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Red Skin Mashed Potatoes

red skin mashed potatoes in bowl with wooden spoon on the side.
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These red skin mashed potatoes are rich and indulgent thanks to lots of butter and sour cream, which gives them a slightly tangy twist that will keep you coming back for more!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 1/2 pounds (1.13 kg) red skin potatoes
  • 1 cup (229 g) sour cream
  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter (to substitute salted butter, see note 2)
  • 1/4 cup (59 ml) milk
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste, plus more to salt water (see note 3)
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
  • 1/4 cup (9 g) fresh chopped herbs, plus more for garnish (suggestions: chives, parsley, thyme, dill) 

Instructions

  1. Scrub the potatoes thoroughly to remove any traces of dirt from the skin. Cut the potatoes into roughly 1 1/2 inch chunks and add them to a large pot.
  2. Place the pot on the stove and cover the potatoes with water, making sure the top of the potatoes are submerged in at least 1 inch of water. Heat the pot over high heat; when the water begins to boil, add a couple generous pinches of salt. Turn the heat down if necessary to maintain a gentle boil. Continue the gentle boil until the potato pieces can be easily pierced with a fork. This process should take approximately 25 minutes from start to finish.
  3. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the herbs and set aside.
  4. Once the potatoes are done cooking, turn off the stove, drain the potatoes and return them back to the pot. Heat the potatoes over low heat for 1 - 2 minutes, just long enough for the excess liquid at the bottom of the pot to evaporate.
  5. Turn the heat off and mash the potatoes with a potato masher. 
  6. Cut the butter into chunks and add them to the potatoes. Stir the butter chunks into the mashed potatoes until they have melted fully into the potatoes.
  7. Stir in the sour cream and about half of the milk (2 tablespoons). If needed, continue adding splashes of milk until the desired texture is achieved.
  8. Stir in the kosher salt, black pepper, and herbs. Taste the potatoes and add more salt and/or pepper if desired. Serve immediately, garnished with additional herbs (optional).

Notes

This mashed potato recipe has a tangy, savory flavor thanks to the generous amount of sour cream. (In my opinion, this is what makes this recipe so irresistible!) But, if you prefer a subtler flavor, you can reduce the amount of sour cream from 1 cup to 3/4 cup, increasing the amount of milk as needed to achieve the desired texture.

If you want to substitute salted butter, add about half the salt called for in the recipe, taste the potatoes, and then add more if needed to avoid over-salting the mashed potatoes.

This recipe was developed with Diamond Crystal kosher salt. To substitute regular table salt, start with 3/4 teaspoon and add more as needed (but still salt the cooking water as well!) 

Feel free to use your favorite type of herbs to flavor the mashed potatoes, but, I would recommend sticking to soft leafy herbs such as parsley, dill, and chives. You can also add in a small amount of woodier herbs like thyme and rosemary, but not the full 1/4 cup because the flavor can become overwhelming. For example, I used a combination of chives and thyme in a ratio of about 3 parts chive to 1 part thyme.

The nutrition information below is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator, and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, health, or nutritional advice. See our full nutrition disclosure policy.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://nibbleanddine.com/red-skin-mashed-potatoes/