Name: Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 8 Servings
Cuisine: American

Cooking with Conks Verified

February 4, 2026

These easy mashed potatoes with sour cream are the perfect, low-maintenance, budget-friendly side for any time of year. Made with thin-skinned gold potatoes, butter, milk, sour cream, and fresh chives, these mashed potatoes are a super simple and comforting dish. There’s nothing complicated about these mashed potatoes. No peeling or ricing the potatoes, no tricky instructions, and no requiring a gravy for flavor (unless you want to make gravy). Just simple ingredients and steps.

From the Cook

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Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream

Cooking with Conks Verified

Ingredients

WarningMilk and 1 other allergen identified

Instructions

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Instructions

Add cubed potatoes to a pot filled with cold water seasoned with 1 tbsp of sea salt.

Cook on high heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the water begins to boil.

Boil the potatoes for 15 minutes until they’re fork-tender (tender enough to be easily pierced or cut with a fork), then remove from the heat.

Drain the potatoes and place them back in the pot.

Mash the potatoes with a potato masher.

Mix in the butter, sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, and chives, if using. You can also leave the chives out if you're looking for a mashed potato dish that would pair better with gravy.

For extra creamy mashed potatoes, you can use an electric hand mixer to mix them up. Just make sure not to mix them too much or they’ll become gummy.

Notes

If you’re making these potatoes to pair with gravy, we recommend leaving the chives out. You may also want to go low on the salt level since gravy is usually salty.

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Tips & Tricks (5)

Potato Water Gold 💧
Reserve some starchy potato cooking water before draining - it's liquid gold for adjusting mashed potato consistency and adding incredible creaminess.
Temperature Matters 🌡️
Use room temperature butter and milk to prevent cold ingredients from making your mashed potatoes gluey and ensure a smoother, more consistent texture.
Chunky vs. Smooth Technique 🥔
For ultra-creamy mashed potatoes, use a potato masher for a rustic texture, or a ricer for silky-smooth potatoes - avoid electric mixers which can make potatoes gummy.
Flavor Layering Hack 🧈
Brown your butter slightly before adding to potatoes for a rich, nutty depth of flavor that elevates the entire dish.
Chive Pro Tip 🌱
Finely chop chives just before serving and sprinkle on top for maximum flavor and a vibrant green color that makes the dish pop.

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About the Cook

Cooking with Conks

We’re Rachel & Emily Conklin (“Conks” for short), sisters, lifelong foodies, and the voices behind Cooking with Conks. We grew up in Southern California, surrounded by bold flavors, big family meals, and the kind of kitchen chaos that turns into inside jokes