Cheddar Greek Yogurt Mashed Potatoes

These easy Greek yogurt mashed potatoes are bright and tangy, with a bit of richness from some shredded white cheddar cheese. Serve them as is or add extra toppings to turn them into loaded mashed potatoes! Perfect for a casual weeknight or your Thanksgiving dinner.

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If you haven't tried mashed potatoes with Greek yogurt yet, we're going to need you to jump on this bandwagon with us ASAP (also on this bandwagon: our greek yogurt twice baked potatoes and greek yogurt potato salad).

You get alllll the creamy, fluffy, swan-dive-able goodness of classic mashed potatoes, but with a punch of bold, tangy flavor and a bit of extra protein (huzzah!)

Note: We put yogurt in these mashed potatoes for some bright, punchy flavor and extra protein. If you're looking for a lighter mashed potato recipe with no butter or milk, we recommend our cauliflower mashed potatoes!

A Few Notes on Ingredients

We want to highlight a couple of things before you get started:

• Red Potatoes. You may remember that we usually pick Yukon Gold potatoes as the best potatoes for mashed potato recipes. But in this recipe, we prefer red potatoes for their low starch content (which helps them stay fluffy - not gummy - even with lots of mixing) and the beautiful pops of color you get from their red skins!
• White Cheddar Cheese gives these potatoes a deeper, richer flavor (it's a great balance with that bright, tangy Greek yogurt!) For best results, shred your own cheese: Store-bought shredded cheese is often coated with preservatives that prevent it from melting smoothly.
• SALT AND PEPPER (they're in ALL CAPS so you DON'T SKIP THEM, friends!) Salt is so important here: be sure to taste as you go and add seasoning as necessary!

Scroll down to the recipe card for a detailed ingredients list and exact quantities.

How to Make These Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is pretty straightforward! Here's our basic order of operations:

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until they're fork-tender (you should be able to easily pierce them with a fork!), then drain the potatoes and set them aside.
2. Return the empty pot to the stove; stir the butter and milk together and bring them to a low simmer.
3. Return potatoes to the pot, then add your Greek yogurt (along with salt and pepper!)
4. Mash your potatoes! We used our favorite handheld potato masher and left a few lumps.
5. Stir in shredded white cheddar cheese along with another pinch of salt and pepper (be sure to taste the potatoes and add extra seasoning if it needs it!)

Three Tips for Excellent Mashed Potatoes

These are a few of our favorite tips from months of in-depth testing: be sure to check out our Mashed Potatoes 101 tutorial for the full breakdown and lots of side-by-side photos!

1. Cut potatoes into evenly-sized pieces. Cut the potatoes into similarly-sized pieces to help them cook evenly. We like to aim for roughly 2.5-inch pieces: smaller potatoes can just be cut in half, while larger potatoes can be cut into quarters. Evenly cooked potatoes make for a smoother, more uniform final dish.
2. Use a hand masher or potato ricer for best results. With any mashed potato recipe, you want to work the potatoes as little as possible: as you stir or mash, the potatoes release starch, which can make them sticky or gummy. A light pass with a hand masher or a potato ricer will limit this disturbance - which is extra important here, because we'll work them a bit more than usual when we stir in the cheese.
3. Use the good butter - it makes a difference! Our go-to is this Kerrygold Unsalted Butter, and we also love this Unsalted Cultured Butter from Vermont Creamery. Both are available at most supermarkets and have a higher butterfat content than typical American butters, making them ultra-rich and flavorful.

A Few FAQs

More Mashed Potato Recipes

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment and star rating below to let us know how it turned out!

📖 Recipe

Cheddar Greek Yogurt Mashed Potatoes

★★★★★ 5 from 1 review

• Author: Jessie
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
• Category: Side Dish
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

These easy, fluffy mashed potatoes get a burst of flavor from tangy Greek yogurt!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into quarters
• ½ cup milk
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• Optional toppings: Extra butter, chopped fresh herbs (we used parsley), extra cheese, or crispy bacon pieces

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Instructions

1. Place potatoes in a large pot. Cover them with cold water, add a generous pinch of salt, and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, cook another 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender and easily pierced with a fork. 
2. Drain cooked potatoes and set them aside. 
3. Return the empty pot to the stove over low heat. Add milk and butter and cook for 2-3 minutes, until butter has melted and mixture has reached a low simmer, then turn off the heat.
4. Return cooked potatoes to pot. Add Greek yogurt, salt, and pepper, then mash with a potato masher. Mash through any large lumps, but try to handle the potatoes as little as possible so they don't get gummy!
5. Add shredded white cheddar cheese to potatoes (add another pinch of salt and pepper here too if you need it!) Stir to fold the cheese into the potatoes, then let them sit for a minute to let the cheese melt. Stir again to mix everything thoroughly. 
6. Taste mashed potatoes. Add salt and pepper as needed. (Tip: If the flavors don't quite "pop" yet, that's a sign your potatoes need more salt!)
7. Garnish with additional butter and fresh chopped herbs (optional) and serve immediately.

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Notes

Cut potatoes into evenly-sized pieces to ensure they cook evenly. Smaller potatoes can be cut in half; larger potatoes can be cut into quarters. 

What kind of potatoes should I use? We like using red potatoes in this recipe because of their lower starch content, their fluffy and rustic texture, and the pop of color you get from the bright red skins. For a smoother, more buttery/creamy mashed potato, you may want to use Yukon Gold potatoes instead. Learn more in this article: What type of potato is best for mashed potatoes?

Additions and substitutions. Use havarti, yellow cheddar, fontina, or smoked gouda cheese in place of some or all of the white cheddar here. Use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt if you prefer. Swap the milk for half and half or heavy cream if you like. Add extra toppings (like green onions, crispy bacon, and extra cheese) to make these into loaded mashed potatoes.

Don't skip the salt! Because we're working with so few ingredients, seasoning is especially important in this recipe. Be sure to cook your potatoes in well-salted water (we usually add at least 1 Tablespoon of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt to the water our potatoes will cook in) and season again at every step of the mashing process. Taste as you go and adjust as needed! 

Nutrition

• Serving Size:
• Calories: 362
• Sugar: 5.1 g
• Sodium: 1085.8 mg
• Fat: 20.9 g
• Carbohydrates: 28.1 g
• Protein: 16.5 g
• Cholesterol: 59.1 mg

Keywords: side dish, thanksgiving, sides