First things first, thank you guys for all the great feedback on my Project Food Blog challenge #7 video! Voting is now open, so if you liked my entry, you can vote here. Many thanks! Now, where was I…?
Ever since my mother-in-law bought a tub of caramelized onion hummus a few weeks ago, I have been fantasizing about caramelizing a big pot of them myself. But what to do with them? Soup seemed too predictable, and I had already overdosed on hummus for the week.
What came next was a delicious creation that melted in my mouth, made me go back for seconds (and thirds), and left a huge mess in my kitchen…
Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes & Vegan Gravy
Mashed Potato Ingredients:
- 4 small white or yellow onions (or 2 large onions)
- kosher salt
- 8 medium potatoes (I used a blend of red and russet – 4 each)
- 2 tbsp Earth Balance (vegan butter)
- 1/2 cup almond milk
To Prepare: Let’s begin with the most important step – caramelizing the onions. You can use a mix of yellow and white onions – sweet varieties are best.
The key to getting caramelized onions (and not browned/burnt onions) is cooking them LOW and SLOW. Add a little olive oil and the diced onions to a Dutch oven, or other heavy-bottomed pot. Keep the heat on medium low – this is not the same as sautéing!
Once you add the onions, add a generous pinch of coarse salt (like kosher or sea salt). The salt helps bring the moisture out of the onions and releases all those yummy sugars. Keep the onions covered and cooking over low heat. Stir OFTEN so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan!
In 30 to 40 minutes, you should have beautiful brown super soft onions. This isn’t just a bad picture (okay it’s kind of bad), the onions should really be that color.
Since you have to wait 40 minutes for your onions to caramelize, that leaves plenty of time to get your potatoes ready. I used a blend of red and russet potatoes to give it a little more texture and flavor diversity.
I also like to leave the peels of my potatoes on, but if you don’t like the skins feel free to remove them at this point. Scrub the potatoes clean, and then chop them into quarters.
Add the quarters to a big pot and add enough cold water to cover the top of the potatoes by at least 1 inch. Add salt, cover, and bring the pot up to a boil – then simmer for 20-25 minutes or until very fork tender.
Here is a fun tip I learned in culinary school. When cooking vegetables, always start vegetables that grow UNDER the ground (like potatoes and carrots) in cold water, and add vegetables that grow ABOVE the ground (like broccoli and zucchini) to hot water!
When the potatoes are soft, drain the pot into a colander, and add the potatoes to your stand mixer bowl (or you can mash by hand if you are looking for an arm workout!).
Add the Earth Balance, almond milk, and a pinch of salt to the potatoes, and whisk until mashed. Scrape down the bowl a few times to make sure everything is well-combined.
You can add more or less almond milk depending on how creamy you like your potatoes. I personally like mine more “smashed” style, with a few lumps and lots of skins. Final step – add the caramelized onions and whisk another minute to combine!
Absolutely delicious.
Mashed potatoes alone are enough to get my heart rate racing, but the addition of the sugary onions took these to a new level. You can bet that this will be appearing on my Thanksgiving table…
But wait, there is more! What are mashed potatoes without GRAVY? Vegan gravy almost seems like an oxymoron, but I assure you it IS possible. It doesn’t taste exactly like traditional meat-based gravy (and why would it?), but it is a delicious compliment to these fluffy mashed potatoes.
Vegan Gravy Ingredients:
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (or sub garlic powder)
- 4 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups water (or more)
- salt and pepper to taste
To Prepare: No pictures from this part of the process because I was so busy whisking like a mad-woman, snapping pictures would have been impossible!
- Start by sautéing the garlic on medium heat in a little bit of olive oil. If you want smooth gravy with no visible lumps (the little garlic bits), then skip this step and use garlic powder instead.
- Once the garlic is browning, add the soy sauce and nutritional yeast. The key to smooth gravy is working QUICKLY – otherwise you will end up with gluey lumps.
- Add the flour to the pot and immediately start whisking the mixture – it will clump and seem all wrong, but I promise you it is alright. You might need an extra hand at this point to hold your pot steady on the stove (mine slides all over my electric cook top).
