Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream

Creamy mashed potatoes are one of the best foods around. Conversely, dry mashed potatoes are one of the WORST foods. This easy recipe for mashed potatoes with sour cream is the farthest thing from dry, with additional butter and milk to keep it moist. It’s a top-tier mashed potato recipe that is straightforward, but super tasty. 

Sour cream mashed potatoes are the perfect side for so many foods! I particularly love to have mashed potatoes with Mississippi Pot Roast. Recipes like Dijon Chicken, Swedish Meatballs, and Hawaiian Haystacks that come with their own gravy are also delicious pairings.

Why This Recipe Works

• Best mashed potatoes with sour cream. This recipe is specifically for sour cream lovers, because if you’re going to have sour cream mashed potatoes, you better be able to taste the sour cream, am I right? Sour cream and its slight tang is the star flavor here, while butter and milk add richness and moisture and ensure a luxurious texture. 
• Easy side dish. While making mashed potatoes does require a little elbow grease—dicing the potatoes, then mashing them with all the ingredients—it’s a straightforward process featuring simple ingredients. Plus, while the potatoes cook on the stove, you have plenty of time to work on the other aspects of your meal. Win-win!
• Perfect for any occasion. This sour cream mashed potatoes recipe is easy enough to make on a weeknight and delicious enough to make for a holiday meal like Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredient Notes

• Yukon gold potatoes: I think these are the best potatoes for mashed potatoes. I love the flavor and texture. You could substitute red potatoes if that is your preference. I do not recommend using russet potatoes, as they can be very starchy if mashed too much. 
• Unsalted butter: The only pairing more iconic than potatoes and sour cream is potatoes and butter. Butter adds richness to this recipe for mashed potatoes with sour cream, and using unsalted butter gives us total control over how salty the potatoes are. I recommend bringing the butter to room temperature so it melts into the potatoes more easily.
• Sour cream: These mashed potatoes use sour cream for creaminess and flavor. If you love the creamy tang of sour cream, you’ll love these mashed potatoes. You can use full-fat sour cream or light sour cream.
• Milk: Adding liquid helps keep mashed potatoes from drying out, and using milk helps make them creamy. You can use whole milk, two percent, or skim milk. 
• Salt and pepper: I’ve included my preferred measurements for these, but you can adjust them according to your taste.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Cook potatoes. Peel and chop 4 lbs of Yukon gold potatoes. Place potatoes in a large pot and fill the pot with cold water until it covers the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Once the potatoes are cooked, turn off the stove, drain the water, and return the cooked potatoes to the pot. 
2. Add sour cream, butter, and milk. To the large pot with the hot potatoes, add 12 tablespoons of unsalted room-temperature butter, 1 cup of sour cream, and ½ a cup of milk. Cover the pot with a lid and let it sit for 5 minutes to warm the butter, sour cream, and milk. This will make it easier to mash the ingredients together.

3. Mash potatoes. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until you reach your desired consistency. I like to use a handheld mixer to beat the mashed potatoes for 20-30 seconds to make them super smooth.
4. Add salt and pepper. Stir in 3 teaspoons of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference. Transfer these creamy sour cream mashed potatoes to a serving dish and enjoy!

Recipe Tips

I love the delicious flavor of buttery Yukon gold potatoes, but if you can’t find these, red potatoes work great. I don’t recommend using russet potatoes as they are higher in starch and might not work as well with this recipe. 

Do your best to chop the potatoes into uniform pieces so that they cook evenly.

Mix in fresh herbs with the salt and pepper at the end to add some extra flavor to these potatoes. Fresh chives, parsley, rosemary, oregano, or a combination of several fresh herbs would all be delicious, or maybe some green onion sprinkled over the top.

Careful not to over-mash the potatoes, or they might get gummy. 

You can try substituting sour cream for Greek yogurt. The potatoes will be a lot tangier.

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Make Ahead: Mashed potatoes stay good for several days, so you can make them a day or two in advance. When you reheat them, you can add a splash of milk to get it to the right texture. 

Storing: Store leftover mashed potatoes in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Freezing: You can freeze mashed potatoes! Freeze them in a freezer bag or airtight container for 1-2 months. Thaw them in the fridge or on the stovetop, adding a little milk as needed so they don’t dry out.

Recipe FAQs

More Potato Recipes

• Funeral Potatoes
• Brown Butter Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
• Gluten Free Scalloped Potatoes
• Mashed Potatoes with Half and Half
• Twice Baked Potatoes