Mashed potatoes are one of my top comfort foods, and I love an ultra-smooth, creamy version laden with butter and cream or milk. They’re also a blank canvas when I feel like changing it up a bit, and one of the easiest additions is some sour cream.
The thick, tangy dairy is a natural in mashed potatoes, adding a subtle tangy flavor. Sour cream mashed potatoes are as easy to make as regular mashed potatoes, and you can channel some sour cream-and-onion vibes with a sprinkle of chives or scallions at the end.
Sour cream adds a little bit of tangy flavor and a boost of richness to mashed potatoes. It’s a fun change from the standard milk or cream and butter combo usually flavoring mashed taters. You can even try your hand at making homemade sour cream from heavy cream! However, you should not use sour cream in place of milk in mashed potatoes. Sour cream is too thick and too tangy to be used on its own, and the potatoes will have a thicker texture and too-tangy flavor if sour cream is substituted for milk.
While you can boil the potatoes whole and then peel them afterward for mashed potatoes, I find peeling them beforehand easier. That way, once the potatoes are cooked, you can just push them through a ricer or food mill, or mash directly in the pot without worrying about the peels.
Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
Serves 6 to 8, Makes 7 to 8 cups
