These creamy garlic Mashed Potatoes With Almond Milk are vegan and Whole30-approved comfort food! In less than 30 minutes you can make fluffy almond milk mashed potatoes that taste buttery despite being dairy-free.
If you love easy mash recipes, try my purple sweet potato mash or mashed radish.
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About this recipe
Simple Enough for Beginners: this is a recipe I developed during a month of eating low histamine vegan, in an attempt to calm some food-related inflammation. Now my fiance requests them on the regular, and even does most of the prep, so I know they're easy & detailed enough for beginners and home chefs alike!
Can't Tell They're Vegan: thanks to some simple cooking hacks covered below, you can't even tell these dairy-free mashed potatoes are vegan! Using almond milk for mashed potatoes lends a creaminess and mild nuttiness that completes the comfort food trifecta.
Low Histamine Comfort Food: with all the restrictions, finding low histamine comfort foods can be hard, but these almond milk mash potatoes fulfill the requirements of warm, fluffy, savory, and satisfying.
Ingredients
Gold Potatoes: you can theoretically use any type of potato for this recipe, but I highly recommend a creamier type, like the gold potatoes I used here.
Almond Milk: this is a key ingredient, adding a mildly nutty flavor to the almond milk potatoes.
Oil: I used avocado oil for this recipe, but you can use any neutral-tasting oil you tolerate. Ghee or butter are other good options if you tolerate dairy, but check out my post on low histamine oils for more ideas.
Raw Garlic: using raw garlic adds an umami element to the potatoes that really rounds out the overall flavor and complements meats and root vegetables as a side dish, though technically it's optional.
How to make mashed potatoes with almond milk: step-by-step instructions
Step 1. Set one quart of salted water to boil, then chop the potatoes (optionally peel them beforehand) into ½" pieces of roughly the same size.
✔️Tip* The smaller the potato pieces are, the faster they'll cook to make your almond milk mashed potatoes, so if you need your dish very quickly, then cut the pieces quite small.
Step 2. Once the water is at a roiling boil, add the potatoes lightly boil them with the lid slightly askew for roughly 15 minutes (I recommend setting a timer). Some people say to add the potatoes to the cold water before you heat it to a boil, but I've made them both ways and noticed no difference in the doneness of the potatoes, so cook as desired.
Step 3. While they cook, chop and then sautée your garlic cloves in avocado oil until softened, and set aside the infused oil on a cool burner. You'll know your potatoes are cooked once they're soft enough to pierce through with a fork.
Step 4. Once cooked, drain the potato pieces and put them in a large bowl (do NOT use a blender or food processor, or you'll ruin the texture), scrape in the oil and garlic, then add the salt and almond milk and mash everything until fluffy.
Leave some small chunks, if that's what you prefer, but be careful not to stir too much or you'll activate the potato starch and make your almond milk mashed potatoes into a very nice glue. Your mashed potatoes are now ready to eat and top with chopped chives or spring onions for a touch of color.
Substitutions
Other Potatoes - other than yellow or gold potatoes, you could also use russet, red, purple, baby, or even sweet potatoes, but you'll need to boil the potatoes for a bit longer, since yellow potatoes are some of the fastest-cooking potatoes.
No Garlic - you can omit the garlic in the recipe for more plain-flavored mashed potatoes.
Oil-Free Version - you can make this mashed potato recipe oil-free by swapping the avocado oil for an extra 3 tablespoons of almond milk, however that will mean that the garlic flavor will be sharper since you'll be adding raw garlic to the mix. Just follow the steps as outlined in the recipe card and skip cooking the garlic to make oil-free mashed potatoes.
Mashed Potato Variations
You can add in any low histamine herbs and spices you think would go well, but be sure to add the spices when you’re flavoring the cooking oil to help them release their flavors, otherwise they may taste raw and overly-strong. Try the following mash potato variations for a twist on this recipe:
- use roasted za'atar potatoes rather than boiled potatoes for extra texture and easy flavor
- add roasted carrots, radish, or squash tot he potato mash for extra antioxidants, flavor, and texture
- top with your favorite cheese to make cheesy potatoes, if you're not dairy-free but just didn't have any dairy milk or any time to go to the store (I recommend ricotta or goat cheese for some tang and creaminess)
- use sweet potatoes for some nightshade-free mashed potatoes, with almond milk and garlic for savory flavor
- swirl in a plain dairy-free pesto topped with toasted nuts rather than adding the nuts to the pesto
Freezing
If you're not on a low histamine diet, these mashed potatoes can stay good in the fridge for up to 4 days when stored in an air-tight container and cooled to room temperature beforehand.
