Sour Cream Chive Mashed Potatoes

These mashed potatoes are whipped to perfection and then flavored with fresh or dried chives, butter and sour cream for an Irish-inspired flare. A tried and true side dish that compliments just about any dinner menu.

Mashed potatoes whipped together with chives and butter and sour cream, oh my! Yes. These do taste as good as they sound.

But first of all...

Whipped, mashed and smashed potatoes...

Is there's a difference? Well, yeah! Smashed potatoes are usually baked small potatoes that are each smashed with a fork and then served. They're often a side dish to a beef entry or you can top like little baked potatoes if you want. But essentially these have the skin still on and they're tiny.

Mashed potatoes is what most people know and love. But mashed, really means mashed. Like with a potato masher.  They texture is a little lumpy and a little creamy, smooth. Not knocking mashed potatoes. But whipped potatoes is where it's at.

To get that smooth, light and fluffy texture you will want to use a stand mixer if you've got one, or a hand mixer.

No need for a potato masher, use your mixer for these whipped potatoes.

The light and fluffy texture you can achieve with a mixer is what I love. And let me tell you, I like to use as few appliance, dishes and effort as possible when making dinner. But when it's worth it, I'll break out the mixer. Even on a weeknight.

If you don't own a good mixer, or are looking to upgrade to something more powerful, check out ALL THE FUN COLORS of the KitchenAid hand mixers. It has a more powerful motor than most other hand mixers and it's so pretty! You can also get many different attachment for emulsifying, whisking, whipping and even kneading bread. It's totally awesome and about ¼ of the price of stand mixer. So if you don't have the counter space for a stand mixer, a hand mixer is a great option.

Now, let's talk sour cream and chives.

The two additions that make these whipped potatoes a side dish that can hold it's own. Read: you can eat them by the spoonful.

With a little pad of melted butter on top, these look and taste the part of a main dish. Watch out prime rib, these potatoes are moving in!

I mean, look how pretty these potatoes are!!

You can literally whip these up in no time.

Watch step by step how easy it is to make these!

I've always been one to just straight up eat mashed potatoes as the main course...

I can remember exactly where my own love for whipped potatoes started. At a little strip mall buffet called Country Cooking in Culpeper, Virginia. It was my absolute favorite place to eat and my grandma use to take me there as a treat. The real treat looking back though, was getting to spend that precious one-on-one time with her.

She would order sirloin steak and I would get the buffet. She let me fill up my bowl over and over again getting just as many helpings of their smooth, creamy whipped potatoes as I wanted. I could have saved room for dessert since they also offered an unlimited supply of soft-serve with toppings galore, but I choose mashed potatoes every time. Their homemade, just-right flavor and texture delighted my little taste buds.

My beautiful grandma with her big smile has since passed and I cherish all the memories we made together but particularly those times where we sat in our booth, smiling at each other while we enjoyed that country cooking. She passed away just about 20 years ago now but I still think of her every single time I eat whipped potatoes. Isn't that a funny thing? I guess that's why I love potatoes more than maybe a person should! Never the less, the are my favorite comfort in many ways.

How to Cook Potatoes Faster

Boiling potatoes until they are soft and mashable takes time! Want to speed up the cooking process? Cut your potatoes into smaller pieces before adding them to your pot of boiling water. The smaller you cut, the more quickly they cook. Here's the size potato chunks I use:

Red potatoes, gold potatoes, what's better?

I love the flavor of red potatoes. They are little more work since they're smaller and their skin is not as smooth but worth the effort if you'd appreciate a better flavor. You can certainly use gold or white potatoes too though. This doesn't change the recipe.

Should you serve gravy with sour cream and chive potatoes?

I do normally enjoy gravy on my whipped potatoes. You can absolutely add gravy. Beef or chicken gravy both taste great, but these are also just very good and flavorful on their own when they are well seasoned with salt and pepper and are served with a pad of butter on top.

Butter makes everything better. Truly.

An excellent side dish for family or holiday dinners.

These sour cream and chive potatoes are always a hit during the holidays. Great for serving at traditional holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter dinner but easy enough to whip up for a weeknight dinner too.

Want more side dish ideas?

Browse all my side dish recipes

This recipe for Heavenly Sour Cream and Chives Whipped Potatoes was featured on Meal Plan Monday and South Your Mouth!