Living in Texas has its culinary perks, and Saltgrass Steakhouse has been my family’s go-to celebration spot for years. Dad ordered the T-bone, but Mom couldn’t stop talking about those incredible roasted garlic mashed potatoes. “We need to figure out how they make these,” she whispered across the table, already planning to recreate them at home. When I finally asked our server about the secret, she smiled knowingly. “It’s all about roasting, not boiling,” she winked. So, I was determined to recreate this recipe for CopyKat.
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Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
The science behind these exceptional mashed potatoes comes down to two key techniques. First, baking the potatoes instead of boiling them concentrates their flavor while preventing them from becoming waterlogged. Second, roasting the garlic transforms its sharp, pungent bite into sweet, mellow notes that infuse the entire dish. The russet potatoes provide the perfect starchy base that absorbs butter and milk while maintaining that homestyle texture Saltgrass is known for.
Ingredients
- Olive oil – helps the garlic roast to golden perfection
- Russet potatoes – Their high starch content creates the perfect fluffy texture
- Butter – Adds rich flavor and creamy mouthfeel to the finished potatoes
- Milk – Creates the perfect consistency while adding subtle creaminess
- Salt – Enhances all the flavors in the dish
- Freshly ground black pepper – Provides subtle heat and depth
- Garlic bulb – When roasted, delivers sweet, mellow garlic flavor throughout
How to Make Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Wash potatoes then rub potatoes with softened butter.
- Place potatoes in a 375 degrees oven and bake for 1 hour or until potatoes are soft when checked with a fork.
- Cut off the top of the garlic bulb.
- Spoon the olive oil on top of garlic and wrap it in foil.
- Place garlic in the oven with the potatoes and bake for ½ to ¾ hours, until soft and golden in color.
- Allow garlic to cool slightly then squeeze the soft garlic from the bulb.
- When potatoes are done, chop them slightly and place them in a large mixing bowl.
- Add salt, butter, pepper, roasted garlic, and milk.
- Beat with an electric mixer until combined and fluffy.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
- Store leftover mashed potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- For longer storage, place in freezer bags and freeze for up to 1 month.
- To reheat refrigerated potatoes, microwave with a splash of milk, stirring halfway through.
- Alternatively, warm on the stovetop over medium-low heat, adding a little milk or butter to restore creaminess.
- Frozen potatoes should be thawed overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- When reheating, stir occasionally to ensure even warming and to maintain the desired consistency.
Saltgrass-Style Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Russets
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds Russet potatoes
- 5 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 head of garlic
- 1½ teaspoon olive oil
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Wash potatoes and rub potatoes with 2 tablespoons softened butter
- Bake potatoes until the potatoes are soft when checked with a fork. The potatoes should take about 1 to 1¼ hours.
- Cut off the top of the head of garlic so you can see garlic cloves without any peelings covering them. Spoon olive oil on top of garlic and wrap it in foil.
- Place the wrapped garlic head in the oven while baking the potatoes. Garlic will take about ½ to ¾ hours. The garlic should be soft and golden in color when finished baking.
- When garlic is removed from the oven, cool it slightly then squeeze soft garlic from the head.
- Measure 1½ teaspoon of roasted garlic for the mashed potatoes. Depending on the size of the cloves it should take about 4 to 5 cloves. More garlic may be added if desired.Â
- When potatoes are done, chop them slightly and place them in a large mixing bowl.
- Add 3 tablespoons butter, salt, pepper, 1½ teaspoons roasted garlic, and ½ cup milk.
- Beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. There will be little chunks of potatoes that will not be completely mashed. The small lumps and peeling will give these potatoes a hearty flavor.
- If the mashed potatoes seem dry, add a little more milk.
Nutrition
Love potatoes? Try these recipes!
- Air Fryer Baked Potato
- Crockpot Cheese Potatoes
- Fridays Potato Skins
- Lipton Onion Soup Potato Recipe
- Potato Soup from Scratch
- Roasted Red Potatoes Recipe
Favorite Steakhouse Recipes
Check out more of my potato side dish recipes and the best copycat recipes for casual dining restaurants here on CopyKat!
Why do you instruct people to bake an entire head of garlic, but then only use 4 or 5 cloves? That seems like an big waste to me. Or am I missing something? Thanks.
Roasted garlic has a unique flavor, and it is very easy to roast as a whole bulb, I am sorry you felt this was a waste of time. I’ll add a section for what you can do with the rest of the garlic. Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you!
Tried the Garlic Mashed Potato recipe today, they turned out great, just like Saltgrass! Thanks!
Thanks buddy. Good site you got here. Got some extra sites to link to with a bit more information?
This is similar to a recipe that my family has used. Except we don’t really ever measure the ingredients out, we do it based on our tastes. We also add sour cream to the mashed potatoes, it adds a really nice flavor!