All the goodness of a loaded baked potato, but in mashed form.
These loaded mashed potatoes are easy, packed with flavor, and a great side dish for date night in. This recipe makes two cups of mashed potatoes, which is great for 2-3 servings! Eat them with steak, grilled pork chops or chicken, or even with grilled vegetables!
What makes these mashed potatoes “loaded”?
Flavor. That’s what. Loaded baked potatoes are packed with butter, cheese, sour cream, bacon, and chopped green onion. So we take exactly those ingredients, but stir them all into fluffy, buttery, mashed gold potatoes.
They’re delicious.
Tips for Making the Best Loaded Mashed Potatoes ::
- Use gold potatoes. Gold potatoes are naturally buttery in flavor, so they’re perfect for buttery mashed potatoes!
- Use unsalted butter. Unsalted butter allows you to control the salt level better. All of us have different levels of salt preference, so use ingredients that help you control the flavor.
- Grate the cheese from a block of cheese. (Avoid pre-shredded cheese). Pre-shredded cheese has anti-clumping agents added to it so it stays separate once it’s bagged. Buy a block of cheese, and grate what you need for these loaded mashed potatoes! It will stir in smoothly, and taste great!
- Adjust any of the ingredients to fit your tastes! Add more (or less!) of any of the ingredients to your liking. More bacon? Do it! Don’t like green onion? Leave it out! This is a great base recipe for loaded mashed potatoes, but it can absolutely be tweaked so it’s perfect to you!
A Quick Guide to making these Loaded Mashed Potatoes ::
- Chop potatoes into one inch pieces (this doesn’t have to be exact, but try to make them as equal in size as possible!)
- Place the chopped potatoes into a sauce pan. Fill the sauce pan with water until the water is at least an inch above the top of the potatoes.
- Add one teaspoon of kosher salt. Don’t be afraid of the amount – the salt adds a ton of flavor to the bland potatoes! You’ll drain most of it out, anyway.
- Boil the potatoes for about 8-9 minutes, or until they’re soft enough that they can be easily pierced with a fork.
- Drain the water.
- Add butter, and use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until totally creamy. *(If you do not have a potato masher, see the recipe notes for other options!)
- Stir the potatoes together with a big spoon to make sure they’re smooth, and have minimal lumps.
- Stir in the sour cream, then cheese, then most of the bacon and green onion.
- Serve hot, and top with the extra bacon and green onion!
Woo hoo!! Here’s a photo guide!
Here’s some other awesome potato recipes that you NEED to try ::
These are all small batch recipes, too!
- Loaded Potato Soup for Two
- Buttery Small Batch Mashed Potatoes
- Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes for Two
- Bacon, Gouda & Jalapeño Twice Baked Potatoes
- Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
AND, if you’re looking for more small batch side dish recipes ::
- Fresh Green Bean Casserole
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Spicy Chopped Brussels Sprouts
- Unique Fall-Inspired Caesar Salad
If you make these loaded mashed potatoes and put them on Instagram, I would love it if you tagged me so I could see! You can also follow me on Pinterest for more small batch recipe inspiration! And as always, feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions you may have!
xx Sara
Small Batch Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 pound Yellow Potatoes
- 2 tsp. Kosher Salt Diamond Kosher
- 2 tbsp. Unsalted Butter
- 1/3 cup Sour Cream
- 1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese*
- 1/4 cup Chopped Bacon about 2 thick-cut strips
- 1/4 cup Chopped Green Onion
- 1/2 tsp. Freshly Cracked Black Pepper plus more to taste
- 2 tbsp. Whole Milk** optional
Instructions
- Wash and peel the potatoes. Chop them into one inch cubes, then transfer them to a medium pot.
- Fill the pot with cold water so the water is at least an inch above the top of the potatoes.
- Sprinkle in one teaspoon of kosher salt, and stir. Bring the pot to a boil, and boil for about 8-9 minutes until the potatoes are tender enough that they can easily be pierced with a fork.
- Drain the water.
- Add the butter and a pinch of salt to the potatoes. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes, butter, and salt until smooth and creamy.
- Stir in the sour cream with a large spoon. Then stir in the cheese, most of the bacon, most of the chopped green onions, and the freshly cracked black pepper.
- Taste the potatoes, and season with more salt and/or pepper if desired. Serve hot, and top with remaining bacon and green onions.
- **Add whole milk, 1 tbsp. at a time, if you prefer a creamier texture. Totally optional!
Notes
Nutrition
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