Miso Mashed Potatoes

Miso Mashed Potatoes are a rich and creamy side dish featuring a flavorful homemade miso butter. These fluffy potatoes are flavored with miso butter, garlic, and sage and go perfectly with gravy or au jus. Add these crowd-pleaser potatoes to your weeknight dinner rotation and holiday menu!

These miso roasted potatoes are wonderfully creamy and flavorful. First, the miso paste naturally has salt in it, so you will not need to add much more salt to enhance the flavor. Second, the combination of the umami-packed miso, fragrant garlic, and creamy butter make for a rich and delicious mashed potato dish.

Serve it as a weeknight side with Meyer Lemon Roasted Chicken or add it to your Thanksgiving menu. Be sure to make enough for seconds because these miso potatoes will be very popular!

Jump to:

• About Mashed Potatoes with Miso
• What is Miso?
• The Secret to Creamy Mashed Potatoes
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• What to Serve with Miso Mashed Potatoes
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top Tip
• Related Recipes
• Did You Like This Recipe?
• Miso Butter Mashed Potatoes

About Mashed Potatoes with Miso

• Taste - These potatoes are perfectly buttery and rich with a unique umami flavor.
• Texture - They are the perfect balance of creamy and thick.
• Effort - You just need to to boil the potatoes, make the miso butter, then mash and mix.
• Time - It takes about 20 minutes to prep the potatoes and 25 minutes to cook them.

What is Miso?

Miso is a Japanese ingredient made of fermented soybean paste. There are many types of miso, ranging from white to red. Red miso is saltier and more pungent than white miso.

Miso is the base of many Japanese soups, sauces, and spreads and tastes sweet, savory, and earthy all at once. We personally love to add a bit of miso to dishes that could use a little taste of umami, or the elusive fifth taste. 

Check out Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread with Miso for an example of how miso’s umami flavor can enhance the flavor of a dish.  It is also makes a great addition to ramen. Miso is sold at most mainstream grocery stores and at Japanese grocery stores like Nijiya, Mitsuwa, and Marukai.

The Secret to Creamy Mashed Potatoes

There are three key factors that make for fluffy, creamy mashed potatoes: mashing method, milk, and butter.

Our two favorite methods for mashing potatoes is a potato masher or an electric mixer. Both methods fluff the potatoes and add air to them, making for light and fluffy potatoes.

Additionally, it is important to mash or mix just until the potatoes are mixed to avoid them getting runny. Mash or mix the potatoes in a large dutch oven, which keeps the potatoes warm too.

From there, the milk and butter add the fat that the potatoes need to create a creamy consistency.

Ingredients

• Yukon gold potatoes - Yukon potatoes are the best potatoes for mashing because they have a rich flavor and when mashed are both buttery and fluffy.
• Olive oil - Use olive oil cook the miso milk mixture.
• Butter - Butter is essential to making the mashed potatoes creamy and rich. I recommend using European butter like Kerry Gold because it has a higher fat content and is richer than American butter.
• Garlic cloves - Garlic provides the classic flavor that is not overpowering.
• Sage leaves - Sage adds a sharp and earthy aroma.
• Miso paste - Miso paste adds a unique savory flavor to the miso potatoes.
• Half and half - Half and half provides extra creaminess and richness.

Instructions

• Peel the Potatoes - Peel the skin off each potato. 

• Boil the Potatoes - In a large pot, bring salted water to a rolling boil. Add peeled potatoes to the water and cook for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
• Make the Garlic and Miso Mixture - While the potatoes are boiling, place 3 tablespoon butter and olive oil in a non-stick pan on low heat.  Once the butter has slightly melted, add the garlic, sage, and half and half. Once the garlic softens, stir in miso paste until it becomes homogeneous.  Remove sage leaves.
• Mash the Potatoes - Once the potatoes are cooked, strain them and place them back in the pot. Use a potato masher or an electric beater to mash the potatoes.  Slowly add the miso milk mixture and salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste into the potatoes and blend until creamy.  
• Serve Potatoes with Melted Butter - In a small sauce pan, melt remaining 3 tablespoon butter.  Top the potatoes with butter and serve. 

Pro tip - If you want to add crunch to your mashed potatoes, don't peel the potato skins in the beginning. Instead, skip the skin peeling step then follow the remaining steps.

What to Serve with Miso Mashed Potatoes

Roasted miso mashed potatoes are a quintessential fall side. Serve them with your favorite fall dinner dishes, like Roasted Turkey Roulade or Roast Chicken Thighs and Vegetables.

If you want to make this side for Thanksgiving, check out these other perfect sides: Harvest Quinoa Salad with Arugula, Maple Roasted Kabocha, Sautéed Green Beans with Furikake, and Sautéed Mushrooms with White Wine.

Substitutions

• Red potatoes - While less buttery than yukon potatoes, these potatoes have a distinct flavor and hold their shape when boiled
• Russet potatoes - These oblong potatoes are very light fluffy when mashed

Variations

• Cheesy - Add 1 cup of gruyere or sharp cheddar cheese to the mashed potatoes, or a combination of the two, for cheesy decadence.
• Green Onion - Add thin sliced green onion for a bright garnish.
• Herbs - Add rosemary and thyme to make the mashed potatoes herbaceous.
• Honey Miso Mashed Potatoes - Add honey to the mashed potatoes to increase the umami flavor.
• No Miso - If you are not a fan of miso, check out my Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes.  These garlic roasted potatoes are my take on the classic Thanksgiving side.
• Pan Roasted Potatoes - If you prefer crispy potatoes instead of mashed potatoes, check out my recipe for Pan-Roasted Potatoes with Herbs. Make them miso roasted potatoes by adding miso butter.

Equipment

Miso mashed potatoes require common kitchen essentials. You need a potato peeler, measuring cup, skillet or non-stick pan, a medium pot or dutch oven, a potato masher, an electric mixer, a wooden spoon; and a serving bowl.

Storage

Store leftover miso mashed potatoes in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat leftover miso mashed potatoes in a pan or dutch oven over low heat or microwave them in a microwave safe container until hot.

Top Tip

• When adding salt to taste, add slowly.  The miso adds a great savory flavor so you won’t need much salt.

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