Vegan Mashed Potatoes
You can master the best vegan mashed potatoes thanks to this recipe, sharing all my favorite tips. Making this delicious side dish should be easy, and this recipe with only 6 ingredients proves that point beautifully!
Mashed potatoes are one of my favorite side dishes. Of course, I like just about any potato side dish, such as these vegan scalloped potatoes or air fryer roasted potatoes.
How to Make Vegan Mashed Potatoes
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Prepare potatoes by peeling and cutting into quarters.
- Boil the potatoes in a pot with water until fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Mash potatoes with vegan butter, vegan milk, and vegan sour cream.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Here are more detailed instructions with step-by-step photos:
Step One: Prepare Potatoes
Peel the potatoes with a vegetable peeler and use a paring knife to remove any spots.
Here’s how to cut the peeled potatoes:
- Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise
- Cut each half in half lengthwise.
- Then line the halves together and cut them into 4 equal sections.
- Place the potatoes in a colander and rinse them to remove excess starch.
Step Two: Boil Potatoes
- Place the potatoes in a pot or a large saucepan and pour in cold water until the potatoes are covered by an inch.
- Stir in salt.
- Turn up the heat to medium-high to bring the pot to a boil.
- Then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender. I recommend setting a timer to avoid overcooking the potatoes.
- While you’re waiting heat the vegan milk until it’s warm.
Step Three: Mash Potatoes
- Drain the potatoes, return them to the colander, and rinse them. This removes excess starch and stops the cooking process.
- Transfer potatoes to a mixing bowl and add vegan butter, vegan milk, and vegan sour cream.
- Use an electric mixer or a potato masher to whip up potatoes until smooth and creamy. Add a bit more plant-based milk if needed. Do not overmix the potatoes as this will activate the starch and they will get gummy.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve warm.
Key Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:
- Potatoes — You can use Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes.
- Plant-based milk — You can use your favorite plant-based milk (like soy milk, almond milk, or cashew milk), just make sure it’s plain (not vanilla-flavored) and unsweetened.
- Vegan butter — I love the buttery flavor that vegan butter adds, but you can also use olive oil which adds delicious flavor, too.
- Vegan sour cream — I’ve made these potatoes with and without the vegan sour cream and I loved them both ways. There’s no denying that vegan sour cream adds a little something special. I used Forager’s Sour Cream, but Tofutti’s is also a good option. You could substitute cashew cream.
- Salt and pepper — You can use table salt or sea salt, but the best way to serve pepper is freshly ground.
- Garnish — I recommend having some chopped fresh parsley for garnishing. And you can never go wrong serving vegan mashed potatoes with vegan gravy.
What Potatoes Are Best for Mashed Potatoes?
There are a lot of opinions about what makes the creamiest mashed potatoes. The three main options are Russet potatoes (otherwise known as white potatoes), Yukon Gold, and red potatoes. I love using red potatoes; however, for creamy smooth mashed potatoes, there’s no denying that Russet and Gold are the best. Use either one exclusively or do a 50/50 mixture.
What Makes This Recipe Shine?
- Cutting potatoes into equally-sized pieces creates even cooking, making for the best mashed potatoes
- Heating up the vegan cream before adding it to the potatoes helps prevents lumps
- Adding vegan sour cream creates the ultimate creamy mashed potatoes!
Tips for the Best Mashed Potatoes
- Rinse boiled potatoes — rinsing potatoes after cooking removes excess starches.
- Heat the milk — adding warm or hot milk to still-hot cooked potatoes can prevent lumps and help create creamy mashed potatoes.
- Don’t overmix — You can hand-mash your potatoes, but using a mixer makes it easier. Just be careful not to overmix as this can lead to breaking down the starches causing gummy potatoes
Frequently-Asked Questions
What can you use instead of milk in mashed potatoes?
There are plenty of plant-based milk options to use in your next batch of mashed potatoes. For example, you can use almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, soy milk, and even coconut milk. Just make sure your milk is unsweetened and not vanilla-flavored.
Are mashed potatoes vegan?
Most standard mashed potatoes are not vegan because they’re made with dairy and butter. However, it’s easy to make mashed potatoes vegan by using unsweetened plant-based milk and vegan butter or olive oil.
Serving Suggestions
Here are some favorite ways to top these creamy vegan mashed potatoes:
- Add some slices of vegan butter on top right before serving
- Vegan mashed potatoes and gravy is a favorite combination along with a side of vegan corn casserole)
- Add some chopped fresh parsley on top
- Sprinkle some nutritional yeast flakes for some cheesy flavor
- Crumble some tempeh bacon and sprinkle these over the top.
Storage Tips
Store mashed potatoes in a sealed container. They will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. They can be frozen in proper containers for up to 2 months.
Vegan Potato Recipes
Everyone loves these easy vegan mashed potatoes made with only 6 ingredients! Here are even more amazing vegan potato recipes:
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Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes (Russet or Yukon Gold)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup hot plant-based milk plain, not vanilla flavored (see notes)
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter, softened (or olive oil)
- ¼ cup vegan sour cream (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- serve with chopped fresh parsley and vegan gravy
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes with a vegetable peeler. Use a paring knife to remove any spots. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut each half in half lengthwise. Then line the halves together and cut it into 4 equal sections. Place the potatoes in a colander and rinse them.
- Place the potatoes in a pot and pour in cold water until the potatoes are covered by an inch. Stir in salt. Turn up the heat to medium-high to bring the pot to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender. Set a timer so you do not overcook the potatoes.
- Drain the potatoes and return them to the colander and rinse quickly. Then transfer them to a mixing bowl and add vegan butter, vegan milk (use less milk for thicker mashed potatoes), and vegan sour cream, if using.
- Use an electric mixer or a potato masher to whip up potatoes until smooth and creamy. Add a bit more plant-based milk if needed. Do not overmix the potatoes as this will activate the starch and they will get gummy.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Store mashed potatoes in a sealed container. They will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. They can be frozen in proper containers for up to 2 months.
Recommended Equipment
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Video
Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I never knew mashed potatoes would be so easy and delicious!