Sour cream mashed potatoes are perfectly creamy and rich with just a touch of tang that gives this dish a unique and delicious flavour. This is my family’s cooked and loved recipe and it makes for the most comforting side dish.
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Everyone has a favourite recipe for mashed potatoes. This is mine and it comes from my Grandmother. Here is a quick overview:
- As well as adding milk and butter to cooked potatoes, she would add sour cream. It adds a rich, slightly tangy taste that enhances the natural flavour of the potatoes, making them extra creamy and delicious.
- This version uses slightly less butter than the classic recipes but incorporates a little starchy water that the potatoes were cooked in. This adds a little extra liquid to get the smooth mash texture without the extra calories. The starch in the water helps to thicken the mash and make it creamy, kind of like when pasta water is added to pasta sauce.
- Sour cream is a probiotic food so you’re getting a few beneficial bacteria along the way.
- This recipe is easy and pretty hard to stuff up unless you overcook the potatoes (too water) or over-mash them such as with a food processor (you get a glue-like texture, don’t use a food processor or blender!)
- This is a family-approved dish and I often serve it as a side dish with grilled steak, sausages, chicken rissoles, with any kind of stew (like my beef and mushroom stew).
👩🍳 If you love potatoes, you might enjoy my: sliced potato bake, country potatoes, crispy potato salad, Greek roasted potatoes, crispy smashed potatoes & salsa verde peas, or my summer potato salad.
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this sour cream mashed potato recipe. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
- Potatoes – Use russet or Yukon Gold potatoes for the best texture and flavour. Russets are starchy and fluffy, while Yukon Golds are creamy and buttery. In Australia, brushed potatoes are great!
- Butter – I use salted cold butter. I love grass-fed as it’s extra tasty and yellow, and more nutritious.
- Milk – regular milk is fine but you can also swap it out with low-fat, lactose-free, oat or almond milk for less dairy.
- Sour cream – adds a little tang and extra creaminess to the mash; use full-fat Greek yogurt as an alternative and add more butter or regular cream.
- Salt
How To Make Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
Find the full recipe and nutritional information below. Here are some handy step-by-step photos.
- Cover diced potatoes with cold water in a medium pot, add salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
- Reserve 1/4 cup of starchy water, drain the potatoes, and return them to the pot. Heat milk and set aside.
- Add cold cubed butter to the hot potatoes and mash. Add hot milk and sour cream, then continue mashing. Stir in the reserved starchy water until smooth and creamy.
- Serve hot with an extra dollop of butter on top.
Watch The Video
Recipe Tips
- Start with cold water: This ensures even cooking from the outside in, preventing the potatoes from becoming mushy.
- Use enough salt: Salting the water and the potatoes themselves enhances their natural flavor.
- Keep the butter cold: this retains a richer flavour and gradually melts the butter over the potatoes.
- Warm the dairy: This helps it blend more easily into the potatoes and keeps the dish hot.
- Mash while hot: Mashing the potatoes while they are hot makes it easier to achieve a smooth texture.
- Don’t overmix: Overmixing can break down the starches too much, resulting in a gluey texture. Don’t use a food processor or a blender!
- Adjust consistency: If the potatoes are too thick, add more warm milk or starchy water until you reach the desired consistency.
- For extra flavour: consider adding roasted garlic, chopped chives or green onions, or dill.
Serving Suggestions
Serve sour cream mashed potatoes as a side dish with any kind of stew like my meatball stew, lentil Stroganoff or mushroom stew, grilled or pan-fried steak, with sausages, chicken patties or meatballs. Make a larger batch to serve for Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas, especially with something delicious like my slow-cooked lamb shoulder or oven-cooked brisket.
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Ingredients
- 800 grams white potatoes about 4-5 large potatoes, 1.7 lb, peeled and diced
- 1 tsp salt
- 30 grams of butter 1 oz, make sure it’s cold
- 1/3 cup hot milk about 60 ml
- 1/3 cup sour cream about 70 grams
- 1/4 cup starchy cooking water from the potatoes
Instructions
- Add diced potatoes to a medium pot and cover with cold water. Add salt and stir. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 minutes. Don’t overcook, or the potatoes will get too watery. Scoop out 1/4 cup of the starchy cooking water, strain the potatoes, and let them sit in the sieve for a minute; then return them to the pot.
- In the meantime, heat the milk in a microwave or a small pot and set aside. Add cold cubed butter to the hot potatoes in the pot. This gives you a richer butter flavor and gradually melts it into the potato granules. Then add the hot milk to bring up the temperature, followed by the sour cream (it can be cold).
- Use a potato masher, ricer, or food mill to mash the potatoes. Avoid using a food processor or blender, as they can make the potatoes gluey. Finally, add 1/4 cup of the starchy cooking water and continue to mash until smooth and creamy.
- Serve hot with an extra dollop of butter on top.
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