These CREAMY Garlic DAIRY FREE Mashed Potatoes are the best! Enjoy this easy to make vegan mashed potatoes recipe that uses broth and olive oil instead of milk! Perfect for any dinner – you won’t believe how good they are!
Dairy Free No Milk Mashed Potatoes
It’s been 11 days without cheese or milk. 11 days. 11 days!
Cheese is something I love dearly (let’s be real), so suddenly saying goodbye to cheesy casseroles, mac and cheese, and pizza hasn’t been easy. But at the same time? It hasn’t been impossible.
Now, I’m learning to cook without cheese, milk, or butter — and surprisingly, butter has been the easiest swap. I already liked my I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter mashed potatoes, so the transition started there. Giving up milk, though? That’s been trickier. It’s in everything. But little by little, I’ve been figuring it out — and even finding some new favorites along the way, like these Dairy-Free Mini Pancake Muffins and No Milk No Eggs Pancakes, which are both total breakfast wins.
So when that mashed potato craving hit (because mashed potatoes = life), I knew I had to come up with something just as rich and creamy as my fluffiest version — without the dairy. And here they are: creamy garlic dairy-free mashed potatoes that are going to change your life. No seriously, just read the comments!
I’ve been experimenting with substitutions, figuring out what actually tastes good… and what definitely doesn’t. (Real talk: fake cheese will never be real cheese.) But with comforting favorites like these potatoes or a cozy bowl of my No Milk or Cheese Potato Soup, I’m proving to myself that dairy-free doesn’t mean flavor-free.
Vegan Mashed Potatoes
These mashed potatoes are SO EASY to turn vegan! Even though the recipe calls for chicken broth, you can substitute it with vegetable broth. And just like you have DELICIOUS Vegan Mashed Potatoes!
These mashed potatoes are creamy because we’re mashing them with broth which is a great liquid to use as a substitution for milk. Throwing in some garlic gives them a great taste and the smell is pretty delicious. Bonus points on these potatoes: You don’t have to peel them, who doesn’t love that?
So going dairy free, or just want a change in your regular mashed potatoes? Give these a try!
How to Make Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes
Bring potatoes to a boil. To peel or not to peel? That’s up to you, I prefer to leave the potatoes unpeeled, but if you want velvety smooth, peel them.
Keep boiling until a fork easily slides in, about 20 minutes.
Add chicken broth, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to potatoes and mash. You can mash by hand or with a electric hand mixer. Just be careful if you’re using a hand mixer not to overmix.
Mix until creamy and serve. Enjoy!
Storing Leftovers
Store mashed potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. When ready to heat, heat up in the microwave until fully warm. If they seem dry, add a splash of olive oil or broth and give them a mix to restore creaminess.
Pin it for later:
Creamy Garlic Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes
PrintIngredients
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes unpeeled and cut into equal sized pieces
- 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add your potatoes. Keep boiling and cook them for about 20-25 minutes, or until a fork easily slides in.
- Drain the potatoes and place them back into the pot. Add broth, olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper to pot.
- Mash until the potatoes are creamy. Serve and enjoy!
Angie says
I’ll be trying these for Thanksgiving! My young son has celiac disease and has been gluten free for a year, but was recently told to go off dairy too, which has been much harder…I realized just how many of my go-to meals have cheese in them somewhere! Would you share a link to your dairy free fudge recipe? He loves fudge as well. 🙂
Pamela says
Hey Angie! Enjoy these mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving, I think your entire family will like them! Thanks for the reminder on the fudge, sign up for my newsletter so you’ll be alerted when I post the recipe! I’ll try to get it posted in time for the holidays!
Angelique says
What’s the serving size?
Pamela says
Hey Angelique, the serving size is 4.
Lauren says
Can this be made ahead of time? Considering making for Thanksgiving…thanks!
Pamela says
Hey Lauren, you can make these potatoes the day before and then heat up for Thanksgiving! I do it all the time! Enjoy!
