you can get more in each swipe.
You could keep going and get a far more processed potato (like the first completed shot, which was from a different night), but my potato loving man likes ‘em chunky so this is often where we leave it.
They are all set when they are spoon-sticking consistency. :-)
Try these out! You will not miss the dairy or the sickening-over-stuffed feeling of traditional mashed potatoes. These are packed with flavor, are actually good for your gut, and kind to the environment & other souls!
