Everyone’s going to ask to please pass the potatoes over and over again over these buttery, fluffy, creamy, truly DIVINE garlic mashed potatoes!
For more mashed potatoes recipes, head on over to my popular posts for Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes, and Slow Cooker Mashed Sweet Potatoes.
One of my most favorite side dishes ever is potatoes. I could really eat them any style – roasted, smashed, diced, shredded… but these garlic mashed potatoes with sour cream are my absolute favorite! The combination of red potatoes, butter, sour cream, plus minced garlic is just divine. Plus, I like to add a little extra kick of garlic with some garlic powder and just a pinch of salt and cracked black pepper to round it all out.
And if your oven and stove are already jam-packed with other holiday goodies, no need to panic, because I’ve also included directions for making these mashed potatoes in the Instant Pot!
Here’s How you Make it
Would you believe that the creamiest garlic mashed potatoes of all time are also super simple and easy to make? Seriously it’s a breeze! I’ll walk you through it.
- Cook the potatoes (see below for two different methods) and drain.
- Combine the hot, drained potatoes, butter, milk (or heavy cream for even richer flavor!), sour cream, garlic, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
- Use a hand mixer or a potato masher to mash up the potatoes and all the other ingredients until just combined. The potatoes can be a little lumpy, that’s okay! You don’t want to over-mix.
- Salt and pepper to taste, serve and enjoy!
Why this Recipe Works
Let me convince you why these mashed potatoes are the BEST you will ever try.
- Red potatoes — Although you can use any potato in this recipe, I very much prefer red (or even yellow) over a russet. The skins are soft, so no need to peel them. They cook up fast, and whip up so creamy you’ll never want to use another potato!
- Garlic — Minced, powdered, roasted, diced, any way you like it, you must add it to these potatoes. It takes them from meh to marvelous! Trust me on this one.
- Dairy — The secret to creamy, smooth, silky mashed potatoes is using both sour cream and milk when you whip them up. Don’t worry, I promise 8 ounces of sour cream isn’t as much as you think and it will blend in just fine along with the ½ cup of whole milk. You won’t want to skimp on these ingredients.
- Easy — There just isn’t an easier, more flavorful recipe for garlic mashed potatoes out there. From cutting to cooking to mashing to table, all in under an hour.
Cooking Potatoes on the Stovetop
- Chop the potatoes into quarters, then place them in a large pot and cover with water just to 1 inch above the potatoes.
- Bring them to a boil over HIGH heat, then reduce heat to medium-high.
- Cook for 10-12 minutes until potatoes are easily pierced to the center by a fork.
- Drain the water and transfer potatoes to a large bowl.
Cooking Potatoes in the Instant Pot
- Place the metal rack in the bottom of your pressure cooker.
- Add 1 cup water, then place whole potatoes on a metal rack.
- Cover, and set vent to SEAL position, then set to PRESSURE COOK or MANUAL for 8 minutes.
- Once cook time is up, quick release by turning knob to the VENT position.
- Once the float valve has dropped, remove the lid, drain the pot, and transfer potatoes to a large bowl.
How Many Potatoes Should you Make Per Person for Mashed Potatoes?
A good rule is to make about a half a pound of potatoes per person. So for this recipe, I use 3 pounds, which works out to 6 servings.
Expert Tips
- Use red potatoes (or yukon gold potatoes) if at all possible. And don’t peel the potatoes. Together, the two parts of these potatoes make the best mashed potatoes ever! This is the way my mother always made mashed potatoes and I absolutely love them. The red skins are so soft and delicious, and there’s no need to peel them. However, if you just can’t get past the skins go ahead and peel them first, either way this recipe is amazing!
- For an even stronger garlic flavor, up the garlic powder to 1 ½ -2 ½ teaspoons or use smashed whole garlic cloves.
- Are you potatoes incomplete without gravy? Mine too! For the best gravy to go with mashed potatoes, try my famous Beef Broth Brown Gravy — so simple and goes great over these garlic mashed potatoes.
