Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes
These perfectly creamy dairy free mashed potatoes are made without butter thanks to a secret ingredient! Rich, fluffy and filled with flavor, they are the best easy side dish for the holidays or a regular cozy dinner. Gluten free and vegan.
Mashed potatoes are an ESSENTIAL part of any holiday table. Am I right or am I right?
Buttttt there’s also that small fact that they tend to be loaded up with gobs of butter and plenty of heavy cream. Which, um, is not a good thing when you can’t eat any dairy.
So, after much trial and error, today I bring you the BEST creamy, dreamy, dairy free mashed potatoes. That don’t involve any sort of butter substitute.
Now, hear me out. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with butter substitutes. BUT I’ve found that some of them can leave a sort of weird flavor or aftertaste in the mashed potatoes.
Which we definitely don’t want. No. No. No. So, you may be asking…
What IS a good substitute for butter in mashed potatoes?
Extra virgin olive oil. It’s adds a rich, buttery flavor to the potatoes … without any actual butter. And it helps to give them that perfectly creamy, fluffy texture thanks to the healthy fats involved.
And when you combine that richness from the olive oil along with some extra creaminess from unsweetened plain almond milk, you wind up with some seriously delicious mashed taters.
Which are just begging to be added to your Thanksgiving menu ASAP.
How To Make Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes
So, let’s talk about how these easy potatoes go down:
Boil the potatoes. First up, we’ll slice our potatoes and cook them in a large stockpot until nice and tender.
Add in the mix-ins. We’ll drain the potatoes, set the pot back over the warm burner and then add in some olive oil, almond milk, salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Mash, mash, mash. Next, we’ll mash away until smooth and creamy, pouring in additional almond milk as needed to reach that perfect consistency.
Adjust the seasonings. Last but certainly not least, we’ll add in additional salt and pepper as needed to really make the flavors pop.
Tips & Tricks
- You can absolutely peel your potatoes – I just prefer the added texture from the skins and all the extra nutrients.
- While I HIGHLY recommend sticking with yukon gold potatoes as they make for the creamiest final product, you could substitute russet potatoes instead. Just keep in mind there will be a difference in texture.
- Want to kick up the flavor even more? Fold some extra sliced chives into the potato base instead of just using them over the top.
- And finally, feel free to garnish your potatoes as desired. My mom always serves her mashed potatoes with a good dash of paprika – also delicious!
How To Store
Let the potatoes cool to room temperature then transfer to an airtight container. They’ll keep in the fridge for about 4 days.
When reheating, I suggest adding in a good splash or so of extra almond milk and / or olive oil, as the potatoes tend to dry out a bit as they sit in the fridge.
So stir in as much as needed to get them back to your desired creaminess / texture.
You can reheat them in the microwave OR in the oven. I suggest about 325 to 350ºF in a covered dish for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.
Additional Dairy Free Sides You Might Enjoy:
- Dairy Free Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Dairy Free Sweet Potato Casserole
- Savory Sweet Potato Casserole
- Vegan Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Dairy Free Biscuits
- Maple Mustard Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Maple Roasted Vegetables
Did you make this recipe? Rate and review it down below! I’d love to hear from you.

Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes
These perfectly creamy dairy free mashed potatoes are made without butter thanks to a secret ingredient! Rich, fluffy and filled with flavor, they are the best easy side dish for the holidays or a regular cozy dinner! Gluten free and vegan.
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ pounds yukon gold potatoes, sliced ½ inch thick
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup unsweetened plain almond milk, plus extra as needed
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- sliced fresh chives, for garnish
- extra drizzle of olive oil, for garnish
Instructions
- Add the sliced potatoes and ½ teaspoon of the salt to a large stockpot. Add in enough cold water to cover the potatoes, then bring the water to a boil.
- Reduce the heat slightly and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes and return to the pot.
- With the pot set on the warm burner (with the heat turned off), add in the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, the olive oil, almond milk, pepper and garlic powder.
- Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until smooth and creamy, adding in additional milk as needed to reach your desired level of creaminess - I usually add about an extra ¼ cup.
- Taste and season with additional salt / pepper as needed (I usually add more of both to really make the flavors pop), then transfer the potatoes to a serving dish. Top with some fresh chives and a drizzle of olive oil.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 269Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 281mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 4gSugar: 2gProtein: 4g
Nutrition data shown is an estimate provided by an online calculator and is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered a substitute for a medical professional’s advice.
Made this on Thanksgiving. Originally planned on making two batches one with dairy milk for my guests and the other (this) for me. After tasting this one I decided to just serve it all as dairy free and no one said a thing lol. I was really happy to be able to eat mashed potatoes!!!
haha I love this!! So happy you (and everyone else!) enjoyed them 🙂
I am so excited to find this recipe just in time for Thanksgiving. I do have a question, can the almond milk be substituted with another diary free milk? I not only have a dairy allergy but I can tolerate nuts. Do you think oatmilk or rice milk would work for these?
Hey Molly! Yes absolutely. You could really use whatever dairy free milk you like best (I’ve also made them once with broth instead of milk – I didn’t like them quite as much that way but it still works!). Hope you enjoy! 🙂
can i use regular milk instead of almond milk?
Yep, absolutely (as long as you don’t need to keep them dairy free!).
Mashed potatoes are totally a holiday must-have! Love the idea of using olive oil instead of butter.
I’ll never forget the olive oil mashed potatoes that we made in cooking school — they were so good. I love that they don’t need cream or butter to be amazing, and yours look spot on! They’re hands down my favorite side for Thanksgiving. 🙂
Exactly! Thanks friend!
I too love to leave the skin on for the extra texture and nutrients. This dairy free version is definitely a keeper and since olive oil is good for us, so I am going to add lots of more of it :-))
haha right??