These smoky, garlicky, cheesy mashed potatoes are irresistible! Smoked paprika and potatoes are a perfect pair, and in this recipe they make the most incredibly flavorful mash. Let this dish steal the show at your dinner table!
Sometimes, when Mr. is away and I am alone, I just eat a big bowl of mashed potato for dinner.
Don’t judge me. I just love it so much. And that’s why my mashed potato recipes tend to be heavily flavored, like this one packed with smoked paprika, garlic and cheddar! Because it needs to be tasty enough to stand on it’s own!
My love of mashed potato dates back to my childhood, as a young vegetarian in the USA before people really started catering for veggies. Mashed potato was one of the only things I could ever eat at the buffet or in the school lunches. I loved it when it was real potato drenched in butter and cream. I loved it when it was powdered potato with a little bit of cheap margarine.
I’m not even picky.
This recipe uses toasted garlic, cheddar cheese and smoked paprika for flavor, basically all the strong flavors I could find.
They work perfectly together- feel free to mix up the amounts of each- it doesn’t really matter as its not too delicate a balance.
Sometimes I make it really garlicky by only cooking the garlic for a few seconds. Sometimes I throw in less paprika and more cheese. It’s never gone wrong yet.
Just make sure to use a strong cheddar, otherwise there is no point- a mild cheddar would be drowned out and wasted.
I use a potato ricer which makes things extra smooth and perfect. You could mash with a normal masher if you like. But if you take your mashed potato seriously, and I bet you do, I really recommend investing in a ricer.
Smoked Paprika & Garlic Cheesy Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 680 g (1.5 lb) 1.5lbs potatoes
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
- 125 g (1 cup) strong cheddar cheese, grated
- Milk, just as much as needed to get your preferred texture
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes until soft.
- Meanwhile, lightly saute the garlic in olive oil on a low heat, until fragrant. Be very careful not to burn them. Just before you turn off the heat, add the smoked paprika and allow to cook into the oil and garlic.
- Mash or rice the potatoes to your preferred consistency, before adding the garlic and smoked paprika mixture. Use a spatula to get all of the infused oil out of the pan and into the potatoes.
- Add the butter, milk and cheese and stir over very low heat until melted and incorporated.
- Grind in some pepper and mix through.
- Serve!
I do this too! I vary what I throw in too, but it has to always have cheese as far as I'm concerned.
Yay I am glad I'm not the only one! I figure if a baked potato with cheese is a meal, then so is this!
I always make way too much mash, I love it that much, so I take some to work the next day. My Mister makes sandwiches out of his, the heathen! It is best on it's own I say , but I shouldn't judge . Mash is beautiful in any incarnation! Loving the addition of smoky paprika. <br />
Hahaha I do the mash for lunch the next day trick too! If you add cheese on top and stir in some onions you can pass it off as a potato pie 🙂
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Cheese makes everything better! I don’t own a ricer, but I’ve thought of investing in one for years… this recipe may have just convinced me!
Cheese makes everything better! I don’t own a ricer, but I’ve thought of investing in one for years… this recipe may have just convinced me!
Cheese makes everything better! I don’t own a ricer, but I’ve thought of investing in one for years… this recipe may have just convinced me!
I love all of these ingredients on their own, but together? OMG, so good! And I love my ricer, so anything else I can use it on is tops in my book.
I love all of these ingredients on their own, but together? OMG, so good! And I love my ricer, so anything else I can use it on is tops in my book.
I love all of these ingredients on their own, but together? OMG, so good! And I love my ricer, so anything else I can use it on is tops in my book.