Mashed Red Potatoes are delicious enough to serve as a holiday side dish, but easy enough to make on a busy weeknight. Lightly salty and rich with olive oil, butter and garlic, you'll want to serve these potatoes with everything!
Whether I'm making this Mashed Red Potatoes recipe or traditional mashed potatoes, I've learned one important trick: steam the potatoes, don't boil them. When you steam potatoes, there's no need to worry about the potatoes becoming overcooked or water logged as they can when you boil them.
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Red Potatoes FAQ
Red potatoes are considered waxy, meaning they have more moisture / less starch. They are great for mashing because they are naturally smooth and creamy. That said, take care to not over-mash as they can become gluey faster than russet or Yukon gold potatoes. The key is to steam them until they are very tender and mash easily.
You don't have to peel red potatoes. What a time saver! Their skins have a delicate flavor (not bitter) and are very thin and tender. They also add a pretty pop of color!
If you don't feel like hunting down a scale at your grocery store or farmer's market, a good rule of thumb is 7 or 8 small red potatoes, or 14 or 15 red new potatoes.
Serve With
I love to serve these potatoes (when I'm not making Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, Twice Baked Potatoes or Italian Roasted Potatoes) with everything from Turkey Meatloaf or Meatloaf with Oatmeal, Bacon Wrapped Pork Chops and Roasted Lamb Chops or Pan-Fried Lamb Chops to Duck Confit during the year and alongside Turkey Roulade or Dry Brine Turkey and Cornbread Dressing with Turkey Gravy without drippings for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.
And if you love potatoes like I do, don't miss these Breakfast Potatoes or these Skillet Potatoes - both are impossibly crispy because of an unusual technique!
How to Make Mashed Red Potatoes
Step 1: Steam cubes of red potato until very tender.
Step 2: Cook and stir garlic in melted butter then stir in salt and olive oil.
Step 3: Pour olive oil mixture over tender red potato cubes in a large bowl and mash to desired consistency. Serve!
Recipe Video
Mashed Red Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds red potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes (7 or 8 small red potatoes)
- 4 tablespoons butter ¼ cup
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 3 large cloves
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- minced chives for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Place raw red potato cubes in a large steamer basket over a large pot of boiling water. Cover and steam until very tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
- When potatoes are nearly tender, melt butter in a small saucepan. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add salt and olive oil; stir until just heated through. Remove from heat.
- Transfer tender potatoes to a large bowl. Pour olive oil mixture over and mash with a potato masher to desired consistency. Garnish with chives if desired and serve.
Notes
- If you don't have a steamer, feel free to boil potatoes instead. To a large pot, add cubed potatoes and enough cold water to cover by 1-inch. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and let summer until potatoes are tender. Drain and proceed with recipe.
- If you're not a fan of olive oil in these mashed red potatoes, no problem! Just increase the butter to 10 tablespoons and skip the olive oil. Likewise, if you want to use just olive oil for a vegan / dairy-free version, use 10 tablespoons of olive oil (½ cup + 2 tablespoons) and skip the butter.
- To make Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes, mash in the roasted garlic cloves from one or two heads of roasted garlic along with the olive oil mixture before serving. To roast heads of garlic: remove the outer papery skin and cut off the top ½ inch of the head to expose garlic cloves. Drizzle with olive and wrap in aluminum foil. Transfer to a baking dish or baking sheet to catch any drips and roast at 400˚F for 35-40 minutes until tender and lightly brown. Let cool slightly before squeezing cloves out with your fingers or lifting out with a cocktail fork.
This is a VERY GOOD RECIPE!! Thank you. We both loved it and, 10 days later are making it again. RH
I love it! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know, Ricki!
It was a hit with no alterations needed. Even my in-laws were impressed and my FIL is a food snob. Thanks for sharing!
So glad these were a hit with you and your family, Melinda! Sweet of you to come back and let me know.
So delicious 😋Thank you for sharing!
My pleasure, Robin! So glad you enjoyed them.
Love this recipe. The next time I make it, I want to use some truffle salt.
So glad you're enjoying it, Dee! Truffle salt is a nice addition.
I will keep making these mashed red potatoes, they were awesome!!
That's wonderful to hear, Steve! Thank you for letting me know!
These are amazing!! I boiled the potatoes since I don’t have a steamer...and they were amazing. Thank you for the recipe!
I'm so glad you enjoyed these, Tracy! Thank you for coming back to let me know.
These literally look amazing, cooking them tonight with my garlic, brown sugar pork loin
Sounds like a great combo!
Can you boil these instead of steaming them?
Hi, Joanna. Yes, absolutely! 🙂
These were easy and delicious. I used avocado oil. Mild easy flavor for our fussy family. They loved. Thank you!
That's wonderful to hear, Lynn! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
Omgeeeee!!! I will definitely be preparing these tonight with my Mexican meatloaf, thank you so much for sharing this looks so yummy!!!
Perfect combination. Thank you, Lupe!
Your potatoes certainly do look good. I've got red potatoes that I was going to make this evening so I'll be trying your version.
I love to hear that, Karen. Thank you!
This post gives me all the feels! As does the video! I love smashed red potatoes - and yours are the best!!
aww, Annie! Thank you, my friend. xo
Gosh these smashed potatoes look so rich with all the butter and olive oil. I am super tempted to make these in my kitchen.
I hope you do, Neha! Thank you.
This looks better than anything you can get at a restaurant!! I love the bits of potato peel in there - and just perfect with a little pat of butter 🙂 YUM!
Thank you, Katherine! Don't you love the peels on new potatoes - I love the texture they add!
I could do some serious damage to this pot of tatos!! I second David...these are making me hungry right now!! Happy Friday! XO
haha, thank you so much Dawn!
Steaming the potatoes is GENIUS! These look absolutely amazing. 🙂
Thanks, Kevin! It's so nice to not have to worry about waterlogged potatoes!
Yes, yes and more yes to these smashed potatoes! You know, I heard that same trick about steaming potatoes somewhere, and it works beautifully! And I love a good smashed potato. Red potatoes are always one of my favorites, and I'm thinking I might need to whip these up as a side dish soon. These photos are making me hungry! 🙂
If you're hungry, then I've done my job, haha! Thank you, David!
Oh the texture reminds me of Japanese potato salad. So comforting and soft! 😀
I've never had Japanese potato salad! Off to research... thank you, my friend!
I don't have the words to tell you just how much I love potatoes. Especially mashed! Or smashed :). These look fabulous and I'm totally going to steam my potatoes next time I make them. Awesome tip! Have a great weekend, Marissa!
I'm with you, Kelsie - mashed or smashed, just hand 'em over. 😉
I love potatos and (especially in a mashed form), and I can literally eat a huge bawl (And this is the reason I try to stay away from it as much as possible). This one, with garlic, butter, and olive oil, is irresistibly delicious.
haha, thank you so much Ben!