I was inspired to cook mashed potatoes using olive oil instead of butter after I tasted the rich and creamy Olive Oil Smashed Potatoes at Birreria, the rooftop beer garden at Eataly in New York City. These Tuscan mashed potatoes have a great flavor from the olive oil, roasted garlic, and rosemary. Obviously, using a good quality extra virgin olive oil is the key to this recipe. Omitting the cream will result in a healthier dish, that is both vegan and gluten-free, with a more distinct olive oil flavor.
Tuscan Mashed Potatoes
Adapted from The Olive Orchard
Yields 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
1 head of garlic
1/4 to 1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for the roasted garlic (I use olive oil from We Olive or California Olive Ranch)
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, halved or quartered, depending on size
1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed
1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary, or more to taste
salt and coarsely ground black pepper
truffle oil, optional, for garnish
Method:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut off the top quarter of the garlic and place on a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and wrap in the foil. Bake for about 1 hour, until the garlic is roasted and very soft. Squeeze the soft cloves from the skins into a small bowl and mash well with a fork. Set aside.
Meanwhile, over high heat, boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 20-30 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the potato water, and mash the potatoes with a masher or fork, or rice the potatoes and place back in the pot. Add the warm cream. Stir in the mashed roasted garlic and rosemary. Add 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil slowly and stir to incorporate fully. Adding some of the reserved starchy potato water will result in creamier potatoes. Taste and add more olive oil, up to 1/2 cup, and cream, if necessary, to taste. Season generously with salt and black pepper.
Garnish with a drizzle of truffle oil or more olive oil.
Serve warm.
daisy's world 
Just mouthwatering…looks delicious! I am looking forward to trying the potato recipe on my resident on this Sunday. thanks for this recipe.
what olive oil brand(s) do you recommend?
Becca, I usually buy my olive oil from an olive oil store by my house called We Olive. In the past, I’ve bought Colavita and California Olive Ranch. Hope that helps.
daisy
I’ve done something similar before, with two minor differences. Use a bit of the olive oil to sautee the rosemary, AND add some finely chopped prosciutto to it as well. Warming it in the olive oil really brings out the flavours. Stir both in to the potatoes near the end.
It’s official these are the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever had. I left out the potato water and substituted for cream and added thyme as well.
Glad to hear it, Kristin! They are good, arent’ they?
Delicious recipe adaptations. We’ll try this version for our Thanksgiving menu tomorrow. Thanks Daisy!
Caroline, I hope you enjoy this version of your recipe. I love garlic mashed potatoes and the olive oil really makes it luscious and creamy.
I love love LOVE olive oil mashed potatoes. The interesting thing about transplanting myself to London has been learning all the new potato varieties. Oh to eat a Yukon gold!
I haven’t been able to enjoy mashed potatoes for a long time because of the dairy. This recipe might be doable for me (small portion) since it only has 1/2c heavy cream. It looks delicious!
You might want to omit the cream or leave it until the end and taste to check if you need to put the cream in. Many recipes for olive oil mashed potatoes omit the dairy. If you want to make them creamier, you could add a little more potato water.