Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
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These Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes are ultra creamy, buttery, and packed with rich garlic flavor. Sour cream adds the perfect tang and silky texture, making these the best mashed potatoes for holidays, weeknights, or anytime you want a comforting side dish.
For more mashed potatoes recipes, head on over to my popular posts for Instant Pot Baked Sweet Potatoes, Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes, and Slow Cooker Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
Why These Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes Are the Best
Garlic — Garlic is pretty standard in my mashed potato recipes. I mean, if we are being honest it’s pretty standard in about 80 percent of my savory recipes simply because I have a bit of an obsession and am convinced it makes almost any dish ten times better tasting than if you’d left it out. In this best sour cream mashed potatoes recipe though, it’s an absolute must. It kicks everything up to a new level and gives the potatoes a bolder flavor, while bringing the sour cream into the mix gives you richer, smoother, and creamier potatoes.
So Creamy — The addition of sour cream, butter, and half-and-half makes for the creamiest, dreamiest easy garlic mashed potatoes there ever was. Let’s hear it for dairy!
Sour Cream — For most of my life I made mashed potatoes without sour cream. I mean, I put them on a baked potato, but mashed potatoes? Didn’t even cross my mind. Then, one day, a friend mentioned to me that she’d had mashed potatoes with sour cream at a restaurant recently. A lightbulb went off in my head that changed how I made mashed potatoes forever. SO. GOOD.
Simple to Make — There just isn’t an easier, more flavorful recipe for garlic sour cream mashed potatoes in the universe, I’m sure of it. Cutting, cooking, smashing, flavoring, all in 30 minutes! It’s that easy!
Table of Contents
- Why These Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes Are the Best
- Ingredients for Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
- How to Make Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
- FAQs
- What to Serve with Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
- How to Store and Reheat Mashed Potatoes
- Expert Tips for Perfect Mashed Potatoes
- More Recipes to Try
- Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients for Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
- Potatoes — Use any potato you like. (I’ve used every kind and prefer the smaller yellow baby potatoes, but any kind works!) Cut them into 2-inch pieces, peeling them or not, whatever is your preference.
- Sour Cream — Using light sour cream is okay; however regular will yield a richer flavor.
- Half and Half or Heavy Cream — I like half and half but heavy cream works too (your potatoes will be thicker with heavy cream).
- Minced Garlic — Use either minced garlic or garlic powder.
- Butter — Mmmmm butter. I use unsalted and add salt later to taste.
- Salt and Pepper — I generally find I end up using about 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper, but you can add more or less depending on how you like your garlic sour cream mashed potatoes.
How to Make Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
- First, cut the potatoes into equal size pieces and then add them to a large pot, then cover them with cool water.
- Put the pot of potatoes on the stove, cover, and bring it to a boil. You’ll want to boil the potatoes until they are very tender and easily pierced with a fork, about 20-30 minutes.
- Next, drain the potatoes in the sink in a colander and then transfer them to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Do this with caution as they will be very hot.
- Add the sour cream, half-and-half or heavy cream, garlic, butter, salt and pepper on top of the potatoes in the bowl. Mash them with a hand or stand mixer until the desired texture is achieved, and serve these sour cream mashed potatoes hot.
FAQs
Thinking of skipping the milk (or in this case, half-and-half or heavy cream) and ONLY using sour cream in these garlic mashed potatoes with sour cream? Well, while you very well can do that, I’ve found that they will be too thick and need some kind of liquid to help them smooth out. You can do this with broth or water instead of using milk but I have found adding both milk AND sour cream to yield the right consistency and flavor.
In addition to sour cream, butter, and milk/half-and-half/heavy cream, you can also add other ingredients to these creamy garlic mashed potatoes to take them over-the-top. Some ideas include:
Cheese. Want to make these homemade mashed potatoes with sour cream extra, extra rich? Try adding cheese to the mixture. Cheddar, gouda, or parmesan are all good options.