- As soon as you add the flour and start whisking, begin to slowly pour the water into the pot, while still continuing to whisk like a maniac. If you whisked hard enough, the mixture should be smooth by the time you’ve added all the water.
- Bring the gravy up to a simmer, and let it thicken for a few minutes on the stove.
- At this point you can add additional water if you prefer a thinner gravy, and you can finish seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Pour over your mashed potatoes and ENJOY!
It’s hard to believe that a bowl this hearty and filling is also healthy and vegan.
I was so excited about this creation that I didn’t eat anything else for dinner. Just a big bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy.
Okay if I’m being honest, I went back for seconds twice, and actually ate three bowls of mashed potatoes for dinner. And then I felt like exploding.
And speaking of explosions, this one did a number on my kitchen too.
Between writing down the recipe, snapping photos of each step, and whisking until my arm fell off, my kitchen took quite a beating.
Some recipes are just totally worth it.
Enjoy!
116 Comments so far
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Wow. I think this post was written especially for me. I cannot grasp the deliciousness of mashed potatoes with caramelized onions. Must make.
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My kitchen looks like that even if I’m trying to make the simplest of things. I am still trying to figure out how to photograph the kitchen without getting everything [lens of the camera, etc] all messy! :P
I love mashed potatoes and caramelized onions, so this combination would be a hit here.
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these look perfectly delicious… wow. I went through a phase where I added caramelized onions to EVERYTHING… and I used to put them on baked potatoes – awesome flavor. :)
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What’s the reasoning behind under/cold and above/hot?
Claire
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Root vegetables (under) tend to have a lot more starch. The cold water helps release some of that. Also, root veggies typically take much longer to cook. So by bringing the water up to a boil, they are in the cooking water longer and cooked all the way through (not just on the outside). More delicate vegetables can cook through by simply blanching in a quick boil! Hope that helps. :)
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Wonder if that would work in a crock pot?
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Which part – the onions? Maybe. They need to be stirred pretty often though, so I’m not sure.
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Emily Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
I’ve never tried it, but I have a recipe from a crock pot cookbook for caramelized onions. I think the lower heat makes it so stirring isn’t as necessary?
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OMG, these look amazing! Mashed potatoes and onions are two of my favorite things :) These are definitely on my Thanksgiving menu!
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No comment :)
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
But I made these just for YOUUUU! :)
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nom nom nom.
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Your recipe instructions are always so well written and detailed. These look delicious.
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What an interesting gravy recipe! I would have just thought of using something like Smart Balance and vegetable broth! Mashed potatoes are so comforting and versatile- I can’t wait for Thanksgiving.
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Um, these look phenomenal. If you need someone to adopt any leftovers, you just let me know!
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Caramelized onions make everything so much better! :)
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Mashed potatoes and gravy are my favorite thing everrr!
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I love meals like this! Comforting, healthy and delicious! Looks beautiful!
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I love caramelized onions, but haven’t done them myself. You may have just inspired me to try it.
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Yum – just in time for Thanksgiving.
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That looks fantastic! However, all I could eye was your standing mixer – I’m so jealous!
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I always make a huge mess when making mashed potatoes.
Your recipe looks divine. I wish my husband didn’t despise onions, or I’d be making those asap.
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SO trying this! I need a Thanksgiving dish to bring to dinner…so this may be it! ;)
http://www.bishella.blogspot.com
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Ummm these sound DIVINE!
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You’re going to make these the night before the National Marathon, right? ;-) It’s all in the name of carboloading
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
November 16th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
OBVIOUSLY.
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Oh no you didn’t!!
I love potatoes and I love onions – GOTTA make this, like, tonight :)
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Too cute!
It totally shows that you had a bunch of fun making the video (well, in between the nerves and hard work, im sure)!
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Ohh mashed potatoes are always such a pleasing dish to eat! They are the ultimate comfort food :)
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Wow, what a brilliant vegan gravy recipe! Must be delicious! Never would have thought of that ingredient combo for gravy.
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this looks so tasty! i love how nutritional yeast works in gravies and sauces, and the nutritional stats of it are such a plus! i’ve never mashed potatoes with the mixer, only by hand (actually, I just make my bf do it by hand.. he enjoys it!) but I’ll have to use this trick when he’s not around :) thanks for sharing!
