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These 6-ingredient Garlic and Cheese Mashed Potatoes are the ultimate side dish. With just one pot you can have this side dish on the table in about 30 minutes. These potatoes are silky smooth, incredibly savory and have just enough garlic to make them craveable but not overpowering.
Few things are better than a steaming dollop of mashed potatoes. But there are some key ingredients—and amounts of ingredients let’s be honest—that you need to keep in mind. For starters, a few tablespoons of butter is simply not going to cut it.
And secondly, potatoes are like sponges. They soak up flavors like crazy but they can easily be lost if not enough is used. So be heavy handed with that salt. Use more butter, pepper, and in this case a good sharp Cheddar and fresh garlic. Then bring it all together and pair these potatoes with steak, chicken, salmon…you name it, they really work with most main courses.
We always serve this cheesy mashed potatoes recipe during the holidays. With just 6-ingredients you can whip it up in advance or quickly before mealtime since it comes together in about 30 minutes. It’s so simple, but tastes anything but.
I like to use sharp white Cheddar cheese, but you can customize it with whatever cheese you already have at home or are craving. Gouda, goat cheese, or gruyère are all delicious options.
If you love a good side dish recipe, we have plenty to recommend. Our Boursin Mashed Potatoes, Celery Root Mash, and Gouda Mashed Potatoes are all top favorites.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- 6-ingredient side dish. And all of them are common—likely already in your fridge. How easy is that?
- Minimal equipment necessary. It was important to me to keep this recipe one-pot. Which frees up space on the stove for other side dishes and makes clean up a breeze.
- Great to make ahead for a crowd. You can make these ahead of time and store them in the fridge. We recommend adding the cheese after rewarming the potatoes right before serving so they are extra ooey gooey. You may need a splash of milk to loosen them up.
Ingredients
- Yukon gold potatoes: In my opinion, this is the only potato you should use for traditional mashed potatoes. They are slightly waxy with a good starch content, which makes for the silkiest mashed potatoes.
- Unsalted butter: You can’t have mashed potatoes without butter and I made sure there’s plenty of it in this recipe. Now, there are lots of opinions out there on salted vs unsalted. I use unsalted because I like to have control over the seasoning and I like to use kosher salt.
- Whole milk: This makes them silky smooth. I think whole milk is perfect, but you could use half and half or heavy cream too for something much more decadent.
- Garlic: You’ll need just two cloves. But since we’re grating the cloves, the flavor becomes pretty potent—so two is enough. Plus, grating ensures there’s garlicky flavor in each bite without biting into any chunks.
- White pepper: We use white pepper rather than black here because it adds a earthy, floral spice. And it keeps the potatoes creamy white. You can easily swap in black pepper.
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese: The star ingredient of the recipe, you can use whatever type of cheese you like, but we love classic aged white Cheddar. I recommend using a quality aged Cheddar from the specialty cheese section—makes for an elegant side dish with the most flavor.
How to Make Garlic and Cheese Mashed Potatoes
- Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks. Cook them in a pot of water until a knife easily slides in and out of the potato chunks.
- Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Stir them around to cook off any excess liquid—this will ensure the potatoes are creamy and silky smooth, not watery.
- Add the butter than use a potato masher to mash the potatoes.
- Stir in the warm milk in ¼ cup increments, mashing after each addition until incorporated and smooth.
- Stir in the garlic along with 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of white pepper.
- To finish, add the cheese by handful, stirring to incorporate after each addition, until all of the cheese is incorporated. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or keep warm over low heat, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve.
pro Tips
- Be sure to cook the potatoes thoroughly. Be cautious not to over-boil or under boil the potatoes. You want them tender enough that you can easily pierce them with the tip of a knife. But you don’t want them so soft that they just fall apart in the water. This ensures the texture becomes silky smooth when mashed—not watery or chunky.
- Warm your milk before adding. It’s essential to warm your milk or cream before adding it to the hot potatoes so the dairy doesn’t break or curdle and incorporates nicely into the mixture.
- Grate the garlic on a microplane. It’s better to grate the garlic here than chop it. Grating allows the garlic to almost dissolve and infuse the potato mixture with wonderful flavor.
- Add the cheese off the heat and last in the recipe. The cheese will melt easily with the residual heat of the potatoes. If you add the cheese while the stove is on, you risk having the cheese clumping together or burning instead of being melty and smooth.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Allow any leftovers to cool to room temperature then place them in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can reheat them in the microwave or on the stovetop. If they seem thick, warm some extra milk and stir it into the potatoes until they are smooth again.
We don’t recommend freezing the cheese garlic mashed potatoes as the texture can change when they are thawed and reheated.
To make this recipe ahead of time is no problem! We do this all the time around the holidays or big family gatherings. Simply make the mashed potatoes but don’t add the cheese. When ready to serve, reheat the potatoes on the stovetop. Stir in extra warmed milk until they are smooth and hot. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheese until it’s completely melted. It’s potato perfection.
What to Serve with Mashed Potatoes with Cheese
We serve these potatoes as a side dish all the time, they are one of our most loved side dish recipes among family and friends. Here are some main course recipes we love to add to the table:
FAQs
Be sure you’re using Yukon gold (or yellow potatoes) for the creamiest mashed potatoes. Add lots of butter and milk or cream to help make them smooth and silky.
This means you over-boiled your potatoes. As a result, they actually leak water when they are mashed which makes the texture soupy and not creamy.
First things first, continue cooking the mashed potatoes over low heat to evaporate off some of the excess moisture. Avoid cooking it over medium or high heat so you don’t burn the dairy you’ve added. Additionally, you can add some shredded cheese or cream cheese which can help thicken the potatoes with the added bonus of being cheesy!
More Comforting Side Dish Recipes
Garlic and Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Description
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Ingredients
- 4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick, ½ cup) unsalted butter
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed
- 2 cloves garlic, grated (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with 2 teaspoons salt then add potatoes and cook until tender (a paring knife can easily slip in and out of potato chunks), 10–15 minutes.
- Drain and return potatoes to now-empty pot set over low heat. Stir potatoes around to cook off any excess liquid.
- Add butter and lightly mash potatoes with a potato masher.
- Add milk in quarter cup increments, mashing after each addition until smooth.
- Using a rubber spatula or spoon, stir in garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and white pepper.
- Add cheese by handful, stirring to incorporate after each addition. Season to taste with additional white pepper and salt. Serve immediately or keep warm over low heat, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve.
Notes
- Allow any leftovers to cool to room temperature then place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can reheat the potatoes in the microwave or on the stovetop. If they seem thick, warm some extra milk and stir it into the potatoes until they are smooth again.
- We don’t recommend freezing the cheese garlic mashed potatoes as the texture can change when they are thawed and reheated.
- To make this mashed cheese potatoes recipe ahead of time is no problem! We do this all the time around the holidays or big family gatherings. Simply make the mashed potatoes but don’t add the cheese. When ready to serve, reheat the potatoes on the stovetop. Stir in extra warmed milk until they are smooth and hot. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheese until it’s completely melted.
