The Secret Ingredient You Need For The Best Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are one of the world's best creations. Sure, peeling potatoes may not be the most fun thing in the world, and waiting for them to boil can take forever, but my goodness, the end result is so worth it. Most everyone probably has their own way of cooking them, passed down from generation to generation. But let's be honest — sometimes those recipes can become stale. Or, maybe you don't have a good recipe and want something to spice up your mashed potatoes a bit. Either way, you've come to the right place, because today I'm going to tell you one of the easiest and best ways to make your mashed potatoes 1,000 times better: sour cream.

Sour cream improves many dishes; chili, tacos, burritos, casseroles ... the list goes on, and mashed potatoes certainly belong on it. Oftentimes, the spuds can turn out quite bland. Even with salt, pepper, milk, and butter, there's something missing. Sour cream gives the potatoes that extra "kick," adding a tinge of acidity that helps bring out the other flavors and dampen the dense richness just a touch. It also adds to the overall creaminess of your finished dish. Incorporating sour cream is easy peasy; just add the desired amount to your potatoes once mashed and mixed well. You can follow a recipe, but following your gut for this one may be better.

Now, sour cream is personally my favorite way of sprucing up mashed potatoes because it gives them that "wow" factor. But it's certainly not the only way to make delicious potatoes. If you want another dairy ingredient, try adding cheese for a melt-in-your-mouth bite. You can use any cheese you'd like, but you may want to stick with meltable options (such as cheddar, gruyere, or fontina) to get that rich, pull-apart dish. If cheese isn't your thing, try adding brown butter for irresistibly savory mashed potatoes.

If you're lactose intolerant like me, maybe adding even more dairy isn't the best way to go. In that case, you can always go for the simple yet refined garlic and rosemary potatoes. To do this, simmer roasted garlic and fresh rosemary in a pan with heavy cream (which is low in lactose) until the garlic is soft. Mash the mixture and stir it into your mashed potatoes.

For a sweet twist, try Chantilly mashed potatoes. You can add milk, butter, cheese, sour cream, whatever you normally do, but here's the kicker — you're also going to fold in some whipped cream. It sounds crazy, but the sweet mixing with the savory makes these completely addictive. 

Other tangy upgrade options include using this recipe to make sour cream and onion mashed potatoes, and repurposing leftover spinach artichoke dip for a super flavorful dish. Whatever you do, though, don't forget the sour cream.