Greek Yogurt Mashed Potatoes (with Lemon & Feta)

These Greek Yogurt Mashed Potatoes are the perfect complement to lamb, ham, beef or poultry. These tangy lemon mashed potatoes with feta cheese will have everybody going back for a second helping!

It’s no secret that lemon juice is a crucial ingredient in many of my recipes (have you tried my lemon margarita and lemon smoothie yet?), but did you know I even like lemon juice on my french fries?

One of my favorite local Greek carryout restaurants serves their french fries topped with feta cheese (which I love, see also: feta dressing and watermelon feta salad), oregano and lemon juice. These fries are such a perfect accompaniment to a great gyro or Greek salad.

This restaurant also serves a stellar Greek lasagna, so narrowing down what I want to order can be a difficult decision. But as soon as I tried fries this way, I was hooked, and I always find a way to order them now (even if that means eating lasagna with a few fries on the side).

These Greek yogurt mashed potatoes are my adaption of this delicious flavor combination (and they make amazing mashed potato cakes and loaded mashed potato casserole if you have leftovers!).

Why make lemon mashed potatoes?

There’s a reason that your taste buds traditionally crave ketchup with fries – the acid in the tomatoes perfectly cuts through the fat and salt of the fries, making you want to go back for another bite. This interplay of rich and acidic is what makes you crave more.

The same can (maybe) be said of the tangy buttermilk in ranch dipping sauce, for those who love that with their fries. But lemon juice is really where it’s at for me with fries right now.

In fact, I’ll even ask for a lemon wedge at other types of restaurants. Servers assume it’s for my water, but it’s really for my fries!

Promise me you’ll give lemon juice on french fries a try yourself. I think you’ll love it as much as you love my lemon curd cake.

Today, I’m translating the same flavor combination of potato + lemon + feta + oregano into a holiday or everyday side dish. Except instead of crispy fries, it’s soft, pillowy lemon mashed potatoes.

Serving Instant Pot short ribs or honey mustard pork chops for your holiday dinner or beef kafta for a weeknight meal? These are the perfect side.

These Greek yogurt mashed potatoes want to be on your table with those lamb lollipops (Easter salad and Easter fruit salad would pair nicely, too).

Or beef. Or roasted turkey with maple bourbon glaze or Cajun turkey. Or almond crusted chicken. Or on top of a mini shepherd’s pie, even.

Just get these mashed potatoes with yogurt onto that table! Preferably topped with some gravy from scratch or even my bacon gravy recipe.

Why I prefer Greek yogurt mashed potatoes:

I know I’ve mentioned it so many times, but Greek yogurt is ALWAYS in my fridge! A few years back, I largely started using it in place of sour cream in most of the typical places you’d find sour cream (like my healthy buffalo chicken dip).

I now use Greek yogurt on top of burrito bowls and baked potatoes, and I even dunk quesadillas into it. I also make a mean Greek yogurt pasta sauce, and eat it with spoon as savory yogurt or as part of a yogurt parfait bar. I use it to make frozen yogurt pie in the summer. And mashed potatoes with yogurt are a regular occurrence around here.

Personally, I think it’s more versatile than sour cream, since it can be used a condiment, sauce or ingredient, or just eaten straight from the container.

I mean, you COULD eat sour cream straight from the container, but I’m guessing most people don’t want to.

I also think that Greek yogurt has even more sour tang than sour cream, especially in mashed potatoes with yogurt. It really adds a zingy kick to these Greek yogurt mashed potatoes, and its rich, thick texture adds a nice creamy element, too.

These Greek mashed potatoes with yogurt come together in 40 minutes or less.

Like my colcannon soup, this deliciousness starts with russet potatoes (russets, as well as Yukon golds, are the best potatoes for mashed potatoes). Save the baby potatoes for mini Hasselback potatoes.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks so that they’ll cook through faster. Put them in a big pot of water, and add whole cloves of garlic to the potato water, for flavor.

Boil until the potatoes are tender, which should take about 15 to 20 minutes (you can even make salmon baked in oven or my bourbon glaze recipe for salmon in this time!). Drain the potatoes and put them in a big bowl (the garlic cloves should go into the bowl along with them!).

Add the Greek yogurt, milk, butter and salt and pepper to the bowl, and either continue mashing with a handheld masher, or break out an electric mixer for a quick whir around the bowl, until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Then, grab a spatula and fold some feta cheese, fresh oregano, and lemon juice and zest into the mashed potatoes with yogurt. Then garnish the Greek mashed potatoes with a little more feta, and grab a fork!

P.S. If you like mashed potatoes with cheese, you’ll love my cheddar mashed potatoes and blue cheese mashed potatoes, too.