Easy Dairy-Free Whole30 Mashed Potatoes (Paleo & Vegan)
Whole30 Mashed Potatoes are the perfect accompaniment to epic dinners, whether it’s the holiday season, Easter, Burn’s Night, or just a regular weeknight meal. These Paleo Mashed Potatoes are loaded with garlic, rosemary, and olive oil. You won’t miss the cream! They’re Whole30 + Paleo + Vegan.

This post was originally published on November 26th, 2021.
❤️ Why you will love this recipe
- They’re easy to make: This is the most straightforward homemade mashed potatoes recipe I’ve ever made: just 5 ingredients plus salt and pepper.
- They have plenty of flavor: These healthy mashed potatoes are garlicky and herby thanks to the rosemary. They are also creamy and rich as we add almond milk and olive oil. So delicious!
- We use simple ingredients: No heavy cream, no butter. Just simple, wholesome ingredients.
- They keep really well: Perfect for meal prep, the leftovers will be something to look forward to!
- They’re vegan: As there is no dairy, this delicious mashed potato recipe is the perfect vegan option for a holiday meal or side dish anytime.
- Mashed potatoes go with anything: This is the perfect side dish recipe to whip up anytime! Serve it with baked chicken, meatballs, or steak. Take a look at my list below for more main dish serving suggestions.
🗝️ Key Ingredients
- Potatoes: Yukon gold potatoes are the best potatoes for mashing in my opinion, however, any variety of white potatoes should work, like russet potatoes for example. Red potatoes are also a great option!
- Herbs: I’m a big fan of using fresh herbs whenever I can. Fresh garlic and rosemary are pan-fried until golden and crispy and mixed into the potatoes. Such a delicious flavor! I used rosemary from my garden and minced garlic cloves. Fresh herbs are important for the amazing flavor, however, garlic powder and dried rosemary would be fine in a pinch!
- Olive oil: I used light olive oil to pan-fry the herbs and then mixed it in with the potatoes. It adds a richness that you usually achieve with cream, butter, milk, or cream cheese. Extra virgin olive oil is a great substitute if you like the olive flavor or refined coconut oil.
- Almond milk: The mashed potatoes need a little liquid for perfect consistency, so I added unsweetened almond milk which made the mashed potatoes creamier as well. Any paleo-friendly dairy-free milk will work!
🥣 How do I make mashed potatoes without milk?
1. Boil water: Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove.
2. Cook the potatoes: Diced the potatoes, add them to the pot and close the lid. You may need to turn the temperature down to keep it from overflowing.
3. Strain: When the potatoes are fork-tender, turn off the heat, strain the potatoes and return them to the pot.

4. Fry herbs: Meanwhile, in a frying pan over medium heat add the olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the garlic begins to turn golden brown, add the pepper, and then remove the pan from heat.

5. Add ingredients together and mash: Pour the contents from the pan including the oil into the pot with the potatoes, along with almond milk and sea salt, and begin to mash them with a potato masher.


6. Season: Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

🪄 Recipe Notes and Tips
- Mashing: For the best mashed potatoes, use a potato masher instead of a hand mixer or immersion blender. Over mashing or blending the potatoes makes them gluey instead of fluffy.
- Seasoning: Play with your flavors! I like to add a little thyme when I have it on hand. Chicken seasoning is also great in this recipe.
- Oil: Any healthy oil like light olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, refined coconut oil, or avocado oil can be used. If you’re okay with dairy, feel free to add a little ghee, butter, or vegan butter.
🫙 Storage and Reheating Instructions
- Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat: Reheat in a pot on the stove, the microwave, or in the oven until piping hot.
- Freeze: Yes, these dairy-free mashed potatoes freeze really well! Store them in an air-tight container and consume them within 4 months. Thaw completely before reheating.
🥔 Can you eat mashed potatoes on whole30?
Potatoes are allowed on the whole30 diet, provided that they aren’t in the form of fries or potato chips/crisps. When making mashed potatoes for whole30, avoid dairy foods like butter, cheese, cream, milk, and sour cream. Dairy is not permitted in the whole30 diet.
🥛 What’s a good substitute for milk in mashed potatoes?
Here are my favorite dairy-free alternatives that also fit in the whole30 or paleo diet:
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Cashew milk
- Coconut milk
- Coconut cream
- Soaked & blended neutral nuts to make a cream, like cashew cream
- Olive oil
- Avocado oil
- Coconut oil (use refined to avoid the coconut flavor)
- Whole30 Mayonnaise
❓ Why is my mash like glue?
If they are over-mashed, they become gluey because too much starch is released. For this reason, I recommend using a little elbow grease and mashing the potatoes with a masher and not a food processor, hand mixer, or immersion blender (speaking from experience here!).
🍽️ What to serve with mashed potatoes
- Meatballs and gravy
- Roast Chicken
- Citrus Roast Turkey
- Greek Leg of Lamb
- Paleo Pork Loin
- Steak Bites
- Beef Stew
- Brazilian Chicken Stroganoff
- Chicken drumsticks
- With sausage links for Bangers ‘n Mash
- On top of fish pie
- On top of cottage pie
- On top of shepherds pie

😋 More Whole30 Recipes you will love
- Paleo Stuffing
- Whole30 Coleslaw
- Over 40 of the Best Whole30 Ground Beef Recipes
- Whole30 Carnitas
- Parsnip Puree with Red Chili Flakes
- Mashed Rutabaga
Have you made this recipe? I’d love to know <3 Tag me (@makehealthyrecipes) on Facebook and Instagram, Pin it on Pinterest, and please leave a star rating review below! Don’t forget to subscribe to the email list (top right of this page) for sparkly new recipes in your inbox.
📖 Recipe

Whole30 Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Paleo Mashed Potatoes are the perfect accompaniment to epic dinners, whether it’s the holidays or just a regular Tuesday evening. These Whole30 Mashed Potatoes are loaded with garlic, rosemary, and olive oil. You won’t miss the cream!
Ingredients
- 2 kg (4.4lbs) white or red potatoes (I used yukon gold)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, about 30 leaves
- 3 tbsp olive oil (see note 3)
- 2 cups (473ml) unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil on the stove.
- Diced the potatoes, add them to the pot, and close the lid. You may need to turn the temperature down to keep it from overflowing.
- When the potatoes are fork-tender, turn off the heat, strain the potatoes and return them to the pot.
- Meanwhile, in a frying pan over medium heat add the olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the garlic begins to turn golden brown, add the ground black pepper, and then remove the pan from heat.
- Pour the contents from the pan including the oil into the pot with the potatoes, along with unsweetened almond milk and salt, and begin to mash them with a potato masher.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Notes
- Mashing: For the best mashed potatoes, use a potato masher instead of a hand mixer or immersion blender. Over mashing or blending the potatoes makes them gluey instead of fluffy.
- Seasoning: Play with your flavors! I like to add a little thyme when I have it on hand. Chicken seasoning is also great in this recipe.
- Oil: Any healthy oil like light olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, refined coconut oil, or avocado oil can be used. If you're okay with dairy, feel free to add a little ghee, butter, or vegan butter.
- Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat: Reheat in a pot on the stove, the microwave, or in the oven until piping hot.
- Freeze: Yes, these dairy-free mashed potatoes freeze really well! Store them in an air-tight container and consume them within 4 months. Thaw completely before reheating.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 235Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 487mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 5gSugar: 4gProtein: 5g
Nutrition information and calculations will vary with the use of different brands or ingredients. These figures are estimates. Please get in touch if you have questions!
These mashed potatoes were excellent! Adding them to my Christmas recipes.