Red Skin Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe For Two

Red skin garlic mashed potatoes are a great side dish for any meal, but they are especially popular during the holidays. They are simple and easy to make with a just a few common ingredients.

Once the potatoes boil they become tender enough to be mashed with garlic, milk, butter, salt and pepper. When the mixture is combined the potatoes have a slightly sweet, nutty, and garlicky flavor.

Although they can be mashed completely to serve as a creamy side dish, they are often served in a more rustic style. Slightly lumpy, tender bits of potatoes with scattered bits of red skins scattered throughout the potatoes is often the preferred way to serve this popular dish.

Either way you will have amazing flavor in every bite. It has become a favorite recipe in our house as an alternative to Standard Mashed Potatoes.

Although this recipe is designed to serve two people it can be easily doubled or tripled to feed a larger crowd if needed during the holidays. And if you are a huge garlic lover, you can even add more garlic to the recipe.

Ingredients Required

Red Potatoes: Red potatoes work exceptionally well for mashed potatoes due to their creamy texture and thin skins. There is no need to peel them, which saves time and adds a rustic touch to the dish.

Unsalted Butter: The butter adds richness and creaminess to the mashed potatoes and helps to make the potatoes smooth when mashed. However stick with unsalted butter so that you can control the salt content.

Half-and-Half: Half-and-half combines the best of both worlds with the richness of cream and the lightness of milk. It provides the perfect balance for the creamy potatoes. Although you could substitute whole milk, heavy cream, or even unsweetened plant based milk if you prefer.

Garlic: This recipe calls for 2 cloves of fresh garlic. If all you have is jarred minced garlic, you can use that instead. Use 1 teaspoon of jarred minced garlic for each large fresh garlicf clove required. Therefore for this recipe, you would use 2 teaspoons of jarred minced garlic.

Garlic Salt and Ground Black Pepper: These seasonings are the key to flavoring your mashed potatoes. Instead of using standard salt the garlic salt will add to the classic garlic flavor that is desired in the red skin mashed potatoes recipe.

Garnish – Chopped Chives: Chopped chives not only add a pop of color but also a mild onion flavor that complements the garlic beautifully.

How To Store Red Skin Garlic Mashed Potatoes

If you have leftovers or want to prepare these mashed potatoes in advance, knowing how to store them properly is essential to maintain their texture and flavor.

Cool To Room Temperature: Allow the mashed potatoes to cool to room temperature before transferring them to a container. This will help prevent the potatoes from sweating and adding excess moisture when stored.

Refrigerator: The best way to store your leftover mashed potatoes is to place them in an airtight container. Be sure that there is a good seal to prevent air from getting in and causing the potatoes to dry out or absorb unwanted odors from the fridge.

Mashed potatoes store nicely in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Reheating: When ready to enjoy your leftovers, reheat them in a microwave-safe dish covered with a damp paper towel or lid. Reheat in short increments and stir between each to ensure even heating. If the potatoes seem to be thick, stir in a little half and half or milk to make them more creamy.

You can also reheat them on the stovetop over low heat, stirring constantly. You may need to add a splash of additional half-and-half to restore their creaminess.

Freezing (Optional): If you’d like to keep your mashed potatoes for an extended period, you can freeze them. Transfer the mashed potatoes to an airtight, freezer-safe container, leaving some room for expansion.

Remember that freezing may slightly alter the texture, but the flavor will remain intact. Frozen mashed potatoes can be stored for 1-2 months.

When ready to use them, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and reheat them as mentioned above, stirring in additional liquid as needed.

Red Skin Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe For Two

*A printable recipe card is located at the bottom of this article which contains the specific measurements, temperatures and cook times. However, continue reading below to learn about more helpful tips about this specific recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 pounds red potatoes
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter – cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup half-and-half, plus more if needed
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Garlic salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Garnish (optional)

• Chopped chives

INSTRUCTIONS

Scrub the potatoes clean and cut them into 1-2 inch even size chunks. Add the potatoes into a medium size pot and cover the potatoes with cold water. *For more flavor cover them in chicken broth instead of the water.

Place the pot over high heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-high and maintain a light boil for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Drain the water and return potatoes to the warm pot. Keep the pot on low heat, stirring the potatoes frequently so any water left in the potatoes can evaporate.

While the potatoes are in the pot add the half and half and butter to a medium size bowl and heat at 30 second increments until the butter melts and the half and half is warm.

Pour half of the warm butter and half and half mixture in with the potatoes. Add the minced garlic ad mash the potatoes with a potato masher, gradually adding the remaining half-and-half and butter mixture. You may need to add more half and half depending on your texture preference.

Season with garlic salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Pour the potatoes into a serving bowl and garnish the top with chopped chives.

Enjoy! Mary

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