Even though I love trying out new recipes during the holidays, my family always requests (read: demands) that I make this one dish every single year: vegan mashed potatoes.
And it’s hard to blame them. After years of testing and retesting, these miso garlic butter vegan mashed potatoes are both richly indulgent and fluffy and light, and every bit as good as their dairy-rich non-vegan counterparts.
They’re even better when served with rich, savory vegan gravy as part of your vegan Thanksgiving menu.
Make them once, and your family, too, will never stop asking for them.
Tested, Re-tested, and Improved!
A handful of you said your mashed potatoes were perfect fresh… then turned soupy upon reheating.
So, I re-tested the recipe half a dozen times until I figured out the issue: if you over-stir the mashed potatoes, they’ll get soupy when they’re reheated.
The fix: I now recommend seasoning upfront, with more salt in the cooking water and a bit of salt and pepper in the miso butter mixture. The potatoes need little to no seasoning at the end, so folding is minimized.
Six secrets to making amazing vegan mashed potatoes
I’ve been making vegan mashed potatoes for over ten years and these are my six secrets to keep your guests coming back for more.
1. Use two kinds of potatoes.
Russets are high-starch potatoes which yield fluffy potatoes, but they have very little flavor. Yukon Gold Potatoes have a creamier texture and less starch but great potato flavor.
Use a 2:1 ratio of Russets to Yukon golds for the best of all worlds: fluffy, creamy, and richly-flavored potatoes.
If you don’t have these potato varieties, check the FAQ for alternatives.
2. Dry the potatoes well
If you mash potatoes while still wet, you get watery, soggy, sad mashed potatoes.
So after you cook and drain the potatoes, return them to their pot over low heat for a few minutes to cook off excess moisture.
3. Use “lite” coconut milk
Picking the right plant-based milk is important, and in my many tests, canned lite coconut milk was the winner. It makes the potatoes creamy without weighing them down, and it doesn’t impart a coconut flavor.
Allergic? See the FAQs for alternatives.
4. Great mashed potatoes need a hit of umami
Vegan mashed potatoes need a little oomph to rival the classic, and you get fantastic results using whole roasted garlic mashed with vegan butter and umami-packed miso.
The miso—a fermented soybean paste—truly makes these special, adding a rich savory depth of flavor that no one (omnivores included) can resist!
5. Season generously (from the beginning!)
Potatoes are dense nuggets and need a generous amount of salt in order to be properly seasoned. If you season early in the recipe, you’ll minimize the amount of stirring you need to do later, which will keep the potatoes light and fluffy upon reheating.
6. Mash gently
Use a potato masher or a ricer like this. Please never use a blender, food processor, or immersion blender, or you will have gluey potato soup.
When you’re adding the miso butter milk into the potatoes, make sure (1) the milk mixture is warm (otherwise it will cool down the potatoes, making it harder to incorporate) and (2) use a gentle folding motion and stir until just combined.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Roast the garlic: Slice off the top of the garlic head, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap tightly in foil. Roast in the oven at 400ºF/200ºC for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cloves are soft and golden.
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes.
Peel the potatoes, then wash them. Cut into fourths or eighths, depending on their size.
Add the potatoes to a large saucepan and cover with cold water.
Add 2 TBSP kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft and almost fall apart when pierced with a fork.
Drain the potatoes, then return to the pan over low heat for a few minutes to dry out.
Make them miso-garlic butter: Squeeze out the roasted garlic cloves into a bowl. Mash the garlic together with the softened butter and miso into a paste.
Add the miso-garlic butter to a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once almost melted, pour in the lite coconut milk plus salt/pepper and whisk well. Bring to a simmer and simmer gently for 2 minutes.
While the potatoes are still warm, mash them with a potato masher (or ricer).
Pour in 1/3 of the miso butter-garlic-milk mixture. Fold gently with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon just until the liquid has been absorbed.
Repeat with another 1/3 of the liquid mixture.
Repeat with the remaining liquid and gently fold until just combined. Don’t overmix!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make these up to 4 days ahead of time. Refrigerate them in an airtight container in the fridge.
To reheat, you can add them to a microwave-safe dish and heat in 1-minute intervals. Or you can reheat them over low or medium-low in a saucepan, but try not to stir too often.
For extra indulgence, add a few pats of vegan butter during the last 30 seconds of reheating, then stir the melted butter in to combine. Garnish with fresh chopped chives (or parsley).
Sure! This recipe comfortably serves 8 people as side. But if you’re feeding a larger crowd, it’s very easy to double the recipe.
Yukon Gold substitute: Use a yellow-fleshed, medium-starch potato with a buttery flavor. In the U.K, this might be a Vivaldi or Rooster. In Australia, Nicola or Dutch Cream.
Russet substitute: use a high-starch potato (floury and dry). In the U.K., look for King Edward potatoes (or Maris Piper). In Australia, try Sebago or Coliban.
