You know that untrustworthy friend who drops an entire stick of butter (or two if it’s a large batch) in the mashed potatoes when you are not looking?

It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem. It’s me.

Or I was.

Luckily for my arteries and yours, I found a super secret ingredient that will allow the butter to be cut in half, while keeping all the flavor and adding a brand new flavor that will make people say, “That’s delicious! What is it?”

It’s miso butter shallots.

Yes, it sounds weird. I got the idea from a pizza. (Please don’t stop reading. I wouldn’t expect a story about mashed potatoes to begin with pizza either, but I promise no mozzarella or tomato sauce will be added to your Thanksgiving potatoes.) I made Half Baked Harvest’s Mushroom Pizza with Miso Butter Shallots from this cookbook, and all I wanted to eat was the miso butter shallots, which is saying something given that mushroom pizza is my favorite food group. The savory flavor was perfect, and I kept wondering what other foods could benefit from it. Orzo? Mac & cheese? Mashed potatoes?

Once the idea was in my head, I began Googling to see if other people also use miso and random alliums in their potatoes. I found that miso butter garlic potatoes is not unheard of, and even featured in Bon Appetit’s Thanksgiving menu last year.

So I bring you miso butter shallot mashed potatoes. This recipe is for 2 lbs of potatoes, but if you are feeding a crowd, you’ll need to double or triple this. Since I am a lazy person, I used new potatoes, so no peeling would be needed. All the nutrients are in the peels, right?

Top Secret Mashed Potatoes


Miso can be tricky to find for those in the Midwest and in small towns. As a Michigander, the only store where I am reliably able to find it is Fresh Thyme, where it keeps company with the tofu and the kimchi in the refrigerated section. If your grocery store fails you, try Amazon.

Ingredients
2 lbs potatoes
Half a stick (4 tablespoons) butter
2 to 3 shallots sliced thinly
2 garlic cloves 
¼ cup white miso paste
¾ cup milk (plus more, if needed)
Directions
Bring potatoes to a boil in a pot of salted water.

  2. While the potatoes are cooking, melt butter in a skillet. Once melted, reduce heat to medium low and add the shallots, garlic, and miso. Do not salt at this point. The miso is already salty. These will caramelize while the potatoes are cooking. If needed, reduce heat to low.
  3. Once the potatoes are fork tender, drain the potatoes and return to the pot along with the miso butter shallot mixture and milk. Mash with a potato masher or with an electric mixer, adding more milk if needed. Taste to check salt levels. If you salted your potato cooking water well, you likely won’t need to add any salt.