The Best Healthy Mashed Potatoes Recipe with greek yogurt and olive oil! These low calorie mashed potatoes are the perfect holiday side dish.
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We all love a big helping of creamy, fluffy mashed potatoes, especially around the holidays, but most traditional recipes are high in fat and can be a little heavy.
Just like our Healthier Mac and Cheese and Lemon Basil Risotto, we knew with a few little ingredient swaps, we could make lighter mashed potatoes that were still just as delicious and comforting with that same great flavor and texture.
You will absolutely love serving these creamy mashed potatoes during the holidays or even for an easy family dinner side dish!
Why we love this recipe
There is a lot to love about this healthy side dish. It’s one of our favorite sides for a family or holiday dinner because it’s:
- Easy to make – You only need about an hour to make these potatoes and most of that is cooking time.
- Simple Ingredients – The ingredients are all simple and most are pantry staples that you probably already have!
- Lighter than traditional mashed potatoes – Most potatoes are loaded with butter and heavy cream, but these use milk and plain greek yogurt. This gives you the same creamy potatoes with less fat and some added protein.
Are mashed potatoes healthy? Typically they aren’t the healthiest side dish. They’re often very high in carbs and fat.
Most people add a lot of cheese, butter, sour cream, and cream to their mashed potatoes but you can easily lighten them up! You’ll be shocked at how creamy and delicious these potatoes are.
Ingredients
To make these mashed potatoes you’ll need:
- Yukon gold potatoes (russet, or idaho potatoes work great as well)
- extra virgin olive oil
- milk, plain greek yogurt
- salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
- fresh rosemary (dried rosemary works also)
- cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese
Substitutions
Potatoes: Any potato will work in this recipe, but our favorites are Yukon gold potatoes (some people like russet potatoes or idaho). If you want to use sweet potatoes, try our Maple Sweet Potatoes.
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil, butter, or ghee.
Milk:Â Any milk should work in this recipe. Feel free to sub in your favorite dairy or non-dairy milk too.
Greek Yogurt: I haven’t tried this recipe with regular yogurt or a higher fat % greek yogurt. I think it would work fine. I’m not sure how dairy free yogurt would work in this recipe.
Spices: Feel free to omit garlic/onion, or salt + pepper to your taste. You can also add some more fresh herbs or dried herbs like thyme and sage.
Rosemary: If you don’t have fresh, you can substitute 1/4 tsp of dried rosemary. We really recommend fresh though as it adds a ton of flavor!
Cheese: It’s best to grate your own cheese rather than using pre-shredded. Feel free to use sharp cheddar cheese. You can substitute additional parmesan cheese instead of cheddar cheese. This will lower the lactose levels, possibly making it easier on your stomach! We don’t recommend making this with dairy free cheese. It doesn’t melt as well. We also don’t recommend doing this with low fat cheese.
How To Make Healthy Mashed Potatoes
- Boil potatoes for 20-25 minutes or until fork tender.
- Once cooked, drain well and add to a large bowl or stand mixer.
- Add olive oil, milk, Greek yogurt, and spices to the potatoes.
- Mix on low speed until smooth. (Don’t over mix!) Add in ½ of cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine and put in a casserole dish.
- Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
FAQ’s
Most mashed potatoes are loaded with butter, but this healthier mashed potatoes recipe gets some creaminess from milk, cheese, and greek yogurt (which adds some protein). Also, using Yukon Gold Potatoes will help you have creamier potatoes too!
We love gold potatoes because they are super creamy when mashed, so you don’t have to add a ton of butter. Some people also like russet potatoes.
This healthy mashed potato recipe has 246 calories per serving.
You definitely can prep these potatoes ahead of time! Make the potatoes as written and store in the fridge for up to 4 days and then heat in the microwave or oven when ready to enjoy.
Serving Options
These healthy mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish for a weeknight dinner or your holiday meal! We love to pair them with:
- Crock Pot Ribs
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
- Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
- Baked Boneless Chicken Breast
- Crockpot Turkey
- Chicken Marsala
Storage options
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. We like these airtight containers for freezing.
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or in the oven.
Other healthy side dish recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+Â Healthy Dinner Recipes, Healthy Potato Recipes, or these favorites: Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Healthy Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 lbs yukon gold potatoes peeled & cubed in 1 inch pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350, peel and chop your potatoes.
- Fill a large pot about halfway with cold water, add your potatoes to the pot and bring to a boil on high heat. Start with cold water if possible as this will help the potatoes cook evenly and give you a better consistency when mashing.
- Cook the potatoes for 20-25 minutes or until fork tender. Once cooked, drain well and add to a large bowl or stand mixer.
- Add olive oil, milk, Greek yogurt and spices to the potatoes. Mix on low speed until smooth. (Don’t over mix!) Add in ½ of cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine.
- Put mashed potatoes in an oven safe dish ( 8×8 works well) and top with remaining cheddar and parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 350 for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden brown.
Daniel Ventura says
Love this. Made a few times