If you can’t find it, you can make your own lite coconut milk using full-fat coconut milk. (1) Shake the can very well (or empty it into a bowl and whisk) until the thick cream and thin liquid are fully blended. (2) Then whisk ⅔ cup (160 ml) of the coconut milk with 1 cup (240 ml) water. That’s it!
Allergic to coconut? Full-fat oat milk was the best substitute in our tests.
Watch the YouTube video!
Note: This is an older video but many of the techniques remain the same 🙂
If you and your family love these vegan mashed potatoes, I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments. Leaving reviews and ratings helps more than you know, so thank you so much 🫶🏽
Introducing
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
The Best Vegan Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 large whole head of garlic (or 2 small heads)
- Olive oil for roasting garlic
- 2 pounds Russet potatoes
- 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt (see Note 1 for other salts)
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 3/4 cup “lite” or reduced-fat coconut milk (See Note 2)
- 1 stick (8 TBSP) vegan butter (See Note 3)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons white miso paste (See Note 4)
For serving (optional)
- Vegan butter, melted
- 1 small handful Fresh chives (or flat-leaf parsley), chopped
Instructions
- Roast the garlic: Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C. Remove the outer papery layers of the garlic head and then slice off a thin layer off the top to expose the skin of the cloves. Rub the exposed cloves with a few drizzles of olive oil. Wrap in foil and then place directly on an oven rack.Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cloves are soft and lightly golden. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of the skin into a small bowl and mash with a fork.
- While the garlic roasts, take the vegan butter and miso out of the fridge to soften.
- Peel the potatoes, then rinse them in cold water. Chop smaller potatoes into fourths and larger ones into eighths, or, so they’re roughly equal in size.
- Cook the potatoes: Place the potatoes in a large saucepan or Dutch oven and add enough cold water to cover. Stir in 2 tablespoons (21g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt (see Note 1 for other salt types).Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer until potatoes are very soft and yield no resistance when poked with a fork and almost start to fall apart, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Dry the potatoes: Drain the potatoes, then return to their saucepan. Over low, heat for a few minutes, tossing the potatoes around to prevent sticking (don’t skip, as this removes any remaining moisture in the potatoes).
- While the potatoes cook, prep the miso-garlic butter: to a bowl, add the softened butter, miso, and mashed roasted garlic. Using a fork, cream together until well combined.
- When the potatoes are done cooking, add the miso-garlic butter to a small saucepan. Turn to med-low heat. Once almost melted, pour in the lite coconut milk, 15 to 20 twists of black pepper, and ½ tsp (1.8g) kosher salt (see Note 1 for other salt types). Whisk well to combine and bring to a gentle simmer (small bubbles around the edges and just breaking the surface). Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat.
- Mash the potatoes: While still warm, add the potatoes to a large bowl and mash using a potato masher, or push them through a ricer (do NOT use a blender, food processor, or immersion blender—this makes potatoes gluey and gummy).Add about ⅓ of the warm miso milk mixture, then gently fold with a silicone spatula (or wooden spoon) just a few times or until the liquid is absorbed.Repeat with the next ⅓ batch of milk and fold just a few times. Finish with the final ⅓ milk, folding until just combined. TIP: Be gentle, as overmixing can make potatoes watery.
- The potatoes should be well-seasoned at this point, but if needed, gently fold in a bit more salt or pepper as desired.
- Serve warm. If desired, drizzle a little melted vegan butter on top of the potatoes right before serving and garnish with chopped chives.
Video
Notes
General Note: These instructions were updated in October 2026 to address some concerns about the potatoes turning soupy after refrigeration and resting. We’ve tested this multiple times since then and determined that the cause is too much stirring. If you over-fold the mashed potatoes, it loosens their starches, causing them to get soupy when reheated.
Accordingly, this recipe has been updated to season the potatoes well before mashing to minimize the stirring needed. Note 1: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt. If using other salts, use the same weight of salt in grams, or see conversions below.- Fine sea salt, use a bit more than half: for step 4, use 1 TBSP + a scant ½ tsp; for step 6, use a heaping ¼ tsp.
- Morton’s kosher salt: for step 4, use 1 TBSP + 1 tsp; for step 6, use a heaping ¼ tsp.
- Table salt, use half the salt: for step 4, use 1 TBSP; for step 6, use ¼ tsp.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this? Leave a rating below!If you love these creamy yet fluffy Vegan Mashed Potatoes, please rate and review the recipe below. It’s always so very appreciated 🙂
OH MY GOSH!
this is by far the best recipe for vegan mashed potatoes! I made this for our Christmas dinner and nobody could tell that there was no dairy. I used a potato masher and the consistency turned great as well 🙂
The miso paste was such a great ingredient, thanks so much for this. I would not be able to figure it out by myself.
