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These slow cooker mashed potatoes are made with creamy, skin-on red potatoes, and plenty of butter and garlic! They’re thick and fluffy, and preparing these country-style mashed potatoes in the slow cooker couldn’t be easier. There’s no boiling, with only 6 ingredients and hardly any hands-on time.
You might also love my buttermilk mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, and these parmesan garlic roasted potatoes.
Making my favorite garlic mashed potatoes in the slow cooker might be the best kitchen hack ever. Add the potatoes and garlic to the slow cooker in the morning, and come home to perfectly softened spuds in the evening. Then, all you have to do is add the sour cream and get mashing! Make these slow cooker garlic mashed potatoes as smooth or chunky as you’d like.
The Best No-Boil Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- No waiting for potatoes to boil. Toss the ingredients into the slow cooker and walk away. By the time you come back, the potatoes will have softened. All you have to do is mash them.
- Family-friendly. Kids and adults alike gobble these potatoes down. The recipe is also easy to make in large batches, perfect for family dinners and holiday crowds.
- Country-style. I leave the potato skins on, and some of the mash is a bit chunky. As a result, these aren’t your typical silky smooth mashed potatoes, but that doesn’t make them any less creamy or rich.
You’ll Need These Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make these creamy, rustic slow cooker mashed potatoes. For full ingredient amounts, check the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Red Potatoes – Yukon Gold and Russet potatoes will also work here.
- Butter – Use salted or unsalted. If using salted butter, reduce the amount of added salt in the recipe.
- Garlic – Fresh and roasted garlic is my favorite. You can also use 1½ teaspoons of garlic powder instead of the fresh cloves in the recipe.
- Water – Chicken broth works great, too.
- Sour Cream – You can use full-fat or low-fat sour cream, whichever you prefer.
Which Potatoes Should I Use?
Russets and Yukon Gold potatoes are often the first choice for mashing. However, for this recipe, I recommend red potatoes! Red potatoes are starchier, and they absorb fats and liquids very well with less risk of becoming rubbery during the cooking process. Also, since we’re keeping the peels on, the pops of color don’t hurt.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure the potatoes are fully cooked. You should be able to cut through the potatoes easily with a fork. If they’re not fully cooked, your mashed potatoes won’t be as fluffy and creamy.
- Mash the potatoes while they’re hot. Don’t let the potatoes rest and cool before mashing them. The starch will solidify and harden, making the mashed potatoes gluey and grainy.
- Control the sour cream. Don’t add it all at once or your mashed potatoes may come out too liquidy. Pour it in little by little and adjust the consistency as needed.
- Substitute sour cream. You can just as easily enrich your mashed potatoes with heavy cream, whole milk, buttermilk, or mayonnaise.
- Season at the end. When food is hot, it’s harder to tell how salty it really is. Waiting until the end to season the mashed potatoes will give you a chance to nail the amount of salt and pepper added.
- Add-ins. To boost the flavors, try adding in diced cooked bacon, chopped chives, rosemary, or seasonings, like paprika.
What To Serve with Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes and roast turkey are a great match, as is beef wellington, and this festive stuffed pork loin for a Christmas dinner menu. Don’t forget the cranberry sauce, traditional stuffing, and homemade gravy!
Any other night of the year, I’ll serve these slow cooker garlic mashed potatoes with smothered steak or pork tenderloin with a veggie side, like asparagus or steamed broccoli.
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Slow Cooker Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 5 pounds red potatoes, washed and chopped into two-inch pieces
- 4 tablespoons butter, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- ½ tablespoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
- 1½ cups sour cream
Instructions
- Combine the ingredients. Place the potatoes, butter, garlic, salt, pepper, and broth (or water) in the slow cooker.
- Cook. Cover with lid and cook on high for 4 hours, or cook on low for 6 to 7 hours.
- Add the sour cream and mash the potatoes. When finished cooking, remove the lid and add the sour cream. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher to your desired consistency.
- Finish and serve. Taste for salt and pepper, and adjust as needed. Serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Slow Cooker Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Freeing up valuable stovetop space, these slow cooker mashed potatoes have earned a permanent spot on my Thanksgiving and Christmas tables. Making mashed potatoes has never been easier.
- Combine the ingredients. Wash and quarter the potatoes, and add them to your slow cooker or crock pot with the butter, garlic, and water.
- Cook. Close the lid and cook on High for 4 hours, or on Low for 6-7 hours.
- Add the sour cream. Once the potatoes are fork-tender, mix in the sour cream.
- Mash the potatoes. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes to your desired consistency. Make them as smooth or as chunky as you like! Season the mashed potatoes with salt and pepper to taste, then serve warm and enjoy.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Refrigerate the slow cooker mashed potatoes in an airtight container for up to 5 days. I like to use the leftovers to make mashed potato pancakes!
- Freeze. You can freeze these mashed potatoes in a freezer-friendly bag or container for up to 12 months. The texture may change slightly upon thawing, but the flavor will still be nice. To defrost, transfer the mashed potatoes to the fridge the night before serving them. See my freezer mashed potatoes for details.
- Reheat. When reheating, mix in 1-2 tsp water and warm the mash in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot throughout.
3 questions! You only *smashed* the garlic and didn’t mince them up? Since there’s only 3 cloves of garlic, how strong is the flavor? And lastly, I only have russet potatoes. Would that still work fine for this recipe in the crockpot? (Or do I need to adjust anything?) Sorry, guess that was 4 questions! lol I hope to make this for Thanksgiving!
Hi Char!! Yep, just smash it. Gives it more flavor – not sure if you like the flavor of garlic, but if you do, it tastes amazing. 😀
You can use russet potatoes, but unlike the red potatoes, russet should be peeled first because the skin is a lot tougher.
You don’t have to adjust the time so long as you cut them up smaller – about 2-inch cubes. I hope this helps! Let me know if you need anything else. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!
Wow … old school mashed potatoes!
It looks a lil’ bit like the Long Horn style!
My favorite!
This look so yummy! I think garlic and potato is a perfect combination 🙂
Looks delish! If I were to halve this recipe to make for just me and my husband, would I need to adjust the time in the slow cooker at all?
Hi Jennifer! I would say to go ahead and check the potatoes at around 3 hours, if cooking on high, but check at 4 hours if cooking them on low. Hope that helps!
Mmmm. Looks delish! Going to make this for New Years Day guests. Thanks!
These look fantastic – love doing it in the slow cooker!
my mother in law makes a great mashed potatoes in her slow-cooker. going to pass your recipe to her when we visit her for Christmas or maybe I ask Santa to bring me a slow-cooker 🙂
Beautiful photos Kate