Bring a pot of salted water or vegetable broth to boil. Add potatoes, and boil for 20 minutes until fork tender (you can stick your fork into the potato and it slides right out).
Drain the potatoes completely through a strainer or sieve and then place into a bowl.
Using your potato masher, mash the potatoes for a few seconds until broken up.
In a small separate bowl, place the coconut milk and the vegan butter and microwave for 45 seconds until hot and melted together.
Add the coconut milk vegan butter mix hot to the mashed potatoes along with the minced garlic and sea salt and mashed all the ingredients together with the potato masher until incorporated and the mashed potatoes are smooth and creamy.
Serve with black pepper (optional) and an extra pat of butter. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Tips for Success
Mashed potatoes seem simple enough on the surface, but there are a few mistakes you’ll need to avoid:
Don’t overwork the potatoes. This will ruin their texture and instead of fluffy and creamy, you’ll get strangely gummy. No one wants that!
Don’t skimp on the salt. For real, you need to add plenty of salt to the pot of water before you add your potatoes because it infuses them with flavor. You can’t make up for this by adding more salt to the finished potatoes.
Don’t use refrigerated coconut milk. You want the rich, creamy canned stuff for maximum mashed potato deliciousness.
Add-In Ideas
Mashed potatoes are like a blank slate—there are so many possibilities!
Instead of fresh minced garlic, try adding roasted garlic instead. Because the flavor of garlic changes and mellows out when roasted, you can add a whole head and it will be amazing.
Fresh herbs are fabulous in vegan mashed potatoes. Rosemary pairs especially well with the garlic.
Add onion powder, sliced green onions or chives, vegan bacon, and your favorite plant-based cheddar for the mashed potato equivalent of a loaded baked potato.
Cut the carbs and use half potatoes, half cauliflower. (To really reduce the carbs, make my Vegan Mashed Cauliflower.)
Store vegan mashed potatoes in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days. When you’re ready to eat them again, warm them in a pan set over low heat, adding coconut milk or broth to thin, if needed. You can also heat them in the microwave until they’re warmed through.
To freeze, keep mashed potatoes in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator, then warm them up using the instructions above.