I got the vegan miso butter idea from a video of yours and had it with corn on the cob. Delicious!
What do you do with the roasted garlic?? So sorry if you said and I missed, I’m just mashing them with the potatoes. I’m sure it’ll be amazing anyway, but I’d be happy to know if there’s a better way. All your recipes I’ve made are great 🙂
Thank you Nisha for another new favorite recipe! Best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made. I really appreciate all the tips, and the potato combo is brilliant!
Aww that’s so amazing to hear, Danielle! So happy to hear that these were the best mashed potatoes you’ve ever tried!
i made these twice and they turned into a watered mess i don’t know what went wrong? the second time i used less than 1/4 c coconut milk and still it’s runny as all get out. my potatoes are measured correctly. the only thing i did differently was using regular butter. the flavor is good otherwise.
Hi Michelle, hmm that’s so strange – I’ve received so many messages from other users with great feedback. Did you dry out your potatoes as indicated in step 4? If not, you would have excess cooking water leftover, which can cause watery mashed potatoes. Another possible reason is that the potatoes were overcooked – that can also cause them to be more watery. You want the potatoes to be tender but not falling apart.
I haven’t cooked with regular butter in several years but I can’t imagine that would make a big difference.
I need to make these in there morning and reheat before serving. Any suggestions? Also, I would need to double the recipe. Do I double all of the ingredients? Sometimes that doesn’t work as expected. Thanks!
Hi Joanne, you can easily double the ingredients. Since you’re just doubling the amount of potatoes, it shouldn’t be any problem as long as you have a big enough pan. And for the miso-butter-milk mixture, fine to double it as well.
As for reheating, this article outlines the best way to reheat mashed potatoes: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-reheat-mashed-potatoes-the-best-simplest-method-251034
Basically, transfer them to a baking dish in an even layer. And add some moisture back in since they tend to dry out once refrigerated: add a bit more plant-based milk and a bit of vegan butter. Cover the pan and heat in an oven at 350F until warmed up again.
You can microwave them as well if needed. Once they’re hot, you can add a bit more plant-based milk and/or vegan butter as needed and stir it in.
Is it absolutely necessary to use coconut milk? I am not a fan. I am planning on making this for Thanksgiving and using unsweetened soy milk. Thoughts?I love your cookbook by the way especially the dal! OMG
Hi Moe,
So happy to hear you love my cookbook 🙂 Thank you!
It is not essential to use coconut milk (though you can’t taste the flavor, if that’s what you are worried about). Unsweetened soy milk should work just fine!Have a great Thanksgiving!
I wanted to do a test run of a few Thanksgiving dishes before the holiday so I tried your mashed potatoes and followed all of your tips. Just WOW! They came out so perfect – light yet creamy, just like you said. Thank you for sharing all these amazing tips!
Hi Leana! That’s so wonderful to hear. Thank you for stopping by to share your feedback and so happy to know that they came out just as expected 🙂
Love these tips! So much useful information here. Will definitely be trying out this recipe on thanksgiving and the vegan butter as well!
Can’t wait to try! Can you use red miso if that’s what’s on hand?
Hi Lauren! It might, but just keep in mind that red miso paste has a deeper umami flavor so it might be more prominent. I’d try just 1 tablespoon at first to see how it goes. Hope that helps!
Made for Thanksgiving and they were phenomenal!! My husband hates coconut, and was wary when he saw the can of coconut milk, but I later overheard him telling a friend that he was impressed with how they came out and couldn’t taste it at all! Thank you for all the trial and error– and the 1 tbsp of red miso was perfect!
This is it! I am excited to follow this recipe to a T for Thanksgiving. I really appreciate your thorough explanation. I told my food scientist husband about the structure of Yukon vs. russet potatoes and he appreciates the info too!
Also— how nice to see new plant butter brands popping up. I love Miyoko’s but can’t wait to give Country Crock a try, too. Can’t pass up anything with olive oil! 🙂
Thanks so much, Nisha!
Hi Gonul! I am so happy you found this explanation helpful and thorough! And that’s awesome your hubby is a food scientist. I love learning about food science, though I wish I knew more! I am so happy to see more and more plant based dairy alternatives on the market – even in the last 3ish years I’ve been vegan, there are so many new options!
OK. Nisha. This is the BEST article I’ve ever read about mashed potatoes! So detailed and I love your tips!! Makes me want to go home right now and mash them taters up! (I mean, I will was them first lol)
You are so sweet Rasika! Thank you! I am so happy you think so and love the tips. I have some mashed potatoes in my fridge right now, I think they’ll be part of my lunch today 🙂
This was so thorough and useful! Thank you for the tips. I have always made my mashed potatoes with yellow potatoes, but am looking forward to the combination you suggested.
Hi Sharon! I am so happy you enjoyed the post and the tips. Hope your mashed potatoes this year the best ones yet!