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Wasabi mashed potatoes add a gently spicy, Japanese-inspired twist to a classic American side dish. Vegan, gluten-free, and make-ahead friendly.
Why this recipe works
Wasabi mashed potatoes are based on our garlicky olive oil mashed potatoes. We:
- Use Yukon gold or a similar gold-fleshed potato variety for the perfect texture
- Start potatoes in cold, well salted water so they cook evenly and season from the inside out
- Infuse the potatoes with a gorgeous garlic- and wasabi-infused olive oil
- Make use of the silky, starchy potato cooking water to create exactly as much creaminess as you like
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- Wasabi powder: Pure wasabi powder is washed, cut, and dried wasabi (Japanese horseradish). To use it, mix with a bit of water to form a paste, according to the instructions on the package. Many of the wasabi powders sold in the U.S. are made from a combination of wasabi, horseradish, and mustard seed. They taste a little bit different from pure wasabi powder, but either version is okay here.
- Wasabi paste: Wasabi paste comes in a tube and is ready to use. It tends to contain additional ingredients like oil, sugar, and starches.
- Yukon Gold potatoes or a similar gold-fleshed potato variety have just the right ratio of creaminess to waxiness to starch to yield unfussy mashed potatoes that everyone will love.
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a great batch of wasabi mashed potatoes. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Place into a well-salted pot of cold water.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving one cup of the cooking water, and return to pot.
- Gently warm the olive oil in a small pot. Add the minced garlic and simmer briefly. Off the heat, stir in the wasabi paste.
- Mash the potatoes until smooth. Pour in the oil, along with some of the reserved cooking water if you like to loosen the consistency to your preference. Stir until smooth and creamy.
Expert tips and FAQs
Made with the quantities listed in the recipe card, these potatoes have a gentle, complex heat that won’t overwhelm. If you like things really spicy, you can add as much more wasabi as you prefer.
Contrary to what you may have heard, it’s perfectly fine to make mashed potatoes in advance. The starches will relax a bit as mashed potatoes sit, and this is a perfectly good thing.
If you’ve used a heavy pot, you can pop a lid on it and expect the potatoes to stay hot for quite a while as you finish up other tasks. If not, you can easily reheat mashed potatoes in the microwave. We love our good old Corningware lidded casserole for this purpose, but really any microwave-safe serving bowl will do.
Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week and can be reheated per the microwave instructions above.
How to serve it
I first introduced this recipe to the repertoire for an Umami Girl cooking party several years ago. The menu that night
- The Benefit — our popular sake cocktail
- Chili salted edamame
- Nobu’s miso black cod (or try top sirloin with miso butter)
- Ginger and garlic sautéed baby bok choy
- Quick-pickled daikon
More favorite mashed potato recipes
Mashed potatoes may be the #1 most requested recipe in our household. Here are our favorite ways to enjoy them:
- For holidays: Perfect mashed potatoes for a crowd
- Small-batch classic Yukon Golds
- Boursin mashed potatoes
- Dairy-free, vegan mashed potatoes
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Wasabi Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (900 grams) Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- 12 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon wasabi powder, prepared with water according to package OR
- 2 tablespoons wasabi paste
Instructions
- Fill a medium pot halfway with cold water. Stir in the tablespoon fine sea salt.
- Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces, adding to the pot as you go.
- Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Scoop out and reserve 1 cup of cooking water, then drain potatoes and return to pot.
- Meanwhile, peel garlic, smash cloves with the side of a chef’s knife, and mince.
- In a small pot over medium-low heat, simmer garlic in olive oil for a few minutes without browning.
- Off the heat, stir wasabi paste into oil.
- Mash potatoes until smooth.
- Pour in garlic wasabi olive oil, along with some of the reserved cooking water to loosen the consistency to your liking. Stir until creamy.
- Taste and adjust for salt and wasabi.
Notes
- Pure wasabi powder is washed, cut, and dried wasabi (Japanese horseradish). To use it, mix with a bit of water to form a paste, according to the instructions on the package. Many of the wasabi powders sold in the U.S. are made from a combination of wasabi, horseradish, and mustard seed. They taste a little bit different from pure wasabi powder, but either version is okay here.
- Wasabi paste comes in a tube and is ready to use. It tends to contain additional ingredients like oil, sugar, and starches.
- Yukon Gold potatoes or a similar gold-fleshed potato variety have just the right ratio of creaminess to waxiness to starch to yield unfussy mashed potatoes that everyone will love.
- Made with the quantities listed in the recipe card, these potatoes have a gentle, complex heat that won’t overwhelm. If you like things really spicy, you can add as much more wasabi as you prefer.
- Contrary to what you may have heard, it’s perfectly fine to make mashed potatoes in advance. The starches will relax a bit as mashed potatoes sit, and this is a perfectly good thing. If you’ve used a heavy pot, you can pop a lid on it and expect the potatoes to stay hot for quite a while as you finish up other tasks. If not, you can easily reheat mashed potatoes in the microwave. We love our good old Corningware lidded casserole for this purpose, but really any microwave-safe serving bowl will do.
- Leftovers will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week and can be reheated per the microwave instructions above.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hungry for more?
Subscribe to Umami Girl’s email updates, and follow along on Instagram.
