No-Turkey Day is coming and we can already taste the delicious food that is going to grace dinner tables across the nation. If Thanksgiving Day dinners are tough and time consuming, vegan and gluten free Thanksgiving day dinners can cause a unique challenge. Well we are here to make your No-Turkey Day food preparation a little easier.

Mashed potatoes are a staple on the Thanksgiving dinner table and this is one of our favorite vegan garlic mashed potato recipes from one of our favorite cookbooks, Easy Vegan Celebrations: Over 150 Great-Tasting Recipes Plus Festive Menus for Vegantastic Holidays and Get-Togethers All Through the Year by Alicia C. Simpson.

Gluten Free and Vegan Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes

2 heads garlic
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds organic russet potatoes (about 4 medium potatoes), scrubbed and cut into uniform chunks fine sea salt
¾ cup of your preferred unsweetened milk alternative
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Take garlic bulbs, pull off the outer peel, and cut ¼ to ½ inch off the top of the bulb, exposing the top of the individual cloves of garlic. Place garlic in a baking pan and drizzle with the olive oil, making sure each bulb is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the cloves feel soft. While the garlic is baking, put the potatoes in a medium saucepan with a dash of salt and enough water to cover them by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, and boil about 15 minutes, until you can easily stick a fork in them.

After taking garlic out of the oven, let cool enough that it is easily handled. Cut skin around each clove with a paring knife, and then squeeze out of their skins. Drain and transfer potatoes to a large bowl and add the milk, roasted garlic cloves, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mash potatoes until creamy, or your preferred consistency, then salt and pepper.

Everyone likes mashed potatoes differently: some prefer the potato skins mixed in, and some prefer no skin. Others like their potatoes a bit creamier, while still others like them a bit thicker. Remember that this is a base recipe and quite forgiving – so feel free to play around with it and make it your own!