Feta Mashed Potatoes

These feta mashed potatoes are creamy, buttery, and slightly tangy from the feta cheese and Greek yogurt. The feta gives them a wonderful pop of flavor. Half of it melts into the buttery potatoes while being whipped with the hot potatoes and the rest leave traces of delicious soft salty crumbles throughout. This recipe makes enough to feed a family but we halve this recipe all the time when we are making them for just us or a smaller group. This is your Greek alternative to classic mashed potatoes and we think you will love them.

Feta Mashed Potatoes Recipe Ingredients

• POTATOES: Really and truly you can mash any potato and some people love to use a variation of a few for extra texture but I have found that using Yukon Gold Potatoes or russet potatoes yield the creamiest mash potatoes. The russet are slightly starchier but absorb seasonings, butter, and cream really beautifully - yielding fluffy mash. The Yukon gold ones are more expensive but have a naturally more buttery flavour and texture. We prefer using russet potatoes for this recipe.
• FETA CHEESE: You can use any brand of feta cheese for this recipe but we recommended one that is a blend of cows and sheep milk as it will be creamier and richer in flavor and will melt into the potatoes better. I also recommend buying a block of feta instead of buying it pre crumbled - which can be a lot drier.
• GARLIC: I use 4 small cloves of garlic for this recipe - feel free to add more for extra garlicky mashed potatoes or less for more subtle flavors. We mince it and cook it with the butter but if you do not like little bits of garlic in your mashed potatoes I recommend smashing the cloves and leaving them whole, cooking them in the butter then removing them with slotted spoon just before pouring the butter into the potatoes that way you get the flavor of garlic but no pieces in the potatoes.
• SALT: Used to salt the water and flavor the mashed potatoes - adjust to taste
• BUTTER: I use unsalted butter. It will be melted and will cook the garlic then poured over the potatoes. Technically you can use olive oil but for that buttery flavor I recommend butter.
• SOUR CREAM / GREEK YOGURT: Sour cream makes mashed potatoes ultra-creamy, fluffy, and adds a bright, subtle tang that cuts through the richness of butter. Greek Yogurt is equally as good. We use either.
• HERBS & SPICES: We like to garnish with fresh herbs and our favourites for this recipe are fresh parsley, and or dill and fresh chives or green onions. if you wanted to add a dash of oregano you can too - keep them as simple or as herby as you like.
  
  

How To Make These Easy Feta Mashed Potatoes

1. COOK POTATOES: Place chopped potatoes in large pot and fill with cold water with salt - bring to a boil then reduce and simmer until fork-tender
2. DRAIN POTATOES & RETURN TO POT: Drain cooked potatoes and place back into hot pan with burner off.
3. ADD BUTTER, FETA AND YOGURT/SOUR CREAM: Pour in the garlic butter, sour cream and feta cheese.
4. MASH POTATOES: Mash or whip everything with mixer until smooth and creamy
5. ADJUST FLAVOR & TEXTURE: Add more sour cream or butter to taste or to reach desired consistency and taste and adjust for salt and pepper.
   
   

Tips to make great mashed potatoes:

• It’s always a good idea to cook the potatoes in cold water: This ensures that the potatoes cook evenly instead of putting them into boiling water.
• Cut potatoes before boiling. Don’t boil them whole for this recipe because large, whole potatoes cook unevenly. So instead, cut your potatoes into evenly sized smaller pieces for quick and even boiling. We recommend peeling them if you are using russet potatoes that have a thicker skin.
• Don’t let the potatoes cool before mashing - you want to start mashing as soon as possible after they’ve been boiled and drained for easy and effective mashing.
• Always use room temp sour cream or yogurt and feta - using it straight out of the fridge will cool down otherwise piping-hot potatoes. The cold liquid will not absorb into the hot potatoes as well
• Do salt the water the potatoes are boiled in as they will absorb it and will make them more flavourful and do check seasoning throughout the whole process. You’re going to need to use plenty of salt—starchy and fatty foods need a lot of it to really come through
• After draining the cooked potatoes put the potatoes back in the hot pot, and let them sit there shaking them up a bit in the pot for 1 minute. This lets the potatoes dry out a bit which leads to more flavorful and less waterlogged potatoes. Then start adding the butter, feta sour cream.
  
  

Feta Mashed Potatoes Storage, Reheating & Freezing

• STORAGE: You can typically mash the potatoes and keep them refrigerated for about two to three days. Same goes for leftovers. Which actually makes this a good side dish to make ahead. Be sure to store them in an airtight container otherwise they will oxidize and turn gray.
• RE-HEATING: Mashed potatoes can be reheated in the microwave, oven, or over a hot water bath. Make sure to reheat them covered to retain moisture and make sure to stir in some melted butter, sour cream, milk or cream to loosen them up before serving.
• FREEZING: I don’t typically like to freeze mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes can become grainy if they’re made with high-starch potatoes like russets or baking potatoes, and then frozen and reheated. Mashed potatoes also freeze best when they’re made with lots of butter and cream, and not just broth and oil. Make sure to freeze in an airtight container or in smaller portions in ziplock bags with air pressed out of them. (some like to flash freeze portions on a lined baking sheet until portions are frozen solid then transfer frozen portions into sealed bag or container then into the freezer). Freeze up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge then reheat as stated above.
  
  

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• Creamy Scalloped Potatoes
• Crispy Smashed Potatoes With Sour Cream and Chive Dip
• Easy No Fail Melting Potatoes
• Candied Sweet Potatoes
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Bacon
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• Greek Roasted Lemon Potatoes (lemonates patates)
• Baked Cheesy Mashed Potatoes