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Those sound so yummy but really how could you go wrong with mashed potatoes or caramelized onions.
:)
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Wow lady, these look fantastic. I love the idea of teaching others to eat more healthy around the holidays. In my opinion, the healthier meals usually taste better too! They don’t leave you wanting to barf on yourself as your passed out on the couch :)
TMI?? hahah
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Allison B Reply:
November 16th, 2010 at 9:10 am
That is exactly the feeling I am trying to avoid next week!!!
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How great! I never would have thought to mash potatoes in my stand mixer. Brilliant!! And that whole recipe sounds so incredibly delicious. I’m so curious to taste that vegan gravy as I’m not a huge fan of traditional gloopy gravy. Excellent post!
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That definitely looks worth it! I love “whipped” potatoes. Totally smooth, no chunks. I love these kind of recipes because you can do it exactly as you like with minimal adjustments.
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Love the explosion. Love the recipe. Love the photos!!! I would like that bite on the fork in the last photo please! yummm
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YUM!! Looks delicious!
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The two words “caramelized onions” could probably sell me on ANY recipe :)
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OMG, how did I never think to use my KitchenAide to make the mashed potatoes?! GENIOUS!!
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Um, YUM! That’s all I have to say. ;)
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Mmmm I never make mashed potatoes but these look great! I too like to leave the skins on – extra nutrients please :) And adding caramelized onions sounds like a great idea.
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Ok I’m so going to risk going 1990s and say-You Rock! First the kale soup and now mashed potatoes…I’m just so overwhelmed with deliciousness right now!
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This is amazing! I am on a smoosh-y foods diet (wisdom teeth) and was in serious need of some creative and smooth meals. Thank you!
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Great. Now I HAVE to make mashed potatoes tonight when I get home from work at MIDNIGHT. *sigh* I’m going to be thinking about these all day.
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oh my – that looks like heaven in a bowl!!!
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Love onions and this meal was grreeat. Just ate it now!!
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MMMmmm :)
And just voted team Front Burner (Emily you should really consider making T-shirts) ;)
Anyone know if there is away to check the standings so far?
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Off topic.
Help! I have a recipe for a vegan pumpkin pie and I can’t find mesquite flour. Is there something I can substitute?? It’s for the pie filling recipe. Titled gluten free/sugar free vegan pumpkin pie. I want it to be sugar free doesn’t have to be gluten free.
Does anyone or do you Emily have ideas? I want to make it for this Wednesday’s supper. My BD & my son’s BD and girlfriend sugar free right now.
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
November 16th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Hmmm I dont know anything about mesquite flour, but there are lots of GF flours you can use. Millet, coconut, teff, etc.
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Smart lady, adding caramelized onions to mashed potatoes. Two fantastic foods on their own — combined?? Heavenly. I’ll have to try this!
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Yum! I want these for Thanksgiving.
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Oh, I’m so testing these out for Thanksgiving. Thanks for the recipe, I’ve been looking for something that would come close to the potato souffle stuff we make, and this sounds like it will come close.
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Your pictures are beautiful.
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YUM! I can’t wait for mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving :-) I like to leave the skins on too.
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I make a huge mess anytime I cook anything. The mashed potatoes look amazing! Yum!
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i love when people/places make mashed potato & leave the skin on, seriously, yummy!
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Yep, I could eat a bowlful of vegan mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner too!
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I love it that you keep it real and include the photo of the messy kitchen!
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Soy sauce in the gravy…..total genius! I’m impressed. I’m definitely going to make that this Thanksgiving.
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Just made this, and it was wonderful! I made gravy with a can of cream of mushroom soup, some skim milk, paprika, marjoram, and garlic and it tasted great with the onions!
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I want those potatoes.
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Aren’t carmelized onions just delicious?!?! Mmm! And with taters and gravy..yummy! I’m glad to not that I;m not the only one that destroys my kitchen during cooking adventures…
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Oh, wow. Anything with caramelized onions is the best thing I’ve ever ate. And I’ve been looking for a great, simple vegetarian gravy. :-) It might not get to make the rounds at Thanksgiving, but it will make the rounds into my tummy soon!
