These rich and creamy, buttery, garlic-y mashed potatoes have a secret ingredient: cottage cheese. They’re loaded with flavor, higher protein than your standard mashed potatoes, and perfect for anything from a weeknight meal to a side for your holiday spread.
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Why you’ll love them
Garlic, butter, potatoes…. is there anything better? These mashed potatoes are full of flavors that your entire family will love.
Not only are they delicious, but they have a bit more nutrition folded in too. Instead of needing to use a bunch of heavy cream to get rich and creamy mashed potatoes, cottage cheese is the secret weapon here.
Believe it or not, cottage cheese is actually a pretty popular addition to mashed potatoes.
Cottage cheese has a creamy texture and mild flavor that makes it super versatile and perfect for recipes like this. Plus, it adds quite a bit of protein. Just one serving of these mashed potatoes has a whopping 10g of protein! Pretty impressive.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Yukon gold potatoes: My favorite potatoes for mashed potatoes are Yukon gold, but you can sub in any potatoes you like. Russet potatoes or red potatoes work great too.
- Cottage cheese: Use whole-milk cottage cheese for the creamiest potatoes. Good Culture is the absolute best in my opinion.
- Parmesan cheese: Parmesan cheese adds a salty cheesiness that is just so yummy in these potatoes. You can sub in any other cheese that you like if you prefer.
- Garlic: You’re going to quickly sauté the garlic for these potatoes but you can also use roasted garlic or sub in garlic powder if you need to.
- Butter: Yes, we’re using real butter here! Because these potatoes are so flavorful, you don’t need quite as much as other mashed potatoes recipes.
- Milk: Whole or 2% milk will yield the creamiest potatoes. You can also use heavy cream.
- Sour cream: I like adding sour cream just to add a bit of tanginess to these potatoes.
- Salt & pepper: Everyone’s a little different, so make sure your taste testing so you can add exactly how much salt and pepper you and your family prefer.
- Chives: Chives are optional, but they’re one of my favorite additions to potatoes.
Kitchen tools for this recipe
How to make them
- First, wash your potatoes thoroughly and peel them. Cube them into large, uniform chunks (they don’t need to be perfect).
- Transfer the potatoes to a large pot of boiling water and boil until fork-tender, about 15 minutes.
- While the potatoes are boiling, blend the cottage cheese. You can use an immersion blender to blend them directly in the container, or use a table-top blender.
- In a small sauté pan, melt 2 tbsp butter and sauté garlic for 1-2 minutes.
- Next, when the potatoes are cooked, drain them well and add to a large mixing bowl. Mash with a potato masher. If you don’t have a potato masher you can also use a hand mixer or smash with a whisk.
- Next stir in the sour cream, parmesan cheese, milk, salt, pepper and blended cottage cheese. Combine well and add any additional salt and pepper to your preference.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with an additional tablespoon of melted butter before serving. Garnish with chives and enjoy!
Recipe FAQ
Do I need to blend the cottage cheese?
You don’t have to, but you’ll very likely have some cottage cheese curds that aren’t fully blended into the mashed potatoes. When you blend the cottage cheese, it becomes perfectly smooth and mixes into the potatoes seamlessly. Worth the extra step!
Can I use fat-free cottage cheese?
You can, but they won’t be as creamy or flavorful. I recommend using full-fat cottage cheese for this recipe.
Do these mashed potatoes store well?
Yes, they store and reheat great! Simply store in an airtight container for up to 5 days and then reheat when you need them.
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Recipes to serve with your potatoes:
Arugula Pear Salad with Toasted Pecans & Feta Cheese
Perfectly Cooked Thin Sliced Chicken Breast (Air Fryer Recipe)
Crispy Smashed Broccoli Parmesan with Lemon and Garlic
Maple Balsamic Brussel Sprouts (Stove-Top)
Creamy Garlic Cottage Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 lb Yukon gold potatoes about 12-14 yukon golds
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 2 tbsp sour cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp salt add additional to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper add additional to taste
- chives finely diced
- melted butter for drizzling on top
Instructions
- First, wash your potatoes thoroughly and peel them. Cube them into large, uniform chunks (they don't need to be perfect).
- Transfer the potatoes to a large pot of boiling water and boil until fork-tender, about 15 minutes.
- While the potatoes are boiling, blend the cottage cheese. You can use an immersion blender to blend them directly in the container, or use a table-top blender.
- In a small sauté pan, melt 2 tbsp butter and sauté garlic for 1-2 minutes.
- Next, when the potatoes are cooked, drain them and add to a large mixing bowl. Mash with a potato masher. If you don't have a potato masher you can also use a hand mixer or smash with a whisk.
- Next stir in the sour cream, parmesan cheese, milk, salt, pepper and blended cottage cheese. Combine well and add any additional salt and pepper to your preference.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and drizzle with an additional tablespoon of melted butter before serving. Garnish with chives and enjoy!
