The Best Vegan Mashed Potatoes

a bowl of fluffy mashed potatoes with two pats of butter and chives in green bowl.

4.90 from 115 votes

These indulgent vegan mashed potatoes, enriched with a luxurious garlic miso butter, are guaranteed to steal the show at your holiday table. Light and fluffy yet creamy and rich, your guests won’t miss the dairy!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Author: Nisha Vora

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

US Customary - Metric

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.

Note 2: If allergic to coconut milk, sub with full-fat oat milk (full-fat is important). You might need 2 extra tablespoons. Read more in the FAQ section.

Note 3: If your butter is unsalted, add an extra ½ tsp kosher salt (or ¼ tsp salt if using other salt varieties) to the miso butter milk.

Note 4: Miso adds a lovely savoriness that makes these potatoes feel special. It might also be sold as mellow miso, yellow miso, or shiro miso. Don’t use brown or red miso, as their stronger flavor will overwhelm the potatoes.

Nutrition