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I have never thought to make mashed potato using my mixer.
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Caramelized onions are so delicious. What a unique idea to use them with mashed potatoes. YUM.
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Thanks for the directions for the onions, you rock!
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My kitchen ALWAYS looks like a hurricane went through it after I cook. The kitchen in my apartment is rather small and there isn’t enough counter space!
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VOTED!!! Hope you win, good luck :) Love your blog and use your recipes as inspiration all the time.
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omg! this looks so AMAZING!
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Carmelized onions are heaven in vegetable form.
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I’m sitting here picturing what these must taste like, and now I want mashed potatoes at 9 in the morning.
A casserole-like dish I like with carmelized onions that I adapted from Serious Eats a couple years ago: rice + lentils + spicy chicken sausage (optional, obvs) + carmelized leeks or onions. Yum!
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Thank you for educating me that caramelized onions have to be cooked in a heavy-bottomed pot! I tried to make them in a frying pan a little while ago and they just fried to a crisp. Now I know! =) I never would have figured out that nuance otherwise.
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Wow, those look great! I sent the link to my mom for an idea for thanksgiving!
Oh and check it out, I finally got inspired to start a blog. Not particularly sure of my direction yet, but I hope I stick with it. Thanks for the inspiration!
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Three hoorays for healthy, delicious recipes!
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And just when I was wondering how I was going to pull off vegetarian gravy, you came to the rescue.
I thank you, and so does my boyfriend who was facing the dire prospect of not getting gravy for his mashed potatoes this thanksgiving.
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Yum! I will be making this gravy very soon, perhaps with mashed cauliflower for Thanksgiving.
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Sounds great. Can’t wait to try it .
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This looks delicious! I’ll definitely have to make this. Thanks for the tip about cooking veggies. I learned that the hard way. After several years of cooking and finally one day telling my mom how much I hated boiling potatoes since I always burned myself puttin them into the water. She starting laughing, telling me I should have payed more attention to her cooking while I was growing up. I had no clue you were suppossed to add them to COLD water, haha. Now I don’t mind boiling potatoes. Oh and my kitchen always looks like that after I finish cooking! I try to clean as I go but it doesn’t usually work out.
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it looks really delicious
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I pretend I am going to make the mashed potatoes for thanksgiving. That onion process seems intense… 30+ minutes. I’m so allergic to onions my eyes water at the sight of them almost. But, this seems worth the tears…
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[...] 3. The FrontBurner’s Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes [...]
I just made this for dinner and my husband and I were HUGE fans. I like that gravy MUCH better than any gravy I’ve ever had (even back in my non-veg days).
Thanks for a GREAT recipe!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
November 19th, 2010 at 10:25 am
Oh good – I’m so glad you liked it! The gravy is definitely different…but in a good way. I agree. :)
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[...] school, here is a tip that Emily over at The Front Burner shared with us today (her recipe for caramelized onion mashed potatoes is definitely making its way to my T-day table) from her time at Johnson and Wales U’s [...]
[...] I love caramelized onions and I really love mashed potatoes, but the thought of combining the two never crossed my mind until I saw this recipe. [...]
I cannot believe I found your blog through the ususal internet serendipity AND I have been thinking about mashed potatoes with carmelized onions! It’s like I put it out into the universe and the universe gave me you. The thought started after I mashed some potatoes and turnip (white turnip, not rutabaga) and cauliflower. The turnip and cauliflower were left over from roasting vegetables. This was all good, but the onions popped into my mind the next day. Thank you especially for the detailed instructions on carmelizing onions. Sooooo goooood.
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Yum! I’m making these for Thanksgiving. I told my husband that I was going to attempt to make homemade mashed potatoes for the 1st time and he said, I like the ones with the skins in them and I said, these do! He’s pretty excited.
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[...] you’re intimidated by the thought of caramelizing onions, don’t be. It’s simple. The key, as Emily says, is too cook them low and slow. Make sure to keep stirring them so all of the pieces get an equal [...]
Just finished making these for my family’s Thanksgiving. Of COURSE, I did a little taste-testing and… wow. Just wow. Thanks for the recipe, Emily!
