These Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatoes are easy to make and the perfect side dish for your vegan Thanksgiving table. Both vegans and non-vegans will love them!

*This recipe was originally published on 11/1/18. I have updated the recipe, photos and text.

I don’t know about you, but mashed potatoes are a must at our Thanksgiving table! When I was younger, and much pickier, they were the only thing I would eat at Thanksgiving 🙂 I’ve been perfecting these Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatoes for years and I think you’re going to love them!

There are so many different ways you can mix up your mashed potato recipe but today I’m giving you a super simple and delicious vegan mashed potato recipe that can easily be flavored anyway you like. I will give some flavor tips at the bottom of the post.

What Kind Of Potatoes Are Best For Mashed Potatoes?

There’s no rule about what kind of potato you should use for mashed potatoes. You can even used sweet potatoes if you like! There are two different kinds of potatoes that I prefer to use for mashed potatoes:

Russet Potato – Russet potatoes are the big and they have a thick brown skin. They are used for baked potatoes and French fries (most of the time). They’re white on the inside and pretty starchy. They have a very mild flavor so it’s easy to flavor them anyway you like. I probably use russet potatoes most of the time because they’re really versatile and make for a nice, creamy mashed potato. I used russet potatoes for the mashed potato in the main photo of this post. You can see that they are whiteish in color.
Yukon Gold Potato – Yukon gold potatoes are probably most often used when making mashed potatoes. They have a thin yellow skin and are are pale yellow on the inside. They have a slight sweet taste to them and they become very creamy when cooked. I used Yukon gold potatoes for the mashed potatoes in the photo below. You can see that they have more of a yellow tint to them.

Both are delicious and both make great mashed potatoes! It’s really just a personal preference about what kind you use.

What You Need To Make The Best Vegan Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes – We just talked about what kind of potatoes to use, so I will leave that choice up to you! To make the creamiest mashed potatoes you will want to peel your potatoes before boiling them.
Vegan Butter – These days there are tons of vegan butter brands out there. I usually use Earth Balance soy free version and it works great.
Vegan Mayonnaise – I know this may sound like a really strange ingredient! I’m personally not one of those people that eats mayo on a lot of things, but it does help to make these vegan mashed potatoes super creamy and no one would guess that there was mayo in them!
Dairy Free Milk – I almost always use plain, unsweetened almond milk in my cooking. You can use whatever kind of plant based milk you prefer. If you don’t have any milk you can reserve a little bit of the potato cooking water and use that instead.
Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder – I kept this mashed potato recipe super simple so just seasoned with salt, black pepper and a little bit of roasted garlic powder. It gives them a classic taste and doesn’t overpower anything else on your plate.

Recipe tips for these Creamiest Vegan Mashed Potatoes

Make sure you peel your potatoes! On occasion I do make mashed potatoes without peeling them but if you want them super creamy you should leave off the peels.
You want to add your potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water and then bring to a boil, rather than adding the potatoes straight into boiling water. This ensures that the potatoes will cook at the same time.
I usually just use a hand potato masher when making mashed potatoes, but you could also whip them up with an electric hand mixer. I tested this method out with both the russet and Yukon gold mashed potatoes and I felt that they made the Yukon gold version a little bit gummy but still good.
Speaking of gummy mashed potatoes, you do not want to blend them in a food processor or blender or they will become very gummy.
If you want to make these ahead of time and then re-heat before eating, I would suggest adding in some more almond milk to loosen them up a little bit. You can either reheat in a double boiler or in a pot on the store.
Here are a few flavor boosting suggestions if you’re looking to mix things up: roasted garlic, fresh herbs, pesto, horseradish sauce, mustard, vegan bacon bits, vegan cheddar cheese. What flavors do you like to add to your mashed potatoes?

Looking for more vegan Thanksgiving recipes?

Orange Ginger Cranberry Sauce

Easy Vegan Meatloaf

Simple Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Vegan Stuffing with Green Apple and Sage

Vegan Pumkin Cheesecake

Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatoes

Author: She Likes Food
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 1x
Category: Side, Gluten Free, Vegan
Method: Stove Top
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegan

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Description

These Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatoes are silky smooth and classically flavored! Perfect for your Thanksgiving table!

Ingredients

8–10 cups peeled diced potatoes, Yukon gold or russet work best
4 tablespoons vegan butter, I like soy free Earth Balance
1/3 cup plain, unsweetened almond milk
1/3 cup vegan mayonnaise
Salt, black pepper and granulated garlic, to taste

Instructions

Place cubed potatoes into a large pot and cover with cold water. Add a big pinch of salt (optional) and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until fork tender, 20-25 minutes. Drain potatoes and add them back into the pot.
Add in the butter, milk and mayo and mash with a potato masher or whip with an electric hand mixer.
Season with salt, pepper and granulated garlic, to taste and serve immediately or keep warm until ready to serve! I like to garnish mine with some fresh herbs and a drizzle of melted butter.

Notes

I usually skip this step, but you can melt the butter and milk together in a small saucepan and then add to the warm potatoes so that they don’t bring the mashed potato temperature down.