These Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes with Olives are different, but in such a great way! If you like olives, this dish is for you. They have no dairy but are just as creamy and luscious as their counterparts that are jammed with butter and milk. Just like anything else, the quality of ingredients is paramount, and for these, the olive oil must be one that is high quality. Choose an olive oil that you love to drizzle or use for dipping. Flavored olive oils are great here as well!

Olive Oil vs Cream and Butter in Mashed Potatoes

Most recipes you will find for mashed potatoes will have loads of butter and cream to make them super smooth and creamy. Although we often love a good creamy mashed potato, like our Parmesan Peppercorn Mashed Potatoes, sometimes we want something a bit lighter and easier on the gut. Using olive oil is the answer here!

The result of using olive oil in mashed potatoes should be a silky mash. Adding the chopped olives will give you small chunks of flavor-bomb olives that will have you turning to this (and creative variations) often. Don’t get me wrong, I love butter, but I also love good olive oil, and these will make you a happy tater-lover.

How to Get a Smooth Mash

In order to get a smooth mash with any type of mashed potatoes, we use a potato ricer or a tamis. These work nicely to easily mash the potatoes. We realize those aren’t always the most common of tools in the house. You can mash the potatoes with a masher or fork, or whip them if you don’t have a ricer or tamis. The goal is to try to completely remove any lumps. You can even cook these potatoes a bit further than you typically would to achieve this soft consistency.

Boiling Potatoes without Skin is Necessary in this Recipe

One final note on these mashed potatoes (that sort of goes with cooking them a bit over) is that they are the only mashed potato I would ever recommend that you peel and cook in water. Most other types and my first choice is to bake and pass through a tamis. Some others I would slowly poach the potato with skin on, then peel and sometimes even dry out in an oven if needed. But for these, the water retention, that in most mashed potato recipes is a bad thing, works well since the fat level is quite low. Without the extra water, they can be dry and have an undesirable texture.

Enjoy!

We hope you enjoy this recipe for Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes with Olives! If you give it a try, leave us a comment below or tag us on Instagram @cooking_with_wine!

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Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes with Olives

Recipe by Angela and Mark Course: Side DishesCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

minutes

Ingredients

700 g 700 (about 4-5 medium) peeled Yukon Gold potatoes
70 g 70 (½ cup) rough chopped mixed olives - we like Kalamata (black) and Casteltvetrano (green)
165 g 165 (½ cup) good extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon 1 kosher salt (or more to taste)
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

Directions

Cut your peeled potatoes into quarters, or large chunks, and cover by an inch or two with cold water in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the potatoes can be pierced with a skewer, fork or knife without resistance. This should take about 45 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, measure out your olive oil and roughly chop your olives. The olives you use could vary in salt content, so tasting along the way will be important.
When the potatoes are done, drain in a colander and rice them into a bowl. Using a spatula, mix the potatoes while adding ¾ of the olive oil. Fold the potatoes over and over until you achieve a smooth consistency. Add the olives and mix well. If the potatoes are not silky, add the rest of the oil, which you will most likely have to do. If you need more olive oil, add a tablespoon at a time – the potatoes will absorb what you add to a certain point so do this gradually. Add the pepper and taste for seasoning – add the salt (or more than 1 tsp) if needed.
You can serve at this point and garnish with olives, olive oil, a small amount of chopped fresh herbs or nothing at all!