Roasted Garlic. Instead of adding minced or powdered garlic, you could add roasted garlic. This will add a nuttier, more subtle garlic flavor to the potatoes.
Fresh herbs. Either as a mix-in or a garnish, adding fresh herbs like chives, thyme, rosemary, or oregano can really take these garlic sour cream mashed potatoes to a whole other level.
Caramelized onions. Caramelize some onions in a separate pan while the potatoes boil. Add the onions in after mashing.
Ranch. Want some extra, extra flavor in these potatoes? Add a packet of ranch seasoning. So delish.
Chicken broth. I mentioned above you could use chicken broth instead of milk to thin out these potatoes.
Green onions. Similar to adding the fresh herbs you could also add thinly sliced green onions as a garnish or a mix-in.
Sour cream is one of the best ingredients to add to this creamy garlic mashed potatoes recipe because it makes them extra creamy and adds a subtle tangy flavor. It also helps create a smooth texture without making the potatoes heavy. When combined with butter and garlic, sour cream creates rich, fluffy mashed potatoes that are perfect for holidays or weeknight dinners.
Yukon Gold potatoes are one of the best choices for garlic mashed potatoes because they have a naturally buttery flavor and creamy texture. Russet potatoes are another great option if you prefer very light and fluffy mashed potatoes. But you can use whatever potato you prefer. Just make sure they are cut into even pieces before boiling.
To keep your mashed potatoes creamy, be sure to add enough milk, butter, and sour cream as instructed until they’re just incorporated. Do not over mix. Overmixing leads to a gluey consistency in your mashed potatoes.
Yes, you can make sour cream mashed potatoes ahead of time. Simply whip them all together and then allow them to cool to room temperature. To reheat, you can add them to a slow cooker over low for about an hour or reheat them in a pot on the stove. Either way you choose, should you find the mashed potatoes to be too thick, you can always add a little milk and stir it in by hand with a wooden spoon until desired consistency is reached.
What to Serve with Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
These mashed potatoes are so delicious when paired with proteins like:
I also love to round out a good mashed potato and protein with a veggie side like my delicious:
How to Store and Reheat Mashed Potatoes
Store these sour cream mashed potatoes in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the slow cooker or on the stove.
Expert Tips for Perfect Mashed Potatoes
- For an even stronger garlic flavor, up the garlic powder to 1 ½ -2 ½ teaspoons.
- Cut the potatoes into equal-sized pieces (halves or quarters) so they all cook evenly in the pot.
- These garlic sour cream mashed potatoes will last in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze them but they will be in need of additional milk or butter to soften and re-mix after thawing.
More Recipes to Try
- The Best Baked Meatballs – pure comfort food made for mashed potatoes.
- Best Grilled Chicken Recipe – juicy, flavorful grilled chicken made simple.
- Baked Pork Tenderloin – packed with juicy flavor in every bite!
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes, cut into 2 inch pieces, (you can peel them but I never do – I love potato skins in my mashed potatoes!)
- ½ cup sour cream , (light is okay, regular will yield richer flavor)
- ¼ cup half and half , or heavy cream
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic , or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3-4 tablespoons butter
- salt and pepper to taste , (I use about 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper)
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a large pot and cover potatoes with water. Bring to a boil on the stove, cover and boil until potatoes are very tender and easily pierced with a fork. Drain and transfer potatoes to a large bowl (see note).
- Add sour cream, milk ( half and half or heavy cream), garlic, butter, and salt and pepper to bowl. Mash til desired texture is achieved. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*This post was sponsored by Morton Salt. All opinions expressed are my own.
Made this for NYE dinner. It was delicious! The only thing I did differently was boiling garlic cloves with the potatoes and mashing them together!
I have made these mashed potatoes several times. Always turn out well. I use
Yellow potatoes as they are my favourite. If I don’t have sour cream I use Greek yogurt. Delicious and basically the only mashed potatoes I make now. Love these! Always get lots of compliments !!
This is a delicious mashed potato recipe. I serve with chicken marsala and meatloaf. Fantastic