Creamy southern mashed potatoes are one of the best comfort foods. Just potatoes, milk, butter, sour cream, and salt. Simple and delicious.
There are a few great comfort foods in this world and mashed potatoes are 100% one of them!
Creamy, smooth, full of butter, and rich potato flavor. There are just some things that you need to do right, and southern mashed potatoes are one of those things.
This classic Thanksgiving staple but also a favorite year-round, and is easy to make with only a couple of ingredients so let's get cooking!
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Ingredients Needed
- Idaho Potatoes
- Butter
- Sour Cream
- Milk
- Salt
- Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
How Do You Make Mashed Potatoes from Scratch?
- Fill a large pot with water halfway up and heavily salt. Place on the stove on high heat and bring to a boil.
- Fill the sink with cold water. Peel the potatoes and place them in the cold water once peeled while working on the other. This will help prevent them from browning while you're working.
- Once the potatoes are peeled, dice each potato into small cubes. Place directly into the boiling water.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Drain the potatoes and place in a large bowl. Add in the butter and with a hand mixer mix for 1 minute.
- Add in the sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper. Mix until smooth and creamy making sure that there are no clumps left.
- Taste test and add more salt if needed. If too thick or "gluey" add more milk to help thin out and make more creamy.
- Add to a large bowl and top with another pad (tablespoon) of butter and serve!
PRO TIP: To keep your potatoes from browning while you're peeling and dicing, keep them in ice-cold water after you have peeled them.
Can Mashed Potatoes Be Made Ahead of Time for Thanksgiving?
Unfortunately, mashed potatoes are something that are best made hot and fresh right before you eat them.
The good news is that a lot of things can be prepped ahead of time and since mashed potatoes are one of the only things that are best not to make in advance, it can be easy to plan when to start these.
When to start cooking mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner:
- About 45 minutes before the meal is going to be served, have your friends and family help you peel and dice the potatoes since this is what takes the longest. The rest of the recipes goes super fast and you will have hot and fresh mashed potatoes ready to serve on your Thanksgiving table that everyone will be drolling over!
Frequently Asked Questions
Russet potatoes are the best. The high starch content helps give the texture and flavor that we all know and love. They also absorb a lot of water when cooking, that is why to heavily salt the water it cooks in. Potatoes need a lot of salt to help flavor - by salting the water you will bring out even more flavor to the potatoes before adding in the dairy products.
There is whole milk, butter, and full-fat sour cream that unless I am writing out a recipe card for a blog post, I eye and dump and go by taste when making them.
So I mean it's just carbs and fats. But goodness, they are so stinking good!
Healthy for your waistline? Maybe not every day. But on the Thanksgiving table and the occasional side dish comfort food - 100%.
For Thanksgiving, all of your traditional sides like fried turkey or traditionally baked turkey, green beans, corn casserole, sweet potato casserole, southern cornbread dressing, and fluffy dinner rolls. For just your average weeknight dinner, there is nothing better than mashed potatoes served alongside steak, chicken, and veggies. Personally, I always liked eating mashed potatoes when I am sick and nothing sounds good or if you have any dental work done. Creamy southern mashed potatoes will soothe any aches, pains, and woes you may have.
You can keep leftovers covered tightly in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you are tired of them, repurpose any leftover mashed potatoes into Mashed Potato Pancakes! It is a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers in a new recipe and way!
More Thanksgiving Recipes!
- How to Fry a Turkey
- Strawberry Pretzel Jello Salad
- Creamy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
- Southern Cheesy Corn Casserole
- Southern Cheddar Mac and Cheese
- Slow Cooker Green Beans
- Maple Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Broccoli Casserole Made without Velveeta
- Homemade Yeast Dinner Rolls
- Southern Cornbread and Biscuit Dressing
Recipe
Creamy Southern Mashed Potatoes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Creamy southern mashed potatoes are one of the best comfort foods. Just potatoes, milk, butter, sour cream, and salt. Simple and delicious.
Ingredients
- 5 Pounds Idaho Potatoes
- 10 Tablespoons Butter + more for topping
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
- ⅓ Cup Milk
- 2 ½ Teaspoons Salt
- Freshly Cracked Black Pepper - to taste
- Chives to garnish - optional
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water halfway up and heavily salt. Place on the stove on high heat and bring to a boil.
- Fill the sink with cold water. Peel the potatoes and place them in the cold water once peeled while working on the other. This will help prevent them from browning while you're working.
- Once the potatoes are peeled, dice each potato into small cubes. Place directly into the boiling water.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Drain the potatoes and place in a large bowl. Add in the butter and with a hand mixer mix for 1 minute.
- Add in the sour cream, milk, salt, and pepper. Mix until smooth and creamy making sure that there are no clumps left.
- Taste test and add more salt if needed. If too thick or "gluey" add more milk to help thin out and make more creamy.
- Add to a large bowl and top with another pad (tablespoon) of butter and serve!
Notes
- Make Mashed Potato Pancakes with any leftovers you may have!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Sides
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scoop
- Calories: 354
- Sugar: 2.6 g
- Sodium: 540.3 mg
- Fat: 23.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 32.1 g
- Fiber: 4.5 g
- Protein: 5.6 g
- Cholesterol: 61 mg
Keywords: Creamy Southern Mashed Potatoes
Jeff Easto says
A little confused by the ingredients list. It says 1-1/4 cup of butter (10 tablespoons). but 1-1/4 cup of butter is 18 tablespoons...which seems like A LOT. And that makes me think that 1-1/2 cups of sour cream is too much as well.
Heather says
You are correct - that was a mistake and an error on my part mistyping! I apologize and thank you for pointing this out. This recipe uses 5 pounds of potatoes which is quite a lot, so the butter, sour cream, and milk are quite a lot to make this ultra-rich and creamy. The correct measurement is 10 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup of sour cream. Thanks again for pointing this out so I could correct it!
Elena says
Hi, Heather! Can't wait to try these.
Also, in Step 2, I think you meant to say browning instead of browsing. I am looking forward to trying some of your other recipes. 🧑🍳
Heather Bilyeu says
Oops! Thank you for catching that mistake! I can reread and edit posts 10x and still miss little things like that - thank you! Fixing now 🙂