Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Roasted Garlic)

Last updated on June 13th, 2025 at 02:25 pm

Garlic Mashed Potatoes step-by-step recipe - fluffy, creamy and delicious mashed potatoes spiked with the wonderful flavor of roasted garlic. The go-to mashed potatoes to go with coq au vin or just plain baked chicken breasts!

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I'm in love with this Garlic Mashed Potatoes. I'm especially in love with its texture and the taste AND of course, the garlicky note. Growing up we did have a mashed potatoes dish in our household, which really is a stir fry; you mash the potatoes and then just stir fry with turmeric, onions and, chillies. And then occasionally make fritters out of it.

It was one of my favorite ways to eat potatoes, at least when I was a kid. There are of course a dozen "favorite" ways I would like my potatoes. And my recent favorite way is to make mashed potatoes and eat 'em with thin gravy or chicken. My daughter takes after me and loves potatoes in any form, so naturally mashed potatoes are a great option for her lunch or dinner.

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Given the fact that creamy mashed potatoes aren't a thing in India, I actually got to taste it only when I was like in college. Um, I didn't like it, it was too plain and bland for my taste buds, which by the way hates bland food. Or probably (mostly) because it was a mediocre batch of mashed potatoes.

Eventually, as we traveled, I got to taste the GOOD stuff and I was hooked. Especially when served with a big bowl of Coq au Vin and some wine! Let's see how to make this!

What goes into this?

It goes without saying, using the best and fresh ingredients is a must to make this garlic mashed potatoes. Yukon gold or Russet potatoes are said to be the best for making mashed potatoes. But I use just about any medium-sized yellowish starchy potatoes and it works fine.

As with the milk, I use good locally sourced A2 milk. Milk when used generously I don't see a need for cream or heavy cream to make mashed potatoes luscious. For cheese, use any good melty aged cheese. My go-to choice is aged cheddar. It gives a nice deep flavor and saltiness. But of course, you can go with cream cheese.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

The possibilities of serving this garlic mashed potatoes are endless. Some of my favorites ways to eat them are:

• Sauteed Chicken Breasts, steamed vegetables, and mashed potatoes
• Coq au vin and Mashed Potatoes
• Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

What to do with leftover mashed potatoes?

Whenever I make this for a crowd, there are some mashed potatoes left behind, which is a good thing because we can use it to make other delicious dishes like:

• Shepherd's Pie
• Fried Mashed potato and cheese balls

See also:

Our most favorite Cheese Corn Balls appetizer made easy!

Are mashed potatoes healthy?

Garlic Mashed Potatoes carry a good amount of carbohydrates and calories. Considering the fact that this recipe doesn't use any cream and too much butter, it is healthy if eaten in moderation. Combine with a protein source for a balanced meal. It offers a good amount of energy when kids eat it.

How to store this?

To be reused the next day transfer the mashed potatoes to a mixing bowl and cover with a cling wrap. To reheat it, splash some milk, mix it around and reheat it in a microwave.

And because it to so easy to make and tastes delicious when freshly made, I haven't tried freezing them. But trust me it is easier to make it anew.

Special Diets:

To make this Vegan and LActose-Free, you can skip the milk and use water or use any type of nut milk. Similarly, substitute cheese with vegan cheese. And use any of your favorite flavorful oil for butter. This garlic mashed potatoes is Gluten-free.

See also:

Soft, fluffy Jewish Challah Bread recipe

Variations and Substitutions:

There are a gazillion mashed potatoes recipe, one for each household I'm sure. If you're a fan of the garlic flavor, this Garlic Mashed Potatoes is for you. For when you don't want garlic, skip the garlic and cheese to make classic mashed potatoes.

You can use half potatoes and half sweet potatoes to make mashed sweet potatoes or use full-on sweet potatoes and make them. Similarly, you can use half potatoes and half cauliflower to make Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes.

Experiment by increasing the amount of herbs or adding bacon or cooked chicken bits. The sky is your limit to personalize it.

How to make Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

This roasted garlic mashed potatoes is very easy to make and is shown in steps below in this slideshow:

Cooking the Potatoes:

• Wash 2 lbs of potatoes to remove any dirt. Peel the skin off and wash them again.
• Chop them up into 2-inch sized pieces.
• Set the Instant Pot bowl in place. Add the chopped potatoes to it.
• Pour in 4 cups of water over the potatoes. Ensure that all the potato pieces are covered. There's no need to add salt now.
• Cover the Instant Pot with its lid, SEAL the vent and set it in PRESSURE COOK mode for 20 minutes.

Roasting the garlic:

• Separate 5-6 medium garlic cloves but do not peel the skin.
• In a small skillet over heat, add 1 tablespoon butter and add the garlic cloves. As the butter melts, the garlic will begin to absorb heat.
• Sauté until the skin begins to peel itself away from the garlic cloves. By this time the garlic would have begun to brown and roast.
• Remove the skillet from heat. Let it cool down completely.
• Once cool, remove and discard the peels.
• Use a potato masher and mash the roasted garlic cloves to coarse bits.

More Instant Pot recipes:

Instant Pot Mushroom and Coconut Milk Pilaf

Instant Pot South Indian style Chicken Briyani

Instant Pot Split Pea curry/ soup

Making mashed potatoes:

• After 20 minutes, Quick Release the steam from the Instant Pot. Open the lid and let off steam.
• Place a colander in the sink.
• Using safety mitts, carefully lift the Instant Pot inner bowl and drain water from the potatoes by pouring it through the colander.
• Place the Inner Bowl back in the Instant Pot and put those cooked potatoes back into the Instant Pot.
• Set the Instant Pot to SAUTE mode for 5 minutes. Since the heating rod would already be a bit hot from the pressure cooking, so it wont take too much time to preheat.
• Using the potato masher, mash the potatoes until you dont see any visible lumps.
• Next, add the milk, half the amount of melted butter and all of the mashed roasted garlic to the instant pot.
• Mix it with a spatula and whisk for a minute using a hand mixer.
• Add half of the pepper and whisk again.
• Now, add the remaining melted butter whisk for around 5 minutes until the mashed potatoes are light, creamy and fluffy.

Recipe source: I arrived at this recipe by combining multiple recipes.

Notes:

• Cheese: If using Cheddar Cheese, shred them and add when just after you mix the milk into the mashed potatoes.
• Garlic: This is the right amount for me, it gives a note of flavor but isn't overpowering. Add or reduce based on your preference.
• Salt: If using cheddar, reduce the amount of added salt as cheese also has salt in it.
• Pepper: Do not add to much pepper for hotness. This dish is meant to be this way, eat it with a spicy gravy or chicken to balance it.
• Special Diets: For variations, substitutions and vegan/lactose/gluten-free mashed potatoes, scroll up in the post.

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Made this? Got doubts? Let me know what you think in the comments below!