Mashed Potatoes are one of my favorite holiday staples.
It has to be one of the most popular and hard-to-resist side dishes ever – because of all that buttery, starchy goodness.
I was at a cooking class recently and we made decadent smashed baby red potatoes: oven fried with olive oil, salt and pepper, and topped with creme fraiche and chives. It was absolutely amazing and SO hard to stop after a few bites!
I wanted to recreate the feel of that recipe, but in a way that would be guilt-free and just as tasty.
I added garlic, greek yogurt and chives for some added punch, and a secret ingredient that will cut the calories of this recipe in half. You won’t miss traditional mashed potatoes after trying this recipe – I hope it makes an appearance at your holiday table!
Guilt-Free Garlic Mashed Potatoes
by Anjali Shah @ The Picky Eater
Makes 3 servings
Nutritional Stats Per Serving: 110 calories, ~1g fat, 5g fiber, 1g sugar, 5g protein
The Ingredients
- 5 cloves of garlic (more if you like it super garlicky)
- 1 medium-sized russet potato (about 12 oz.)
- 5 cups cauliflower florets (about 1 head)
- 2-3 Tbsp skim milk
- 1 Tbsp light butter
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Chopped chives (optional)
- Fresh herbs – thyme, rosemary, parsley (optional)
- 2% Greek Yogurt (1 Tbsp per serving, optional)
The Directions
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.
Step 2: Drain water, and transfer the potatoes, cauliflower and garlic to a large bowl.
Step 3: To the bowl, add the milk, butter, salt & pepper and mash until smooth. Top with chives, herbs, and a dollop of Greek Yogurt. Enjoy!
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Hello! I'm Anjali. I'm a 20 something living in the SF Bay Area, with a passion for delicious food and a desire to make healthy eating easy, tasty, and fun! Try some of 
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Love your secret ingredient. I made cauliflower mac n’ cheese when my parents were visiting and everyone said that this was one of their favorite versions of the classic dish.
I’m going to have to try this recipe out – it’s the perfect side!
Hehe thanks Parita! I have definitely made cauliflower mac & cheese before – it is delicious
Next time you make it, try substituting in pureed butternut squash instead of the cauliflower – it gives the mac & cheese a great sweetness (and it looks just like cheese!) I’m sure you will love this recipe!
love your idea of this secret ingredient. i love cauliflower mash and actually people cannot even tell the difference
Thanks Dixya!! I’ve never actually tried cauliflower mash (by itself – no potatoes) before – I’ll have to give it a shot!
Anjali,
I like the ingredients and the prep work sounds really simple. I’ll give it shot. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Masood! I’m sure you will love this when you try it!
I love Mashed Potatoes! And adding in the cauliflower just makes it even more delightful and nutritious. I ran out of Greek Yogurt and substituted cottage cheese for creaminess and protein. It worked really well, too. Thanks for sharing, Anjali!
Love the idea of adding cottage cheese instead of the Greek Yogurt! What a fun way to change it up
Thanks for the suggestion Sarah!
Great take on the dish. As a alternative to manually mashing a ricer would be a good tool to break up the more fibrous cauliflower & garlic evenly with the potato. Also I assume that the potato should be peeled and cubed into pieces just smaller than the florets.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Jake! Great idea about using a ricer – I bet it would take less time than manually mashing as well! And yes, the potato should be cubed into pieces about the same size or a bit smaller than the florets. As for peeling the potato – that is totally up to you. To make it super creamy, peeling the potato is the way to go. But if you want it to be a little more rustic and if you want the added fiber, then leave the skins on. Hope that helps!
This looks very very delicious! Definitely something I will enjoy everyday.
Awesome!! Thanks Linda!
Looks awesome! Of course I like it super garlicky – definitely going to try it out.
Hehe of course
I love it super garlicky too. Can’t wait to hear how you like this recipe!
Cauliflower and potatoes together sounds like a great combination. I haven’t tried it that way and definitely will try.
Thanks Vita!! I’m sure you will love this recipe
Love the Greek yogurt idea!
Thank you so much! It’s the perfect substitute for that dollop of sour cream – and tastes amazing on these potatoes
I enjoyed visiting your website. It is very professional, well laid out, with plenty of colorful pictures. I remember my mother’s mashed potatoes she made with milk and heaps of butter. Then we’d smother it with gravy made from the meatloaf drippings. decadent! Anyway, not as healthy as your mashed potatoes. Did you say you added yogurt? LOL. Take care and good fortune with your blog.
Thanks so much for the kind words Lewis! I’m so happy you enjoyed my site
Haha yes – your version of mashed potatoes definitely sounds more decadent than mine! But once in a while that kind of decadence is great 
I’d love to know if you end up trying this recipe and how it turns out for you!
Is this really 100 calories? The macros aren’t adding up to 100. They add up to almost 50 calories, so either the calories is wrong, the macros are wrong, or I’m wrong.
Hi Patrick, thanks for pointing that out! There was a typo with the serving size – this recipe makes 3 servings at ~110 calories each. If you make 5 servings (which was originally on the recipe), you’d end up with about 63 calories per serving. Hope that helps, thanks again!
Dear Anjali, I have already try to cook your recipe and it taste good. Really like it. I also recommend your recipe (with your link) to my blog.
So happy to hear that Dony!
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