Smashed Potatoes are crispy on the outside with light, fluffy interiors and just the right amount of seasoning and spices!
Try Roasted Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, or super popular Potato Soup next.
Smashed Potatoes
Hands down, smashed potatoes are my favorite side dish, especially around the holidays—I can’t imagine serving a holiday dinner without them!
Smashed potatoes are as simple as it gets without sacrificing flavor, which is a must for any side dish. A few seasonings and a couple of tips, and you’ll have the most flavorful, perfectly textured smashed potatoes around!
Let’s Chat Potatoes
For this recipe, use baby Yukon gold, gold, or Dutch yellow potatoes. They’re creamy, tender, buttery, and roast beautifully, with delicate skins perfect for smashed potatoes.
Smaller potatoes cook more evenly and get crispier exteriors. Try to choose similarly sized potatoes to ensure even cooking—otherwise, some may be perfectly crisp while others are undercooked.
- Grate the Parmesan cheese over the potatoes with a mini grater.
- Fresh herbs such as finely chopped parsley or thinly sliced chives add a nice fresh touch.
Quick Tip
The reason I don’t use real garlic or other dried herbs is that they tend to burn with the high oven temp — better to add garlic powder and then garnish with real herbs at the end of cooking time.
Smashed Potato Tips
- Use a high oven temp to get crispy, golden potatoes. If they’re not caramelizing or browning too quickly, your oven temp might be off.
- Let the potatoes dry after draining for about 5 minutes to steam off extra moisture. Once smashed and placed on the pan, let them dry.
- Generously salt the water to make sure the potatoes are well-seasoned.
Do You Boil Potatoes Before Baking?
Yes! Boil or steam the potatoes first so they’re easy to smash and cook well.
They’re done when they can be pierced through with a fork while in the water.
Quick Tip
Use a large sheet pan. A 15×21-inch pan helps prevent too many potatoes, making them crispy. If you don’t have a large pan, use two smaller ones.
More Delicious Side Dishes:
- Garden Salad with a quick homemade dressing
- Cornbread Dressing with bread and cornbread!
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes with two recipes
- Green Bean Casserole made from scratch
- Beet Goat Cheese Walnut Salad with a honey dressing
Smashed Potatoes
Equipment
- Large sheet pan (15″ x 21″) 15 x 21-inch
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 pounds baby gold potatoes see note 1
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter or use extra olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Fresh parsley or chives, optional
- Parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- Preheat to 400°F (200°C). Use an extra-large (15×21-inch) sheet pan or 2 smaller ones and use a pastry brush to spread 1/4 cup olive oil evenly over the pan(s). Set aside. Clean the potatoes; no need to peel.
- To steam potatoes, see note 2. Boil potatoes: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add 1 tablespoon salt. Return water to boil, then add potatoes. Cook until potatoes can be pierced with a fork, about 20–25 minutes for baby potatoes or 25–30 for larger potatoes. Once potatoes are tender, drain and let stand in the colander to steam dry, about 5 minutes.
- Place potatoes on a clean surface. Working 1 at a time, cover a potato with a clean kitchen towel. Apply pressure with your palm on top of the towel and potato. Smash the potato to the height of 1/2-inch and remove the towel. Use a metal spatula to gently scrape up the potato and transfer to the prepared pan. Repeat until all potatoes are smashed and on the pan, ensuring potatoes aren’t overlapping or too close together—they need room! Let smashed potatoes stand on the sheet pan to steam dry for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt butter. Add seasonings to a small bowl—garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper (or to taste) and stir. Use the pastry brush to spread the melted butter evenly on the tops of all the potatoes. Sprinkle seasoning blend evenly on top of the potatoes, avoiding dropping seasonings on the pan (they’ll just burn).
- Bake 35–45 minutes for baby potatoes and 45–55 minutes for larger potatoes or until potatoes are crispy and golden. Check potatoes a few times as you near the end of baking time to avoid burned potato bottoms. No need to flip the potatoes halfway.
- Remove from oven and promptly grate on Parmesan cheese (if using) and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Serve immediately—these are best hot! Smashed Potatoes don’t store well and aren’t great being made ahead of time.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
