Quick Creamy Mashed Potatoes

This Creamy Mashed Potatoes potato recipe is a timeless and comforting side dish that can elevate any meal and mostly a staple during the holiday. It’s creamy, packed with great flavors, simple to make, and always a crowd pleaser. Most of the ingredients are already a staple at your home.

Creamy mashed potatoes has been our family favorite for years. I normally don’t even measure anything because you can’t really go wrong with this recipe. It’s all based on your personal taste. These mashed potatoes are that one side dish you’ll want to serve with your weekly dinner meal , and even at family events or occasion, including Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter.

Why l love This Recipe

• Rich and creamy. Made with sour cream, milk and butter – these fluffy mashed potatoes are dreamy creamy!
• Garlic potatoes. These creamy mashed potatoes have a lovely garlic hit, of course you can leave it out if you want – but I highly recommend including it!
• An easy side dish. Made with a few pantry staples and super simple to prep, you can easily scale this recipe up to feed the crowd.
• A versatile side dish. This recipe is the best side dish recipe you can serve with so many proteins. It’s my family’s favorite all year round!

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Yukon Gold Potatoes– This is my favorite type of potato to make mashed potatoes because they are creamy and buttery, as well as have a sweet flavor to it. But I also like to use Russet potatoes when I don’t have Yukon gold in hand.
• Sour Cream– I love the flavor sour cream add to mashed potatoes. If you don’t have sour cream, you can use plain cream cheese instead.
• Salt & Pepper– the best to flavor the mashed potatoes.
• Milk– to add creaminess to the dish. Powdered milk, half and half, or heavy cream also works.
• Butter– get sweet cream butter or any kind of good quality full fat butter. Don’t use light butter spreads. Melt some extra for topping the mashed potatoes dish.
• Chives– this is one of my favorite herbs to go with mashed potatoes. You can mix it into the potatoes itself or garnish the dish with it.
• Garlic: garlic powder, optional

How To Make Mashed Potatoes from Scratch

Step 1: Parboil your potatoes – Bring a pot filled half way with water to boil. Add in the salt and the cubed, peeled potatoes then cook until they are fork tender (enough to easily insert a fork).

Step 2: Mash – Drain the water and return potatoes to pot. Add in the butter, garlic powder, salt to taste, hot milk, sour cream and mash well with a potato masher until you obtain a very creamy texture.

Step 3: Simmer – Allow the mash potato to simmer for a few minutes on low heat so that all the flavors infuse.

Step 4: Serve – Remove and transfer the mashed potatoes to a serving bowl. Drizzle 2 tbsps. of melted butter on top and then crack some fresh ground pepper on top. Garnish with some chopped chives and serve.

Tips For Making The Best Mashed Potatoes

• Use Yukon Golden or Russet Potatoes.
• Cut your potatoes into big cubes. Cutting them up too small gives water more of an opportunity to make its way inside the potatoes and will make them too watery.
• Start cooking the potatoes in cold water to ensures that the potatoes cook evenly.
• Salt the water you cook them in. Drain well to avoid mushy potatoes.
• Do not use a food processor. If you would like to whip the potatoes up in a cake mixer and use the whipping whisk, you can do so as well and transfer back to the pot.

Storing and Reheating

Storing: Store any left over in an air tight container for up to 3-4 days.

Reheating: The best way to reheat mashed potatoes is to just put them in the microwave (covered with plastic wrap) and heat them for a couple minutes until warmed through. Be sure to give them a good stir before heating and another stir before serving.

Freezing: Cool completely, then store them in a airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. To reheat simply bring to room temperature overnight in the refrigerator. Add a couple more tablespoons of melted butter and a dash of milk to the potatoes before reheating.

Flavors You Can Add

I love keeping my mashed potatoes simple without adding too many add on ingredients but there are plenty of things you can add to them for extra flavor. These are some ingredients I would recommend.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes: Add more creaminess by adding cream cheese, cheddar cheese, blue cheese or any of your favorite cheese.

Herby Mashed Potatoes: You can add more flavor to the mashed potatoes by adding your favorite herbs. Some of my favorite herbs are thyme, parsley, rosemary or chopped chives.

Garlicy Mashed Potatoes: Baked a whole head of garlic in the oven, mash them and add to the potatoes to make them garlicy.

Load it: Add bacon or turkey bacon bits to the recipe if you like the flavor.

Garnishing: Garnish with a bit of chopped chives, and drizzle with extra melted butter.

What to Serve with Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes can be served with almost anything! I do love to serve mine with proteins to complete the meal. Some of my favorites are Roasted Boneless Turkey, Oven Roasted Spatchcock Chicken, Oven Roasted Whole Chicken, and Mediterranean Lamb Chops.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Potato Recipes

• Oven Roasted Parmesan Herbed Potatoes
• Crispy Parmesan Potatoes
• Crispy Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes 
• Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Creamy mashed potatoes is a classic side dish that pairs well with many main course dishes. Whether you’re hosting a family dinner, a holiday feast, or a casual get together, this recipe is the perfect comforting side dish that is sure to please everyone’s cravings.

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