But if you want to freeze these mashed potatoes, I recommend cooking them fully beforehand. They’ll stay good in the freezer for up to 2 months, though the texture will get a bit denser the longer they stay in there.
Most Common Mashed Potato Mistakes
Using Cold Milk - keep the almond milk for the recipe on the counter once you start prepping your potatoes, so that by the time you're mashing you're not adding any cold ingredients to the mash, causing clumping rather than creaminess.
Blending Rather Than Mashing - be sure to use a potato masher NOT a blender or any other type of food process or whisk attachment, which will activate the potato starch and make gluey mashed potatoes.
Watery Mashed Potatoes - how do you fix watery mashed potatoes once they're already made? The trick is using heat to evaporate the excess moisture. Simply heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each round, until reaching your desired consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, the garlicky oil combines with the mild nuttiness of the almond milk to create a creamy, fluffy dish that doesn't taste almondy at all.
You bet! Let them cool for at least a half hour before freezing them or refrigerating them (if tolerated). Then reheat them on low on the stovetop or on medium heat in the microwave, adding another 1 to 2 tablespoons of almond milk to help gently them fluff back up once they start warming.
The best potatoes for mashed potatoes are really just the ones you already have in your pantry; anything can work. But if you're at the store now, yellow or golden varietals are the best potatoes to make mashed potatoes since they're the creamiest varietals.
I wouldn't recommend it. While you could use a flavored milk, the best option is unsweetened almond milk in mashed potatoes, since it maintains and highlights the savory garlic flavor.
Almond milk potatoes are a very forgiving dish, so you can peel the potatoes for an even smoother dish, but if you like a bit of texture then you cna leave them on. Just make sure that either way you scrub the potatoes very well, so that you don't end up with any nasties in the dish.
Recipe notes & tips
Adding Texture: for even more texture in the final dish, you can bake potatoes for mashed potatoes and even leave on the peels, creating more crunchy bits, and do less mashing for the final dish.
Almond Milk or Oat Milk for Mashed Potatoes? You can really use any milk substitute for mashed potatoes, even oat milk or coconut milk or water, but the best substitute for milk in mashed potatoes is by far almond milk. It adds a mildly nutty, creamy flavor without the extra calories or dairy.
What to serve with almond milk mash potatoes
As always, if you like the recipe, I really appreciate a 5 star review or comment!
📖 Recipe
Easy Mashed Potatoes With Almond Milk (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 pound gold potatoes peeling optional
- ¼ Cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1-2 cloves raw garlic 15g, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil alt. butter or oil of choice
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt + more to salt the cooking water
Instructions
- Set one quart of salted water to boil, then chop the potatoes (optionally peel them beforehand) into ½" pieces of roughly the same size.
- Once the water is at a roiling boil, add the potatoes lightly boil them with the lid slightly askew for roughly 15 minutes (I recommend setting a timer). Some people say to add the pieces to cold water when boiling potatoes for mashed potatoes, but I've made them both ways and noticed no difference in the doneness of the potatoes, so cook as desired.
- While they cook, chop and then sautée your garlic cloves in avocado oil until softened, and set aside the infused oil on a cool burner. You'll know your potatoes are cooked once they're soft enough to pierce through with a fork.
- Once cooked, drain the potato pieces and put them in a large bowl (do NOT use a blender or food processor, or you'll ruin the texture), scrape in the oil and garlic, then add the salt and almond milk and mash everything until fluffy. Leave some small chunks, if that's what you prefer, but be careful not to stir too much or you'll activate the potato starch and make your almond milk mashed potatoes into a very nice glue. Your mashed potatoes are now ready to eat and top with chopped chives or parsley for a touch of color.
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