Kat says
I hope it’s still working for you!!! I cut out all dairy about 3 months ago due to adult (severe) acne and daily heartburn, and am super pleased to say that I no longer suffer from either!! Cheese is my absolute favorite food but there are so many ways to satiate the craving without actually eating it!! Trying out your potatoes tonight!! Love love love finding ways to make my favorite foods…minus dairy.
Pamela says
Hey Kat, thanks so much for commenting! I hope your dairy free lifestyle is going good and that you enjoy these mashed potatoes – I think you will really like them! Enjoy!
Christine Trebendis says
I have made these several times and they are great. The only difference is I add the garlic to the broth and once the potatoes are cooked, I just mash the softened garlic. It softens the flavor a little….which works great for my family. Thanks for sharing.
Pamela says
Hey Christine, I’m glad you and your family like these mashed potatoes! Thanks for commenting!
Agness of Run Agness Run says
I love mashed potatoes and your recipe definitely seems like something I have to try, Pamela! Excellent post!
tara says
turned out excellent. I hadn’t made mashed potatoes in years due to milk allergies! Thank you
Pamela says
So happy to hear Tara, thanks for letting me know!
Liz says
Thanks for the recipe
Pamela says
Of course! Enjoy!
Krishanda says
Do you have more dairy free recipes for dinner/snacking? I am a HUGE dairy lover…cheese, milk, chocolate, etc. However, I am trying a dairy free diet for my son as I am breastfeeding and he seems to react to milk. My taste buds are desperate for some good alternative foods!!
Pamela says
Hey Krishanda! I have lots of non dairy recipes such as Dumpling Soup or 45 Minute Chili or Vegetable Lo Mein. Here’s all my dinner recipes if you want to scroll through the pages. For dessert, try these Dairy Free Chocolate Donuts – they are my favorite! Or my Dairy Free Oatmeal PB Cookies! Hope you can find something that you and baby like!
Pam says
Quick question, how many does this serve – sorry if I missed the answer along the way.
Pamela says
Hey Pam, this is a serving of 4 mashed potatoes dish. On average 1/3-1/2 cup of potatoes per person. Feel free to double the recipe if you have more to feed. Enjoy!
Jake says
Made these pillow mounds of goodness tonight. My ex wife is trying to go dairy free for health reasons as well. They went great next to a steak and no one missed the butter and milk. Our six year old demolished a big scoop too! Thanks for the idea!!
Pamela says
Hey Jake, glad to hear they were a hit at your dinner table. Thanks for letting me know!
Kate says
I’m gonna have to try this. I have chronic sinus problems for YEARS. I mean 15-20. (And I’m only turning 32 next month) and I thought all I had was just digestive problems cured by Lactaid. I noticed I got very congested after eating ice cream this go around. I went. “That’s weird.” Well I decided to just forgo all dairy. LIke be super careful and I had a 90% reduction in my headaches. Although the air is incredibly dry where I am right now, lots of smoke in the air as well and that’s causing the problem NOW…
I’ve been struggling with “what about mashed potatoes? ARGH” (no mac and cheese bad enough) All these years of not knowing. After being off dairy for awhile I decided one week to have two slices of pizza, then another two the next day thinking (I’ll be fine.) And finally on the third day I had jalapeno poppers (a weakness of mine…) and bam headache for two straight days and NOTHING would kill the pain. Unbelieveable. I too love cheese. I could do without milk but cheese and after reading ingredient label after ingredient label. “CONTAINS MILK” is on SO many things. Luckily it is getting easier, more varities of things, more choices…thanks for sharing this recipe. 🙂
Pamela says
Hey Kate, that stinks! I am a big cheese lover so I feel your pain on this. Hopefully these mashed potatoes are able to make the transition a little more smoother for you! Nutritional yeast is a good ingredient to get to make things creamy without the cheese. I admit, it’s not nearly as good, but I have made some “cheese sauces” with it and they turned out ok. Good luck and hope you feel better soon!
