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These ultra-comforting creamy smashed red potatoes with sour cream only need 3 ingredients (plus salt and pepper). These are quick, easy, and uncomplicated homestyle mashed potatoes. They’re fast enough for a weeknight dinner yet good enough for a holiday feast!

A bowl of homestyle smashed red potatoes with sour cream and butter.

I love recipes that are very simple and highlight an ingredient. In this case, it’s the humble red-skinned potato.

These are not the TikTok sensation that everyone is calling smashed potatoes. By the way, I call those Crash Hot Potatoes and would credit that technique to Ree Drummond. The Pioneer Woman taught me that waaaayyyyyyy before TikTok was ever a thing. It’s absolutely brilliant.

But that’s not what we’re talking about today. Today is about smashed potatoes. Simple, 3-ingredient mashed red potatoes. The skin is on, and they’re roughly mashed or smashed to leave some texture. They’re mixed with butter and sour cream to make them smooth, creamy, and irresistible. These are very unfussy and a bit rustic. I love these smashed red potatoes with sour cream, and I know you will!

They’re vegetarian-friendly, gluten-free, and easy enough for a weeknight dinner. Yet, they’re luxurious enough to serve for Thanksgiving or alongside your glazed ham at Easter. They’re incredibly versatile and a staple in our home.

Ingredients

Red potatoes, butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper on a butcher block.

Red potatoes. You can use any size of red potato to make these. You can also substitute any variety of thin-skinned new potatoes.
Unsalted butter makes the potatoes smooth and rich.
Sour cream adds a bit of tang and makes the potatoes silky. It’s also thick enough to help them keep their fluffy texture. Use full-fat sour cream, and don’t try substitutions. Sour cream is crucial in these smashed potatoes.
Salt & Pepper. You’ll use salt in the cooking water. Then, season the smashed potatoes with salt and pepper.

How to Make Smashed Potatoes

Chop up your potatoes, but DO NOT PEEL THEM. They should be in uniform sized pieces so they cook evenly.

Now, put them in a pot and cover them with cold water. Then, salt them.

Boil them over high heat until they’re fork tender. It will take between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces.

A strainer full of boiled potato pieces.

Strain them into a colander and let them dry while you melt the butter.

Add the butter into the same pot you boiled the potatoes in. Heat the butter until it’s almost melted. Then, remove it from the stove.

Dump the potatoes back into the pot of butter and start mashin’. Leave some small chunks. 🙂

A dollop of sour cream in a pot of mashed potatoes.

Now, add the sour cream, salt, and pepper. Then, stir it up real good.

Stirring sour cream into red skinned mashed potatoes.

Taste them and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Serve while they’re warm!

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