Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

These Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes are lightly tangy and satisfyingly rich. They’re a fantastic option for making decadent and creamy mashed potatoes without using heavy cream.

Have you ever made mashed potatoes with sour cream instead of heavy cream? If not, you should absolutely give it a try. They’re a super creamy twist on traditional mashed potatoes that everyone will love.

Sour cream mashed potatoes in a bowl - 1

Sour cream mashed potatoes in a bowl - 2

Using sour cream rather than heavy cream gives mashed potatoes a rich and slightly tangy flavor that pairs well with meaty mains like Balsamic Chicken , Mississippi Pot Roast , or Chicken Stroganoff .

Best of all, they are just super quick and easy to make and only require 4 ingredients.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients for sour cream mashed potatoes - 3

Ingredients for sour cream mashed potatoes - 4

Potatoes: I call for Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, but you can also use red potatoes if that’s what you have on hand.
Milk: Use any (unsweetened) milk you like. There isn’t a ton of milk in this recipe so the fat percentage is not going to significantly affect the flavor.
Sour Cream: For easiest clean up and fastest measuring, I recommend measuring your sour cream by weight using a kitchen scale. Full-fat sour cream is going to give you the best, richest results, but you can use low-fat sour cream if you prefer.

How to Make Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

Step by step photo of sour cream mashed potatoes being made - 5

Step by step photo of sour cream mashed potatoes being made - 6

Prep your butter and sour cream first. Before preparing any of your other ingredients, cut the butter into 1-inch pieces, measure out your sour cream, and set them both some place warm in your kitchen. This will give your butter time to soften and take some of the chill off the sour cream, making them easier to incorporate, and they won’t cool the potatoes as much when added so the mashed potatoes stay hot until served.
Place chopped potatoes into a large pot, cover with cold water, and add salt.
Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender.

Step by step photo of sour cream mashed potatoes being made - 7

Step by step photo of sour cream mashed potatoes being made - 8

Drain the potatoes, add the softened butter, and mash the potatoes.
Stir in the warmed milk and the sour cream.
Salt and pepper to taste and add more milk as needed, then enjoy!

Can I leave my potato skins on?

My rule for potatoes is always peel Russets, sometimes peel Yukon Golds, and never peel red potatoes, but your mileage may vary. For picky eaters, it’s probably best to peel all potatoes for mashing.

Close up of mashed potatoes in a bowl with butter on top - 9

Close up of mashed potatoes in a bowl with butter on top - 10

Why do you put hot milk in mashed potatoes?

Warming milk before mixing it into mashed potatoes keeps it from cooling down the potatoes before serving them. No one wants a plate full of cold potatoes!

How to store sour cream mashed potatoes?

Store the mashed potatoes tightly covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Sour cream mashed potatoes in a bowl with a spoon - 11

Sour cream mashed potatoes in a bowl with a spoon - 12

Can you freeze the mashed potatoes?

Yes, but the texture will not be exactly the same after freezing. I prefer to use frozen mashed potatoes as a base for something like Creamed Turkey because any texture change is much less notable, rather than eating it as a stand-alone side like you’d serve with steak.

To freeze, transfer mashed potatoes to a freezer zip-top bag and store for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator before reheating.

More Favorite Potato Recipes

Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Roasted Carrots and Potatoes
Microwave Baked Potato
Roasted Red Potatoes

a bowl of sour cream mashed potatoes with a slice of butter on the top - 13

Equipment

1 Large pot
1 Potato masher
1 Microwave-safe measuring cup, or microwave-safe dish to heat milk in

Ingredients

▢ 8 tablespoons ( 112g ) butter salted or unsalted is fine
▢ ¾ cup ( 180g ) sour cream
▢ 3 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and chopped into roughly 1/2-inch pieces
▢ 1 tablespoon table salt plus more as needed
▢ ½ cup milk divided
▢ Pepper to taste

Instructions

Before preparing any of your other ingredients, cut butter into 1-inch pieces and set both the butter and your measured-out sour cream in a warm spot in your kitchen.
Place the cut potatoes in a large pot and add water until the potatoes are completely submerged. Add salt and bring the pot to a boil and then reduce heat and bring the water down to a good simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender—you should be able to easily mash a piece against the side of the pot with a fork, about 10-15 minutes.
In the last couple minutes of cooking time for the potatoes, heat all of the milk in the microwave until it is steaming hot but not boiling.
Drain the potatoes, add the cubed butter, and use a potato masher to mash the potatoes*. Stir in ¼ cup of the warmed milk and all of the sour cream.
Taste and add more warmed milk, salt, and pepper as needed.
To keep them warm, cover the potatoes until you’re ready to serve them. Enjoy!

Notes

This Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast is an incredibly easy and stress-free way to make some of the best-tasting pot roast you’ll ever try!

