Mashed potatoes are a popular side dish that goes well with plenty of things and is a vital component for many meals. It can be made easily, usually with some milk and butter to achieve a smooth and creamy texture. However, as a stand-alone food, it can taste bland. Fortunately, that leaves home cooks with plenty of room to experiment using different ingredients to unlock new flavours.

One user on Reddit was searching for "secret" ingredients to add to mashed potatoes. Many suggested different cheeses and other dairy ingredients, which are quite common to add. However, there was one ingredient that many people mentioned. The addition, which home cooks may overlook, was not only recommended but also described as game-changing.

According to Reddit users in the cooking forum, roasted garlic with mashed potatoes can elevate food to another level.

Iameveryoneelse wrote: "Cream cheese and roasted garlic is a game changer. My father-in-law hates cream cheese, so I have to hide it every year at Thanksgiving and sneak it in when he's not around. He will then proceed to say I make the best mashed potatoes he's ever had."

Another user, Julesfric, suggested: "Heavy cream, roasted garlic, a lot of butter (good stuff)."

Many recommended the addition along with other ingredients, but for user Klashus, roasted garlic alone is the star of the show, describing it as "so good".

Echoing the suggestion of roasted garlic alone, OwmeHjyogG recommends roasting it in duck fat, also describing it as "so good".

Adding roasted garlic to your mash is quite straightforward. Little_wandererrr, who also suggested "roasted garlic heads", explained just what to do.

They added: "Cut the tops off of the garlic head, douse them in olive oil, wrap it in foil and bake at 350 for 45 - 60 minutes until it's almost caramelised, then squeeze the goods out of the bulb into the hot potatoes and mash."

The best thing about adding roast garlic to mashed potatoes is that it clearly works well with the typical ingredients you would add. It just gives it that extra boost of flavour.