Holidays
Caramelized Onion + Garlic Thyme Mashed Potatoes
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
20 minutes
Yield
3 -4
Elevate your 🥔 mashed potatoes with sweet caramelized onions, aromatic garlic, and fresh thyme in this completely vegan side dish. Irresistibly creamy and packed with flavor, these onion garlic mashed potatoes will steal the show at any dinner table!
Is there anything better than smooth and creamy mashed potatoes? What about a plant-based vegan Food By Maria version? These onion-garlic mashed potatoes take comfort food to a whole new level with slow-caramelized onions, aromatic garlic, and fresh thyme. They’re so delicious that your family will be begging for the recipe at your next holiday dinner!
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Caramelized Onion + Garlic Thyme Mashed Potatoes
- Flavor-Packed: Caramelized onions and garlic create depth that regular mashed potatoes can’t match.
- Plant-Based: Completely vegan but so decadent that nobody will miss the dairy.
Crowd-pleaser: These elevated mashed potatoes will steal the show at any dinner table.
🍲 Ingredients
Russet Potatoes – These starchy potatoes create the perfect fluffy base for this dish. They’re not just delicious but nutritious too, offering protein, fiber, and essential vitamins and minerals that make this comfort food surprisingly beneficial.
Fresh Thyme – This aromatic herb brings an earthy, slightly lemony flavor that perfectly complements the caramelized onions. Beyond taste, thyme has historical significance – the Greeks believed it inspired courage and used it in baths and as incense. It’s also known for its digestion-aiding properties, especially with fatty foods.
👩🍳 How to Make This Caramelized Onion + Garlic Thyme Mashed Potatoes
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your potatoes until soft and fork-tender.
- Into a cast iron skillet add a dash of olive oil and cook your onions, garlic and thyme on low-medium heat till caramelized, fragrant and tender. This may take as long as it takes to cook the potatoes. Stir often to avoid burning. The slower you cook these the better. Be patient.
- Into a high-speed blender add your strained potatoes, onion + garlic mixture and the rest of your ingredients. Using a blender tamper push the ingredients down and blend for around 1 minute or until perfectly smooth. Add more milk, 1 tbsp. at a time if your blender is finding it hard to reach that consistency.
- Serve hot with a drizzle of oil and dusting of fresh thyme!
🗒 Tips and Tricks
- Caramelization: Cook your onions low and slow for the best sweet, complex flavor – be patient; it’s worth it!
- Potatoes: Cut potatoes into similar-sized chunks for even cooking and boil until truly fork-tender.
- Blend: Using a high-speed blender with a tamper creates incredibly smooth potatoes without overworking them.
- Temperature: Warm your plant milk before adding it to keep everything hot and creamy.
🗒 Substitutions
- Potato Varieties: Yukon Gold potatoes create a naturally buttery flavor, or try a mix of russet and sweet potatoes for complexity.
- Herb Options: Rosemary can replace thyme for a different aromatic profile, or try sage for a warming, holiday flavor.
- Nutritional Yeast: If you don’t have nutritional yeast, a touch of white miso paste can provide similar umami depth.
- Vegan Butter: Substitute with extra virgin olive oil for a different richness, or try coconut oil for subtle sweetness.
🗒 Best served with
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
🤔 Common Questions
Yes! Prepare up to 2 days ahead and store in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven at 350°F in a covered dish with a splash of plant milk until hot throughout.
A high-speed blender creates incredibly smooth, restaurant-quality mashed potatoes. The tamper helps control the process without overworking the potatoes, which can make them gummy.
Absolutely! Use a potato ricer for ultra-smooth results or a regular masher for a more rustic texture. Just heat your plant milk and mix in all the other ingredients thoroughly.
Nutritional yeast adds a savory, almost cheesy flavor while boosting protein, B vitamins, and minerals. It’s a pantry staple that gives these vegan mashed potatoes incredible depth.
Add roasted garlic instead of sautéed, increase the amount of vegan butter, or fold in some vegan cream cheese for extra richness.
Onion Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 medium-sized russet potatoes peeled, washed – cut in 1-2 inch chunks for boiling
- 1 medium-sized sweet white onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2-3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme
- 2-3 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 1 heaped tbsp. vegan butter
- season to taste
- dash of lemon
- 2 tbsp. plant-based milk
- To garnish drizzling of oil and dash of fresh thyme!
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your potatoes until soft and fork-tender.
- Into a cast iron skillet add a dash of olive oil and cook your onions, garlic and thyme on low-medium heat till caramelized, fragrant and tender. This may take as long as it takes to cook the potatoes. Stir often to avoid burning. The slower you cook these the better. Be patient.
- Into a high-speed blender add your strained potatoes, onion + garlic mixture and the rest of your ingredients. Using a blender tamper push the ingredients down and blend for around 1 minute or until perfectly smooth. Add more milk, 1 tbsp. at a time if your blender is finding it hard to reach that consistency.
- Serve hot with a drizzle of oil and dusting of fresh thyme!
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill
This recipe made the creamiest mashed potatoes ever. So delicious. I followed the recipe with the exception of the splash of lemon because I didn’t have any. The fresh thyme really adds a nice fragrant flavor to the dish. Thanks for a great recipe, once again. 🙂
Right, aren’t they amazing!!!! So glad you loved them babes!
My new favourite dip! So good!!
Thank you Jess! They’re really smooth and creamy and rich. Just how I love them!