The ultimate comfort food! This is the best homemade mashed potato recipe! They are so easy to make, full of flavor, and always a hit at holiday feasts or everyday dinners.
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Homemade Mashed Potatoes
I don’t know about you, but my house is full of potatoes lovers. At a minimum, we have some type of potatoes at least twice a week. Simple roasted potatoes, rosemary potatoes, and mashed potatoes like these are all staples. But this loaded potato casserole, hashbrown casserole and slow cooker loaded mashed potatoes are cheesy favorites too!
These creamy mashed potatoes are packed with flavor from garlic and sour cream. Of course, if you’d like, you can just use butter and milk but trust me when I say that these garlic mashed potatoes are so dang good!
I like to hand mash my potatoes to our favorite creamy texture. You can leave a few chunks of potatoes too if you’d like and feel free to double this recipe for a large crowd.
Ingredients for Mashed Potatoes
The complete list of ingredients with amounts are listed in the full recipe card below.
- Potatoes: Yukon gold potatoes (yellow potatoes) are so great for making the creamiest mashed potatoes in my opinion But you can honestly use any potatoes you’d like. Russet potatoes are starchier so they will make mashed potatoes fluffier. Red potatoes work as well or even a combination of different potatoes!
- Butter: I use unsalted butter but salted is fine to use. Swap it for a non-dairy butter if you need.
- Sour Cream: use full fat or light sour cream or even plain greek yogurt. Again, use a non-dairy favorite if you are making plant based potatoes.
- Whole Milk: I recommend whole milk or heavy cream for the best creaminess but you can use skim, 1%, 2% if needed. You can also swap non-dairy milk like soy or rice milk.
- Minced Garlic & Garlic Powder: fresh is always best, but use minced garlic from a jar if that’s all you have on hand. If you like them extra garlicky, feel free to add an extra ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder or more to your taste preference.
- Salt & Black Pepper
- Fresh Chopped Chives or Parsley: these are an optional garnish.
Variations
1. Add cheese: Freshly grated cheddar cheese is best in my opinion for melting.
2. Add Bacon: You can chop up a ¼ cup of fresh bacon, pre cooked bacon or pre-packaged bacon bits.
3. Caramelized onions: Cook ½ – 1 cup of diced onions in 2 tablespoons of butter until tender and slightly browned.
4. Add ¼ cup of cream cheese.
How to Make This Creamy Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Step 1 – Peel and cut the potatoes. Make sure they are about the same size for even cooking.
Step 2 – Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium and boil the potatoes for 12-15 minutes until fork-tender. I do not cover the potatoes.
Step 3 – Drain the potatoes in a colander in the sink and then return them to the pot or place them in a large bowl.
Step 4: Add the room temperature butter, sour cream, milk, minced garlic, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the bowl.
Step 5: Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork until your desired consistency. Add more milk a tablespoon at a time if needed.
Step 6: Sprinkle with fresh chives or parsley if you’d like.
Tips
Use room temperature butter, sour cream, and milk to keep the potatoes warm.
Use a hand mixer for extra smooth potatoes, but avoid overmixing to prevent a gummy, pasty texture.
How to Store Leftover Mashed Potatoes
Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freeze: Place mashed potatoes in a freezer-safe container and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
How to Reheat Mashed Potatoes
On the stovetop: Place the potatoes in a pot, add a tablespoon of milk, cream or broth and heat over medium-low heat stirring often so they do not burn. Continue adding more liquid one tablespoon at a time as needed.
In the oven: For larger amounts, place the potatoes in an oven safe dish and stir in 2 tablespoons of milk, cream or broth. Preheat the oven to 350° F and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway through.
In the microwave: Place the potatoes in a microwave safe dish and stir in a tablespoon of milk, cream or broth and cover with a paper towel. Heat for 1 minute then stir and heat at 30 second intervals until heated through.
Be careful not to overheat mashed potatoes when reheating or they can become grainy or pasty. Add more butter once heated and they will be just as yummy as the day you made them!
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Best Easy Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes peeled and quartered
- ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick, room temperature
- 4 ounces sour cream room temperature
- ¼ cup milk room temperature
- 4-6 cloves minced garlic or to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Fresh chopped chives or parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters. Be sure they are about the same size so they will cook evenly.3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with water until the potatoes are just covered
- Bring the water to a boil over medium hight heat. Then reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 12-15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Drain the cooked potatoes into a colander in the sink and then place them in a large bowl.
- Add the butter, sour cream, milk, minced garlic, and seasonings.½ cup unsalted butter, 4 ounces sour cream, ¼ cup milk, 4-6 cloves minced garlic, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Using a potato masher or fork, mash the potatoes to you desired consistency. Add more milk if needed.
- Top with diced chives or scallions if desire.Fresh chopped chives or parsley
Notes
for 15-20 seconds if you’d like. Leave the peel on the potatoes if you’d like. Swap the sour cream for Greek yogurt or heavy cream. Use a vegan butter sour cream and non dairy milk like soy or rice milk if desired. Use a hand mixer if you like extra creamy potatoes. Just be careful not to over blend or the potatoes can become more pasty. For more garlic flavor, use more minced garlic or mix in an extra ¼-½ teaspoon of garlic powder. Or less garlic flavor, use a little less. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclosure
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation.
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