Erica says
Thank you so much for this recipe! I know you posted it forever ago, but I’ve used it several times for 3 different rounds of the Whole30 nutrition plan, and finally got around to Pinning it. Sometimes I add garlic and sometimes I don’t; sometimes I mash by hand and sometimes I whip or use the hand mixer; sometimes I make gravy and sometimes I eat them plain; but one thing remains the same: this recipe has become my go-to for mashed potatoes! I never knew I could enjoy mashed potatoes as much without gobs of butter and some milk. And I totally agree that Yukon gold are amazing for mashed potatoes especially. Thanks for saving one of my favorite foods while I’m saving my health!
Pamela says
Hey Erica, thanks so much for your nice comment. It makes me happy to hear that you like this recipe so much! Mashed potatoes are one of my favorites and I love that we now have a way to eat them without the dairy! Keep on enjoying!
Nikki says
Thank you for this recipe! This is a perfect non-dairy mashed potatoes recipe. I use 6 Yukon Gold Potatoes as it is just myself and one other person eating, i use a little less garlic–1 larger clove, and I add 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper for added flavor and heat. Delicious!
Pamela says
Love that heat you added in Nikki! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for stopping by!
Oregon Gurl says
These mashed potatoes were BETTER than the ones with milk!!!! I’ve recently had to cut out dairy for health reasons too. Yesterday morning when I decided that I needed my #1 comfort food, meat loaf and mashed potatoes, I had a moment of panic thinking that I could I longer eat mashed potatoes. But then I found your recipe. It was the first one that came up in my search, but it looked so simple, I didn’t search further. Thank goodness, because they were delicious! I’m thinking about eating the leftovers for breakfast!!!!
Pamela says
Hey Oregon Gurl, I’m so happy you enjoyed these mashed potatoes! I haven’t had potatoes in a while, thanks for the reminder to make one of my favorite comfort foods too! Hope you keep coming back for this recipe! 🙂
Liz says
The potatoes look great. I’m going to make them today. Good for you your taking care of your health. I just wanted to share with you a thought from the Bible at Isaiah 33:24 where it says “no resident will say, I am sick” I know we don’t see that today but it’s what Jehovah God promises for the near future. I hope you liked the thought.
MB says
These were absolutely delicious! I doubled the recipe and ended up needing to quadruple the amount of broth in order to make sure the potatoes absorbed enough of the good stuff. Amazing recipe, though – really nice job!
Pamela says
Thanks MB, glad you enjoyed these potatoes!
Rae says
Thank you a ton! This is exactly what I was looking for in a mashed potato recipe. I’ve been dairy free for about eight? nine? years now due to allergies, and I just gave up gluten for the same reason a little less than a year ago. Finding recipes is not the easiest thing, but these look great. Totally trying them out for dinner in the near future!
Pamela says
Enjoy Rae! Hope you like these potatoes!
Erin says
Anytime I make mashed potatoes, I always try a different method. I’ve found that getting the most flavor into potatoes is while they’re boiling. Salting the water slightly while boiling helps the potatoes soak up the salt flavor without having to add so much after they’re done. I also like to boil my potatoes with halved garlic cloves or a few shakes of garlic powder(which ever I have on hand).
I’ve never made mashed potatoes dairy free so I’ll have to give this a try!!
Thanks!
Ashley says
I personaly dont think they come out creamy enough when I used chicken broth. So I tried using unsweetened almond milk and earth balance butter and you they taste just like the real thing! The almond milk gives them that creamy texture and since its unsweetened they don’t taste funny. That’s just my two cents :). Baking is also easier than you think, just use almond milk and earth balance sticks. No one will know they’re dairy free!
Jazz says
Thanks so much!
Janie Schwartz says
Just saw comment above. Thanks!!
Janie Schwartz says
How many does this serve?
Jazz says
I am making this recipe for a work party because there are people that are allergic to diary in the company. How many people does this one recipe feed and how many potatoes are you using per person? I have to feed about 40 people. How do you recommend I figure out the serving amount for 40 people?
Pamela says
Hey Jazz, this serving is for 3-4 people. So to make 40 servings, multiple everything by 10. Enjoy!
