Healthy Mashed Potatoes (Vegan Friendly)

September 26, 2020 By Anjali Shah on

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This Healthy Mashed Potatoes Recipe is the ULTIMATE comfort food! Russet potatoes, cauliflower, garlic, and fresh herbs come together for a creamy, rich, dairy-free, vegan mashed potatoes that is the perfect side dish any time of the year!

Mashed potatoes are one of those side dishes that just about everyone loves, thanks to all that fluffy, starchy, goodness. They are great as part of a holiday meal spread, delicious all by themselves, or as a side dish for various roasted veggies or soups/salads.

What I don’t love about mashed potatoes is all the butter and fat that’s typically added to the dish!

I wanted to make an easy, vegan mashed potatoes dish that the entire family would enjoy! These healthy mashed potatoes are light in calories since they’re made with a few secret swaps, but they are loaded with flavor.

This dish is also super simple. With only 5 ingredients and less than 30 minutes, you can make a mashed potatoes vegan friendly dish that will please a crowd! You won’t miss traditional mashed potatoes after trying this recipe, I guarantee it!

Tools and Equipment You’ll Need

Recipe Ingredients & Notes

How Do You Make Healthy Mashed Potatoes?

Mashed potatoes can be an indulgent side dish, especially when cooked restaurant style! I’ll let you into a secret – they use A LOT of butter, cream and salt! These vegan mashed potatoes are a lightened up version, but without scrimping on taste. These are the simple swaps to make these easy mashed potatoes healthier:

Substitute cauliflower for some of the potatoes to lower carbs. Unsweetened plant based milk instead of cream Less butter overall Use fresh herbs to add flavor

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the potatoes, garlic, and cauliflower to the pot (make sure there’s enough water to cover the veggies). Cover and simmer/cook until the veggies are tender – about 15-20 minutes. Drain water, and transfer the potatoes, cauliflower, and garlic to a large bowl.

Step 2: To the bowl, add the salt & pepper and mash until smooth.

Step 3: Top with chives and herbs before serving.

What Makes These Potatoes Healthy?

Vitamins and Minerals: Potatoes get a bad rap because they’re super starchy, but they are actually packed with Vitamins C, B6, Potassium and Magnesium. Cauliflower has tons of Vitamin C, K, B6, and Folate – in addition to inflammation fighting antioxidants!

Potatoes get a bad rap because they’re super starchy, but they are actually packed with Vitamins C, B6, Potassium and Magnesium. Cauliflower has tons of Vitamin C, K, B6, and Folate – in addition to inflammation fighting antioxidants! Low Calorie: You can enjoy a large helping of these easy mashed potatoes, and they are only 146 calories! That’s almost 100 calories less than the same amount of traditional mashed potatoes!

You can enjoy a large helping of these easy mashed potatoes, and they are only 146 calories! That’s almost 100 calories less than the same amount of traditional mashed potatoes! High in Fiber: Each serving of this healthy mashed potatoes dish provides you with 7 grams of fiber. Fiber is important for healthy digestion, blood sugar, and heart health.

Will Kids Enjoy These Healthy Mashed Potatoes?

The only way your child won’t like this mashed potatoes vegan recipe is if they just plain don’t like mashed potatoes. Most kids will choose mashed potatoes over any other dish on their plates. It makes sense – they are so creamy and go with everything!

Recipe FAQs

Can You Freeze Mashed Potatoes? Yes! This recipe freezes really well. To freeze, let the mashed potatoes cool completely. Then transfer to an airtight container. It will keep in the freezer for 1-2 months. It will also keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. How Smooth Do I Need To Mash This Dish? The texture is one of those things that is unique to everyone. We prefer to use a handheld potato masher, so there are still a few yummy chunks. However, you could use a food processor or even a blender if you want to be super smooth and pureed. If you choose to use a food processor or a blender, make sure these garlic mashed potatoes have cooled before blending them so the mixture doesn’t expand/explode while blending! Does This Recipe Really Taste Like Mashed Potatoes? The great thing about cauliflower is that it takes on the flavor of anything it’s paired with. And because it has the same texture and color as potatoes after it’s cooked, these healthy mashed potatoes taste very much like traditional mashed potatoes! Give it a try, I think you love it!

Recipe Variations

There are so many ways you can change up these garlic mashed potatoes! Here are some of our favorite mix-ins:

Chives or Green Onions

Cayenne Pepper, Chili Powder or Crushed Red Pepper

Jalapeños or Chipotle Peppers with Adobo Sauce

Garlic powder and/or onion powder or even curry powder

Fresh herbs, like thyme, rosemary or parsley

Roasted garlic

Your favorite vegan shredded cheese (to make cheesy mashed potatoes, I recommend adding 1/2 cup cheese to the recipe before mashing it)

To make this vegetarian (but not vegan): use low fat milk or buttermilk, shredded cheese of your choice, and regular butter

Add in some chopped, sautéed baby spinach or mashed butternut squash to the mashed potatoes to sneak some extra veggies in!

You can make this same recipe with sweet potatoes instead!

Top Tips For Making Healthy Mashed Potatoes

You want to use starchy potatoes to get the right texture for this recipe. I used russet, but yukon gold would also work great.

Be sure not to overcook the potatoes and cauliflower. If you do, they will break down, and will be harder to drain. Keep an eye on it as it’s boiling and test the veggies to see when they are tender.

If you want to get rid of all the water even after draining, you can return the potatoes to the pot and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add any extra mix-ins that you want. If you prefer this not to be a mashed potatoes vegan recipe, you could always use the vegetarian substitutions outlined above.

I like leaving the skin on the potatoes before cooking them. It adds more fiber, and still tastes great! Just make sure to give the potatoes a good scrub before boiling them to get them super clean.

If you don’t have a potato masher, you can use a fork or a blender/immersion blender.

Use more or less milk, depending on the consistency you’re looking for.

If you don’t have vegan butter, you can use olive oil instead.

Check Out These Additional Side Dish Recipes!

If you have tried these Healthy Mashed Potatoes or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!