Red Skin Mashed Potatoes, or smashed potatoes, are a delicious side dish the whole family will love.

Next time, try our White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes or Make Ahead Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar.
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You're going to love this easy mashed red potatoes recipe - it's such a simple side dish. One of the great things about this recipe is that you only need a few simple ingredients.
Whether you have a special occasion like Christmas or just need an easy side dish, these are some of the best mashed potatoes you can make!
Red-skinned mashed potatoes like the ones you get at your favorite restaurant are easy to make at home and we'll show you how.
🧂 Ingredients
- red skin potatoes
- unsalted butter
- fresh garlic
- kosher salt
- white pepper or black pepper
- sour cream
- half and half
This is meant to be a brief overview of our delicious red skin mashed potatoes recipe. For step-by-step instructions and a full printable recipe card with ingredients, please scroll down to the teal box below.
🔪Instructions
- Use a sharp knife to quarter unpeeled potatoes.
- Place potatoes into a large pot and fill with cold water covering all of the potatoes completely.
- Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil.
- Once the water is boiling, reduce to medium heat. Boil potatoes until they are fork tender.
- Pour the potatoes carefully into a colander set over the sink. Drain water completely.
- Place the pot back onto a burner set to medium low heat.
- Then, melt the butter in the pan, then cook the garlic for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden brown.
- Return cooked potatoes back to the pot and use a potato masher to mash potatoes until they start to break down. You can leave them lumpy or mash a bit more for a creamier texture.
- Season potatoes with salt and pepper.
- Next, use a rubber spatula to mix in the sour cream and half and half.
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl or other serving dish and serve hot.

✏️ Make Ahead Instructions
Mashed red potatoes can be made 1-2 days ahead of time.
- Prepare the mashed potatoes recipe according to the instructions above 1-2 days ahead of time.
- Allow the potatoes to cool for 15-20 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.
- About 40-minutes before you want to serve the potatoes, remove them from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350F.
- Bake the potatoes for 20-30 minutes until heated through.
- Add an extra tablespoon of butter and then use a fork to fluff up the potatoes.
- Serve hot.
⭐ Tips
✔️Do not use an electric mixer or hand mixer to whip the potatoes or they will release extra starch and become gummy.
✔️To keep mashed potatoes warm, place them into a small oven safe casserole dish. Set the dish into a slow cooker set on LOW. Pour a little water into the crock so that it comes up about halfway around the bottom of the casserole dish. They'll keep warm for up to 4 hours.
Equipment
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In addition to a cutting board and knife, you will need the following:
- Large stock pot and Colander
- Potato Masher
- Measuring Spoons
- Liquid Measuring Cup
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🍴 Serving Suggestions
Serve the potatoes hot with extra butter and sour cream on the side. You could also serve them with one of our amazing compound butters.
Buttery mashed potatoes are a perfect side dish to go with roasted turkey for Thanksgiving or homemade salisbury steak for Sunday supper. They would also be amazing with my petite sirloin steak or beef tips and gravy!
Instead of traditional mashed potatoes, try the red skin garlic potatoes on top of my Shepherd's Pie recipe.
⏲️ Storage and Reheating
To Store: Allow the potatoes to cool. Place leftover mashed potatoes in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-5 days. (These are my favorite airtight containers.)
To Reheat: Place the potatoes into an oven-safe dish and bake at 350˚F for 20-30 minutes until warmed through. If the potatoes seem dry, you can add a bit more butter and cream.
Alternatively, you can warm up individual portions in the microwave. Use a microwave-safe dish and warm in 30 second intervals until heated through.
You can also use leftovers to make a whole new meal like this potato chicken broccoli casserole.
📖 Variations
We recommend that you try our creamy potatoes for the first time just as it is written for the best results, because that is how our mashed potato recipe has been tested.
However, the next time you make it, you might consider one of these different ways of making this great recipe.
- For a lighter version, substitute whole milk or even chicken stock for the half and half cream, and use low-fat sour cream. Or for the creamiest mashed potatoes, use heavy cream.
- Instead of sour cream, you can also use cream cheese and a little extra milk or cream.
- Add more flavor by garnishing the potatoes with your favorite herbs like fresh parsley, fresh thyme leaves, fresh dill or even green onions.
- Replace the unsalted butter with garlic chive butter or our cowboy butter.
- Mash roasted garlic and mix it into the cooked potatoes, instead cooking raw garlic.
- You can also use garlic powder if you want to save a little time.
- Mix in some grated parmesan cheese or shredded cheddar cheese.
😋 Similar Recipes
For all you potato lovers, next time, try one of these tasty side dishes:
This red mashed potatoes recipe, and several of the recipes above, are on our Top 50 Thanksgiving Recipes. They are great a holiday meal like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
Not ready to make our creamy red skin mashed potatoes yet?
Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later! When you do make it, please be sure to tag me on Instagram @jugglingactmama or #jugglingactmama – I’d love to see your pictures! And finally, if you get a chance, please comment and leave me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below!

Red Skin Mashed Potatoes
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Equipment
- Large stock pot
Ingredients
- 3 pounds red skin potatoes washed but not peeled
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2-3 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup half and half
Instructions
- Use a sharp knife to quarter unpeeled potatoes.3 pounds red skin potatoes
- Place potatoes into a large pot and fill with cold water covering all of the potatoes completely.
- Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil.
- Once the water is boiling, reduce to medium heat. Boil potatoes until they are fork tender.
- Pour the potatoes carefully into a colander set over the sink. Drain water completely.
- Place the pot back onto a burner set to medium low heat.
- Then, melt the butter in the pan, then cook the garlic for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden brown.6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2-3 cloves fresh garlic
- Return cooked potatoes back to the pot and use a potato masher to mash potatoes until they start to break down. You can leave them lumpy or mash a bit more for a creamier texture.
- Season potatoes with salt and pepper.1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon white pepper or black pepper
- Next, use a rubber spatula to mix in the sour cream and half and half.¾ cup sour cream, ¾ cup half and half
- Transfer to a large mixing bowl or other serving dish and serve hot.
For best results, be sure to check our Tips and FAQs above with important tips and questions that can help your delicious recipe come out perfectly.
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