Is it too soon? Too soon to be bringing you roasted garlic mashed potatoes that are perfect for your Thanksgiving tables. Okay, maybe it’s just a tad bit too soon. And maybe, just maybe i’ve gotten a little too attached to my slow cooker lately. I mean, if you follow me on SNAPCHAT (littlespicejar) you totes saw that snap where I had not one but TWO slow cookers running at the same time, cooking up a storm without even firing up the stove. I admit, i’m collecting these badboys like it’s nobodies business. This is the third addition to my slow cooker family and it’s such a great size. I had a tiny one that was perfect for quick dips and what not and my other one was huge! It’s a 7 or 8 quart (can’t remember) but it’s the one I use for when i’m making a big batch of this this or this. This 3 quart is perfect for small batches of soup and also SIDES! And what better way to welcome this guy then to make GARLIC MASHED POTATOES. YES! For my roasted garlic mashed potatoes, I roasted the garlic myself. And i’m totally not judging if you want to buy store-bought roasted garlic cloves, that’s fine by me! But just know that you are kinda sorta missing out on the best part of roasted garlic – also known as, the smell. And roasting garlic at home is really easy to do! You can do it in your regular oven or a small countertop toaster oven. I typically roast a few heads of garlic at once and then stash them in the refrigerator for things like –> this SOUP. Grab a couple heads of garlic and slice off the pom-pom looking this at the top. This will help peel back the paper. Leaving the head intact, gently rub and remove as much of the paper as you can. Place the garlic heads in a large sheet of foil and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil for every 2 heads of garlic. And give them a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Wrap up the foil and place it in a 375º oven for 1 hour. Now sit back and let the smell take over. It’s slightly disturbing how much I love the smell of roasted garlic. I let my garlic mashed potatoes cook for 7-8 hours on the low heat setting and I didn’t even need to cut them in half. If you’re going to cook them on the high heat setting for 4-5 hours, keep in mind you’ll need to chop them in half so that they blend easily with a hand blender. Add in the cream and let start the hand blender. Careful not to place the blades on the surface of the crockpot or you might have flying mashed potatoes! The amount of cream you add is completely up to you. You can add as little as ⅓ of a cup and all the way up to ½ a cup (which is what I did). Keep in mind these mashed potatoes are completely rustic with bits of skin and lots of little teeny tiny lumps throughout. For super smooth mashed potatoes, cut the potatoes into smaller pieces, cook on the low heat setting for 7-8 hours and blend with ½ cup of heavy cream. They’ll be unforgettable, I promise you!
how to roast garlic: Preheat an oven (or countertop oven) to 375ºF. Chop off the tip of the garlic and peel off as much paper as possible without breaking the garlic head. You want the garlic cloves to be exposed when you chop off the top. Drizzle with ½ tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap the garlic head in foil and roast in the oven for 1 hour. Additional garlic heads can be roasted together in the same piece of foil. Please keep in mind that each slow cooker is different. If you know yours runs a little hot/cold, adjust the cooking time for the mashed potatoes accordingly.
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