- Cut the red potatoes into equal pieces (halves should suffice) so that they all cook evenly in the pot.
More Recipes to Try
- Easy Chicken Gravy
- Beef Broth Brown Gravy
- Instant Pot Chicken and Potatoes
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Best Baked Potato Wedges
- Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey
- Braised Beef Short Ribs
Did you make these super creamy garlic mashed potatoes? WOOHOO – please rate the recipe below!
Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Everyone's going to ask to please pass the potatoes over and over again over these buttery, garlicky, creamy, smooth, deeeelicious garlic mashed potatoes!
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 3 pounds red potatoes - peeled if desired (see note)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces sour cream
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1-2 teaspoons garlic powder - to taste
- 1-2 teaspoons salt - to taste
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper - or 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the potatoes (see directions for stovetop or Instant Pot methods below).
- In a large bowl combine hot (drained) potatoes, butter, milk, sour cream, garlic, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Use a potato masher OR use your hand mixer (my favorite method!) to mix your potatoes just until all ingredients are combined – your potatoes should still have a few lumps, do not over-mix!
- Taste, add salt and pepper if needed. Serve and enjoy!
Potatoes – Stovetop Method
- Cut the potatoes into quarters. Place in a large pot and cover with water (water should come 1 inch above potatoes. Bring to a boil over HIGH heat, once boiling reduce heat to medium-high. Boil for 10-12 minutes until potatoes are easily pierced to the center by a fork. Drain the water and transfer potatoes to a large bowl.
Potatoes – Instant Pot Method
- Place metal rack in the bottom of your pressure cooker. Add 1 cup water, then place potatoes on metal rack. Cover, set vent to SEAL position. Set to PRESSURE COOK or MANUAL for 8 minutes. Once cook time is up, quick release by turning knob to the VENT position. Once float valve has dropped, remove lid, drain pot, and transfer potatoes to a large bowl.
Notes
The potatoes: these are my FAVORITE mashed potatoes – I always use red potatoes and I never peel them. This is the way my mother always made mashed potatoes and I absolutely love them. The red skins are so soft and delicious, there’s no need to peel them – BUT if you just can’t get past the skins go ahead and peel them first, either way this recipe is amazing!
The garlic: If you want stronger garlic flavor I recommend 1 1/2-2 teaspoons garlic powder.
Want gravy? Try my famous Beef Broth Brown Gravy – it’s so simple and goes perfectly over mashed potatoes!
Nutrition
Calories: 254 kcal, Carbohydrates: 39 g, Protein: 6 g, Fat: 9 g, Saturated Fat: 5 g, Cholesterol: 23 mg, Sodium: 478 mg, Potassium: 1132 mg, Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 6 g, Vitamin A: 301 IU, Vitamin C: 20 mg, Calcium: 101 mg, Iron: 2 mg
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Best potatoes ever!! Thank you for the recipe – made these for a Thanksgiving gathering and they were perfect.
Can I use heavy cream in place of whole milk if needed?
Yes, but you will need to dilute it with a little water. For every cup of heavy cream, use half a cup of water for every cup of whole milk.
I didn’t see this and only had heavy whipping cream. Used the exact amount called for. But I did use light sour cream as that’s what I had. I used Mom’s 1954 potato masher. They were a super hit at Thanksgiving dinner!
I used baby red potatoes and my mash came out so sticky and gummy! I followed your recipe thoroughly, not sure what went wrong. Any tips?
To keep your mashed potatoes from being too gluey, make sure you don’t over-mix them. That’s why I use a hand mixer, I feel like I can control the amount they’re whipped better. Stop when you still have a few lumps, those are supposed to be there. And don’t use a food processor, you’ll get straight glue.
Has anyone used roasted garlic in this recipe?
I did! The flavor was amazing. I highly recommend.
Thanks for sharing. I was just going to ask this. I’m excited to try it.
Perfect potato cooking method. I used golden potatoes, peeled. Instead of sour cream I used half and half. I also used roasted garlic paste instead of minced garlic. Best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made! Thanks.