Looking for a new recipe that is simple, delicious, and pretty much fool-proof? This Mississippi Pot Roast recipe might be just what you’re looking for.

This recipe requires almost no measuring or cutting. All you have to do is (optionally) sear a chuck roast, throw it and the rest of your ingredients into a crockpot, and press start. You’ll end up with a roast that is incredibly rich and tangy with just a hint of spice that everyone will love.

Mississippi pot roast in a slow cooker - 14

Mississippi pot roast in a slow cooker - 15

What is Mississippi Pot Roast?

You might have seen Mississippi Pot Roast pop up in your Reddit or Pinterest feed and wondered what it was and where it came from. Mississippi Pot Roast has been credited to Mississippi resident Robin Chapman , who created this recipe one day in the 90s or early 2000s while trying to adapt one of her aunt’s recipes to make it less spicy for her kids.

Her family ended up loving the new recipe, making it often enough that it was discovered by lifelong friend Karen Farese who added it to her church’s cookbook. From there, this recipe began spreading across the internet, from blogger to blogger, until it finally became the sensation it is now.

Ingredient Notes

Mississippi Pot Roast is usually made with 5 main ingredients: chuck roast, butter, pepperoncini, ranch dressing mix, and au jus gravy mix. Does this seem like a slightly odd list of ingredients? Absolutely.

But trust me, make the recipe as written, packet mixes and all, and you won’t regret it.

Ingredients for Mississippi pot roast - 16

Ingredients for Mississippi pot roast - 17

Beef Chuck Roast: This recipe calls for a 3-4 pound roast. If you are having trouble finding a roast this size, you might have to ask at the butcher counter. If all else fails, you can use two 2-pound roasts instead.
Pepperoncini: The pepperoncini add some acidity to the dish without making the roast too spicy. Pepperoncini are usually sold in 16-ounce jars (at least here in SoCal), and you’ll be using about half the juice and the peppers in this recipe. You can usually find them near the olives and pickles at the grocery store.
Butter: The original recipe calls for a full stick of butter, but I’ve cut that amount in half without missing any richness or flavor.
Ranch Dressing Mix: This comes in 1-ounce packets that you can find in the dressing aisle.
Au Jus Gravy Mix: You can usually find gravy mix packets near the canned and boxed broths. If you are having trouble finding au jus mix, you can replace it with the same size packet of French onion soup mix.

How to Make Mississippi Pot Roast

Collage photo of Mississippi pot roast being made in a slow cooker - 18

Collage photo of Mississippi pot roast being made in a slow cooker - 19

Sear the roast. This step is optional. If you’re short on time, you can skip it, but It adds a great depth of flavor, so I almost always recommend searing beef before putting it in the slow cooker.
Add all the rest of your ingredients to the slow cooker. No need to stir! Press start, and allow your slow cooker to do its thing until the meat is fall-apart tender.

Collage photo of Mississippi pot roast being shredded in a slow cooker - 20

Collage photo of Mississippi pot roast being shredded in a slow cooker - 21

Using 2 forks, shred your roast and remove any large pieces of fat from the meat.
Serve the meat and gravy spooned over mashed potatoes and enjoy!

What to serve with Mississippi pot roast?

Mississippi Pot Roast is best served over mashed potatoes. Pair it with something simple like a green salad or roasted vegetable to offset the richness of the dish.

Close photo of Mississippi pot roast being made in a slow cooker - 22

Close photo of Mississippi pot roast being made in a slow cooker - 23

How do you make a Mississippi roast less greasy?

Between the butter and the fat released from the chuck roast, some people might find Mississippi Pot Roast a little greasy. If this is bothering you, you can remove the cooked roast from the slow cooker and spoon the excess fat off the top of the cooking liquid before shredding and returning the meat to the gravy.

Alternatively, if making the roast in advance, the fat will solidify in the fridge and you can easily use a spoon to scrape it off before reheating.

Can I cook a roast from frozen?

You probably shouldn’t. I know a lot of us grew up cooking frozen food in the slow cooker, but current USDA best practices for slow cooking recommend against starting with frozen meat because the food will spend too long in the “danger zone” while thawing.

Is Mississippi Pot Roast Spicy?

Not particularly. There is a little heat from the pepperoncini juice, but it’s not very strong. If you are worried about the spice level though, you can omit the juice.

Mississippi pot roast in a bowl with mashed potatoes. - 24

Mississippi pot roast in a bowl with mashed potatoes. - 25

How to Store Mississippi Pot Roast

Pot roast is a great make ahead meal. It reheats well and is just as good on day 2 or 3 as it is fresh out of the slow cooker. Store the roast in the refrigerator tightly covered for up to 3 days.

To freeze, transfer the meat and gravy to an airtight container or freezer zip top bag and freeze for up to 6 months. Use within 3 months for best results.