Jason says
Yukon Gold’s are not good for mashed potatoes. Yukon golds are waxy, you want starchy like Russets.
Pamela says
Hey Jason, Yukons work great for this recipe. Feel free to use another one if you prefer it. 🙂
Yvette says
FYI. If it is lactose you are trying to avoid, Cabot cheeses are naturally lactose free. I can’t have lactose and have just developed a new allergy that I haven’t figured out yet. Usually I can have some lactose free dairy stuff but right now all I can have is fruit,veggie and meat and it’s driving me nuts so I can sympathize. 🙂
Pamela says
Great tip Yvette, thanks!
Katherine X says
I’ve been saying this for weeks! I got diagnosed with lactose intolerance (among other issues) in June, and I felt like my world was ending. You’d think I was single-handedly keeping the CA dairy enterprise in business. That couldn’t possibly be the issue! (oh, it is. Not ALL of the issue, but definitely a big part.)
Giving up milk? Sure. Yogurt? That sucks. Cream cheese and butter? Oh no…. Cheese? OMG no, please. Ice cream? Ok you need to stop right now, cuz my PMS is going to leave a crater where my house used to be.
I thought that I might as well starve to death.
Lactase only takes the edge off the symptoms, too. I had banked on taking that stuff all day long on days when I felt a lack of self-control.
Thankfully, I took to the internet in my desperation and found out that cheddar cheese has practically undetectable levels of lactose. Kraft grated cheeses, for some strange reason that I can’t figure out, all say they have no lactose. Hard cheeses are also lactose free, thankfully.
And then I found out Lactase makes ice cream I can actually eat. It’s like going from Technicolor to black and white television, but I have chocolate ice cream, at least.
I have serious doubts about chicken broth in my mashed potatoes. I am a sour cream, cream cheese, garlic and butter kind of girl. But this is probably the 9th recipe I’ve seen that uses it, so I guess I will take the leap tonight, because I really can’t not have mashed potatoes with my meatloaf tonight.
Pamela says
Let me know ho you like them Katherine. Mashed potatoes is the perfect pairing with meatloaf! And I totally feel your pain… cheese is my weakness!
Corine says
You’re my new hero. LOVE these mashed potatoes. So easy and so flavor full. I used to love mashed potatoes but since going gluten free/dairy free almost two years ago I never thought to attempt them. Usually I make a pot of homemade chic/veg soup once a week and the broth always seems to go to waste in the end. We will have no more of that in this house. Thanks to your recipe I have been following up our soup days with some shepherd pie, or meat loaf and mashed. 🙂 My family thanks you.
Pamela says
That makes me so happy to hear Corine! Glad you guys enjoyed it! That shepherd pie and meatloaf sounds delicious with these mashed potatoes!
giranimal says
Thanks so much for this! I can’t wait to try it. I’ve been gluten- and dairy-free for, oh, maybe three years now? And I just asked my husband (who is not) if he misses mashed potatoes. 🙂 The chicken broth sounds delicious!
My dairy issues are limited to casein, which is only in cow’s milk. I wonder if you can try goat’s or sheep’s milk? Mmmmm, manchego cheese…enough said.
Sammie says
I’m so glad I found this. I almost cried when I found out I have to avoid dairy for a month to see if I’m lactose intolerant.. Especially with potatoes being a favorite and Easter being within this month range!
I’ll be sure to try this as soon as I am able to, it looks really good. I’m also going to browse to see what other recipes I can save 🙂
Pamela says
Enjoy Sammie! These are a great alternative, I don’t think you’ll miss the dairy at all!
Sammie says
Yay, found the recipe again (new laptop)! Turns out, I AM lactose intolerant and like you said in the post, found out nearly all of my favorites have milk in it. I can tolerate butter, but most lists only say modified milk ingredients instead of which ones.. I’m finally making this tomorrow since I’ve a few things of broth and almost a full bag of potatoes with no one to share 🙂
Definitely going to have to go through your site again to see if there were any others I lost.