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Sour cream mashed potatoes are fluffy, rich, and creamy potatoes, making the ultimate side dish for holidays and family meals. Classic and simple!
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Why you'll love mashed potatoes with sour cream
- Adding sour cream to mashed potatoes makes them luxuriously creamy, rich, tangy, and irresistible. They're so good you may never make mashed potatoes any other way!
- This crowd-pleasing comfort food evokes deep satisfaction for the whole family.
- This recipe is easy to prep ahead or make ahead.
- Sour cream mashed potatoes are a staple holiday side dish, especially when topped with this easy turkey gravy.
- This recipe is simple for any cooking level.
- Customize the recipe by adding your favorite mix-ins, or enjoy its sheer decadence as it is.
- Serve these deliciously creamy mashed potatoes for any meal, and they will disappear!
Ingredients you'll need
- Potatoes - The star of the show! Always opt for fresh, quality potatoes. I prefer the Yukon gold variety for its creamy, buttery texture. You can use any variety for this recipe.
- Water - Start with cold water to ensure evenly cooked potatoes during boiling. You can also use chicken broth, vegetable broth, or turkey stock in place of water for added flavor.
- Salt - Use this essential ingredient during boiling and final seasoning.
- Butter - Adds richness and a velvety texture to the mashed potatoes.
- Sour Cream - This key ingredient adds tanginess, creaminess, and depth of flavor to your mashed potatoes.
- Milk - Adjusts the creaminess and consistency of the mashed potatoes, contributing to their luscious texture.
How to make mashed potatoes with sour cream
Start by peeling potatoes or leave the skin on – this recipe is lovely either way. Chop the potatoes into one-inch chunks and place them in a large pot of cold water that covers them by one inch.
Cover the pot and cook potatoes over medium-high heat until they're fork-tender. Transfer potatoes to a colander to drain. Add butter and cooked potatoes to the pot. Mash them to your desired texture – smooth or lumpy.
Stir in sour cream. Add splashes of milk to adjust the consistency. Season with salt and pepper, tasting as you go to prevent over-salting.
Serve mashed potatoes warm with a sprinkle of chopped fresh chives and a pat of butter. I recommend serving mashed potatoes with extra sour cream on the side.
To store, cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to five days or freeze for up to 90 days.
Recipe tips and variations
- Use any potato variety for this recipe, including Yukon gold potatoes, Russets, and red potatoes.
- Skin-on or off? Trust your judgment – you know your family's preferences.
- Prep-ahead tip. Scrub and peel the potatoes. Submerge them in cold water, cover them, and refrigerate up to 24 hours.
- Some cooks prefer to boil potatoes in broth for added flavor. I don't find it necessary for this recipe, but you might love it!
- A classic potato masher is ideal for dialing in your perfect texture when mashing potatoes. If using an electric mixer, exercise caution to prevent over-mixing.
- Substitute olive oil for butter as an alternate source of fat.
- Use any dairy liquid in place of milk in this recipe.
- Add mix-ins like roasted garlic or garlic confit before the mashing commences.
Serving ideas
These scrumptious mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish to a juicy roast turkey breast, air fryer chicken thighs, the easiest whole chicken, a gorgeous glazed spiral ham, or mouthwatering pulled pork. They're even better with the best bread stuffing and a scoop of gravy without drippings. You can also turn leftover mashed potatoes into shepherd's pie with chicken.
Mashed potato make-ahead tips
Make mashed potatoes with sour cream up to five days ahead of serving to reduce tasks on your event day. Simply follow the recipe as it is written, including the reheat instructions for serving. You can also freeze the potatoes for up to 90 days and thaw in the refrigerator a day or two before serving day.
📖 Recipe
Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes Recipe
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Note about scaling
When scaling, the light gray ingredient notes after the comma don’t change. Adjust as needed.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes, or other variety
- Sea Salt or Kosher Salt, (1 teaspoon) for salting water
- 4 tablespoons Butter, melted
- 1 cup Sour Cream, preferably room temperature
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup Milk, preferably room temperature
Optional toppings
- Fresh Chives, chopped
Instructions
- You can peel the potatoes or leave them skin-on. Chop the POTATOES into 1-inch chunks. Place potatoes in a large pot of enough SALTED cold water to cover them by an inch.
- Loosely cover the pot and cook potatoes over medium-high heat until they're fork-tender.
- Transfer potatoes to a colander to drain.
- Add BUTTER and COOKED POTATOES to the pot. Mash them to your desired texture – smooth or lumpy.
- Stir in SOUR CREAM. Add splashes of MILK to adjust the consistency. Note: You may not need any.
- Season the mashed potatoes with SALT and PEPPER, tasting as you go to prevent over-salting.
- Serve warm with a sprinkle of chopped FRESH CHIVES.
Storage and reheat instructions
- To store, cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container up to five days or freeze up to 90 days.
- To reheat, use a medium setting on your stove or microwave, stirring as needed to prevent hot spots. Add splashes of milk to adjust the texture.
Recipe Notes
Equipment
- vegetable peeler, if peeling potatoes
- vegetable masher
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are estimates and may vary based on brands, ingredients, and portions.
Sue Turcsany says
I've made these before and they came out great. But I wanted to ask you if I could make them several days ahead, refrigerate, and then transfer the potatoes to my crockpot and heat on low as I am having guests for Thanksgiving dinner and won't have room on either the stovetop or microwave to reheat.
I like your recipe because it just has sour cream and milk (no cream cheese). Most make ahead recipes for the crockpot contain both sour cream and cream cheese). I've tried this before, it holds up fine but we weren't overly crazy about the cream cheese.
The crock pot does add moisture to the mashed potatoes so I usually put a white cotton cloth under the lid so there is no condensation and water doesn't drip into the potatoes making them watery Will your recipe with just sour cream and milk get watery heating on low for 2-3 hours?
Jeff says
10/10 recommend! I don't think I'll make mashed potatoes any other way. Sour cream is the ultimate secret weapon! Thanks for sharing your perfected version!
Traci says
Yessss! Couldn't agree more! The sour cream adds so much flavor and creamy texture. We're all for that!