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am at Julie’s RIGHT NOW, making these babies :)
our onions are carmelized, and I’m just waiting for the potatoes to finish getting nice and tender! So thankful for you and your fabulous recipes and tips this wonderful holiday!
xo
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[...] brussels sprouts (though only a few are left) and glazed carrots. Caramelized onion mashed potatoes. Which Heather and I agreed were life-changing (thanks again for the recipe, [...]
[...] As soon as I’d eaten some of that bread (and iced and stretched), I got started on my main contribution to the Thanksgiving dinner I was attending: Emily’s Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes. [...]
I just made these for dinner and OMG, they were delicious. My husband is not a fan of onions and when he saw the amount of onion I had in the pan he looked terrified. I told him to trust me, (and you of course!) that carmelized onions would taste different than regular cooked onions. Well, let me just say that when he took a bite of the finished product his eyes lit up and he told me they were the most flavorful mashed potatoes he had ever tasted (he had 3 servings). Let me also add that I didn’t have enough potatoes so I used half boiled potatoes and half boiled rutabega. I added 1 Tbs of olive oil to cook the onions and about 1 Tbs of Earth Balance to the mashed potatoes. Just curious how much you used? Thanks for such a delicious recipe!!! I’m already planning to make it again for a holiday dinner we are having next weekend.
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Emily Malone Reply:
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:37 am
I am so glad you and your husband both enjoyed the potatoes! Good idea subbing in with rutabaga too. Pretty sure I also used 1 tbsp of Earth Balance in the potatoes, but it should say specifically in the recipe. Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
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[...] The feast of all feasts. And the fact that I made these delicious potatoes and they were amazing. (seriously – Make them for dinner tonight. Trust me.) I also made [...]
[...] skillet over low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized. This should take 20-30 [...]
[...] No formal recipe for this one, but for a very good caramelized onion tutorial, check out Daily Garnish. [...]
[...] one thing could be worth dirtying four pans and a stand mixer for dinner – homemade mashed potatoes with vegan gravy and green beans. Oh my [...]
[...] Side dishes Daily Garnish: Carmelized Onion Mashed Potatoes with Vegan Gravy [...]
WOW holy yum! Can you use real butter instead of Earth Balance?
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Emily Malone Reply:
August 1st, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Yep, sure thing!
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Made this tonight but used parsnips instead of potatoes—oh my GRAVY. DELISH!!
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Emily Malone Reply:
September 5th, 2011 at 10:07 am
Yummmmmmmmm
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i realize that this recipe was posted nearly a year ago, but i just made them a few nights ago. oh. holy. YUM! awesome recipe.
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Emily Malone Reply:
September 14th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
So glad you liked it! We love that one too.
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Mmmmmm. I just finished making (and eating) the mashed potatoes and gravy and they were so delicious! I didn’t have onions on hand and I used unsweetened soy milk instead of almond milk. This was my first time making gravy and I was so afraid I wouldn’t be able to do it but I did! Thank you for posting this. I will be making this comfort food over and over again!
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Emily Malone Reply:
October 10th, 2011 at 10:16 am
I love this recipe – glad you did too!
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[...] we first have Emily from the Daily Garnish to thank for this one — she came up with the idea, and then I adapted it, making it totally not vegan. I made it her way last Thanksgiving, changed [...]
Oh, wow, this looks wonderful! This sauce must be delish like anything…
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We love these so much, I blogged about them. Can’t wait to see what you’re cooking up this year! Happy Thanksgiving!
http://www.livingwiththelowrysblog.com/2012/11/5-favorite-vegan-thanksgiving-recipes.html
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This looks awesome
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I made the gravy to go on top of my vegetarian shepard’s pie and the gravy was absolutely delicious! I will never again make any other kind of gravy. You are my favorite Chef. I love your recipes. Thank you for another great recipe!
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Emily Malone Reply:
December 18th, 2012 at 8:04 am
You are most welcome! :)
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Um, your pregnancy announcement led me back to a post, that led me back to a post… anyway, I ended up here. And I made these tonight. THANK YOU!!!
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Hi there! I just wish to give a huge thumbs up for the nice info you’ve
got right here on this post. I shall be coming back to your weblog for more soon.
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