These healthy mashed potatoes with rosemary and goat cheese are pure comfort food. Make them in 1 pot for a super easy side dish everyone will love!
Disclosure: The Idaho Potato Commission paid all my expenses to attend the 2016 Idaho© Potato Harvest Tour. I was not compensated to write this post. As always, I love sharing my favorite nourishing, whole foods with you. All text and opinions are 100% my own.
Inspired by my trip to Idaho to learn about the annual potato harvest, these healthy mashed potatoes with rosemary and goat cheese remind me of everyone I met in Idaho ~ warm, comforting, and totally down-to earth.
I’ll share the recipe with you in a sec, but first I want to share the highlights of my trip to Idaho with you, and, hopefully, inspire you to eat {more} potatoes!
We started our tour in Idaho Falls, with a trip through the potato fields at Hoff Brothers’ Farm where we experienced the annual potato harvest totally hands on-by digging our own potatoes! This was followed by a delicious dinner prepared by Mrs. Hoff herself, and included huckleberry potato vodka shots from 44 North Vodka, along with homemade lavender ice cream.
Oh, my, yum! On days 2 & 3 of the tour, we toured Wada Farms, a fresh potato packing facility where they are starting to pack potatoes in bags made with 25% potato starch for a more environmentally friendly and sustainable option. Pretty cool, huh?!
We also visited Lamb Weston, a frozen potato processing plant, where we tasted some “ever so slightly addictive” Alexia Potato Puffs with Roasted Garlic and Cracked Black Pepper. Yum!
And, finally, we visited Idahoan, a dehydrated potato processing plant, where we sampled 100% pure dehydrated potatoes fresh off the processing line. Note: Dehydrated potatoes can be healthy too, but they do need a little butter and salt IMO. #justsayin
Learn more about Idaho© grown potatoes…
- Idaho’s weather {warm days & cool nights} + rich volcanic soil + mountain-fed irrigation = The perfect combination for growing nutritious and delicious Idaho potatoes.
- 13 billion pounds of potatoes are harvested in Idaho each year!
- The Russet Burbank, the most common variety of potato grown in Idaho, was developed in 1872 by American horticulturist Luther Burbank. In addition to russet potatoes, other potato varieties grown in Idaho include golds, reds, fingerlings, and more!
- Idaho© grown potatoes provide more than 30,000 jobs, and contribute $4 billion to Idaho’s economy. In addition, harvesting potatoes is a family affair. During the potato harvest season, which typically runs from late August to mid October, students are let out of school for a couple of weeks at a time to help with the harvest. How cool is that?!
- Naturally gluten free, potatoes are super nutritious as well! Learn more about key nutrients and health benefits of potatoes, plus grab my favorite healthy potato recipes in this post at The Spicy RD–> In Defense of Potatoes.
- Be sure and visit the Idaho Potato Commission website for delicious potato recipes and to learn more about Idaho© grown potatoes!
Let’s make some healthy mashed potatoes with rosemary and goat cheese~they are SO darn good!!!
Healthy Mashed Potatoes w/ Rosemary & Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 large Idaho Russet Potatoes
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut them into ~3/4 inch cubes. Place chopped potatoes in a large pot. Add water to cover potatoes, plus 1 extra inch on top. Cover pot with a lid, and heat on high until boiling. Remove lid, turn down heat to medium low, and cook an additional ~5 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Cover most of the pot with the lid, and very carefully pour out excess water into a sink. Let potatoes sit in pot, uncovered for 5 minutes to let any additional water evaporate.
- While potatoes are cooking, finely chop the fresh rosemary, and set aside until ready to use.
- After cooked potatoes have rested for 5 minutes, add the butter, olive oil, goat cheese, and milk to the pot. Mash, and mix ingredients together with a potato masher, or hand mixer until desired consistency is achieved. Stir in rosemary and salt to combine well. Taste, and add additional seasoning if desired before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Before I go, I wanted to share more of the beautiful state of Idaho with you! We were spoiled rotten on our last day of the Idaho© Potato Harvest Tour, with a stay at the spectacular Teton Springs Lodge in the Teton Valley, along with horseback riding and wining and dining at the utterly charming Linn Canyon Ranch. Trust me, I WILL be back.
A huge thank you to my friends at the Idaho Potato Commission, Hoff Brother’s Farm, Wada Farms, Lamb Weston, and Idahoan Potatoes for arranging and coordinating this incredible trip, along with all the other fabulous food bloggers who joined me on the Idaho© Potato Harvest Adventure!
Let’s chat!
- What’s your favorite way to eat Idaho© potatoes?
- Have you ever visited Idaho before? If so, where have you been in Idaho?
- Did you learn anything new about Idaho© potatoes today? Anything else you want to know about how potatoes are grown, or about potato nutrition???
- Anything else you would add to these healthy mashed potatoes ???
