Via My California Roots: The Creamiest Vegan Mashed Potatoes

TGIS!!!!

I know that’s totally not a thing. But really, I’m usually more thankful for Saturday than I am for Friday. Although last night I did get to drink my favorite hard cider from See Canyon Hard Cider Co. Having a beer / hard cider is seriously the thing I look forward to most on Friday nights. Is that bad?

At least I don’t drink during the week 😉

So, I’m pretty sure I can say with confidence that everyone looks forward to mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. I mean, it’s a thing. If you have Thanksgiving, you have mashed potatoes. And if you have mashed potatoes, you have…. nevermind.

The Mashers are everyone’s favorite side, whether they admit it or not. It’s one of those dishes that you give yourself an extra large heaping scoop, then look at your plate a little forlornly because it doesn’t look like quite enough, so you dive in for another. It’s that dish.

Standard mashed potatoes have lots of tasty flavor components, like butter and cream.

But if you’re the kind of person who avoids those ingredients for whatever reason, making really creamy mashed potatoes can be… challenging. I’m not vegan myself, but choose not to eat dairy most of the time. The exception I make is cheese, because…… cheese. But I use vegan butter and non-dairy milks nearly 100% of the time.

So, I’ve tried many variations of vegan mashed potatoes. Some were okay (I mean, really, it’s mashed potatoes – they can’t be that bad). Some were pretty good.

But none have been as creamy as these.

I did something pretty crazy here to achieve that super creamy, melt-in-your-mouth taste that traditional mashed potatoes have. I’ve tried all sorts of non-dairy milks and was never super impressed with the result. But this time, I did it. Two words:

Cashew. Cream.

That stuff has been my jam lately. Not really like jam jam, but you get it. I am using it all over the place and LOVING it. It’s so good.

And for those of you who say “I don’t have a Vitamix/Blendtec so I can’t make it, poohey” – let me tell you one thing. My blender cost $40. It’s an Oster and I don’t think you can even get it any more. And it works amazingly well for cashew cream.

It’s all about technique, I’m tellin ya.

So these potatoes! Aside from the cashew cream, they have some Earth Balance butter (or whatever kind of butter you want), salt (of course), roasted garlic, and crispy shallots. Roasted garlic and crispy shallots! Even if you have no intention of ever making vegan mashed potatoes, you must put roasted garlic and crispy shallots on your mashers next time. Promise me.

To make these super creamy, I used my KitchenAid mixer to whip them up. It is by far the easiest way to make them nice and fluffy. If all you have is a potato masher, that’ll work too. You’ll also have nice toned arms afterward. Get to it!

In my version, I left the skins on and stopped whipping them before every single little tiny lump was out. That’s because the skins are tasty and nutritious, and because I like my mashed potatoes to have a little texture to them. BUT, if you prefer your potatoes to be skinless, or if you want only creamy and no potato chunks, then be sure to peel your taters and whip them for a few extra minutes.

Ok, I’ve been staring at these pictures too long. I’m off to go eat the rest of these now. (PS. they make amazing leftovers)

Happy weekending!