Smashed Potatoes

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These are our all-time favorite, ridiculously crispy Smashed Potatoes! They’re nice and crisp on the outside with light, fluffy interiors and the perfect amount of seasoning and spices! 

Love potatoes? Us too! Try our Roasted Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, or crazy popular Potato Soup next.

Smashed Potatoes

Smashed Potatoes

Hands down, smashed potatoes are the favorite side dish at my home. And especially around the holidays — we wouldn’t imagine serving a holiday dinner without these on the table! 

Smashed Potatoes are about as simple as possible to make without sacrificing any flavor– which is a must have for a side dish. A few seasonings plus a couple of tips and tricks and you’re on your way to the most flavorful and perfectly textured smashed potatoes around!

Smashed Potatoes FAQs

1Are Smashed Potatoes the same as mashed potatoes?

While both start with potatoes, these two dishes are surprisingly different! Mashed potatoes are often combined with a mixture of milk/cream, butter, sour cream, etc. to get an ultra-creamy consistency.

On the other hand, Smashed Potatoes are individually smashed into patties and then roasted with olive oil on a sheet pan until crispy!

2Why do people say Smashed Potatoes?

When smashing instead of mashing, we are leaving the potato skin, lumps, flakes and everything in tact and then using olive oil and/or butter to crisp the potatoes nicely.

3Do you have to boil potatoes before baking?

The potatoes will need to be boiled or steamed before smashing. If they weren’t, they would be too hard to smash! The texture is also much better since you can be confident the potato is thoroughly cooked before the end of roasting.

4How long should you boil potatoes?

It depends on their size, but a good rule of thumb is to cook until they can be pierced through with a fork while in the water.

Make sure the potatoes have plenty of water (and space) to boil in!

5Why are my Smashed Potatoes not crispy?

A few culprits:

  • Over-crowded pan
  • Roasting more than one pan in the same oven at a time
  • Not allowing the potatoes to steam dry (potatoes with excess moisture will steam instead of roast)
  • Incorrect oven calibration (oven is reading hotter than it actually is)

Process shots--boil potatoes; drain; smash with a towel.

Let’s Chat Potatoes

For this recipe, we recommend baby Yukon gold/gold/Dutch yellow potatoes. We love the creamy, tender, and buttery flavor Yukon golds deliver and they roast amazingly well. Their skin is also delicate, which is a major plus for Smashed Potatoes!

The smaller the potatoes, the better. Smaller potatoes will cook more evenly and develop better crispy exteriors.

Do your best to get as similarly sized potatoes as possible. If there is a lot of variation in the sizing, you may end up with some perfectly crisp and tender potatoes while others aren’t quite done.

Process shots-- brush oil onto a baking pan; add potatoes; brush again with oil.

  • Grate the Parmesan cheese over the potatoes with a microplane. This gives the cheese the best possible texture and it melts perfectly over the Smashed Potatoes
  • Fresh herbs such as finely chopped parsley or thinly sliced chives add a nice vibrancy.

QUICK TIP

The reason we don’t use real garlic or other dried herbs is that they tend to burn with the high oven temperature — better to add garlic powder and then garnish with real herbs at the end of cooking time.

Smashed Potato Tips

  • Use a high oven temperature. The high temperature helps the potatoes get perfectly crispy and caramelized. If your potatoes aren’t caramelizing in the oven or if they’re browning too quickly, your oven temperature could be off; here’s how to test your oven temperature.
  • Let the potatoes dry. After draining the potatoes, let them stand in the strainer for about 5 minutes and steam dry. Then, after you’ve smashed the potatoes and arranged them on the pan, let them dry for another 4 or so minutes. This ensures ultra-crispy potatoes. If they’ve got extra liquid from boiling, they’ll steam instead of roast.
  • Generously salt the water. To thoroughly season the potatoes, make sure to add salt to their cooking water!

Close up of the freshly baked Smashed Potatoes

QUICK TIP

Number 1 Smashed Potato Tip:

Use a LARGE sheet pan. The more space the potatoes have, the better they’ll roast and crisp up. If the potatoes are too close or overlapping on a sheet pan, they tend to end up steaming instead of roasting. If they steam, they’ll taste soggy instead of deliciously caramelized. I love this 15×21 inch sheet pan for this recipe — it allows the potatoes plenty of space. If you don’t have one large sheet pan, use two smaller ones instead.

More Delicious Side Dishes:

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Smashed Potatoes

5 from 1 vote
These are our all-time favorite, ridiculously crispy Smashed Potatoes! They're nice and crisp on the outside with light, fluffy interiors and the perfect amount of seasoning and spices! 
Print Recipe

Smashed Potatoes

5 from 1 vote
These are our all-time favorite, ridiculously crispy Smashed Potatoes! They're nice and crisp on the outside with light, fluffy interiors and the perfect amount of seasoning and spices! 
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American, Vegetarian
Keyword smashed potatoes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 6 as a side
Chelsea Lords
Calories 128kcal
Cost $4.52

Equipment

  • 15×21 inch sheet pan
  • Pastry brush, clean kitchen towel

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 pounds baby gold potatoes Note 1
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter (or use extra olive oil)
  • fine sea salt & pepper
  • 1 teaspoon each: paprika, garlic powder
  • Optional: fresh parsley or chives, Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • PREP: Preheat to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Use an extra-large (15×21 inch sheet pan) or 2 smaller sheet pans and, use a pastry brush to spread 1/4 cup olive oil evenly over the bottom of the pan(s). Set aside for now. Clean the potatoes; no need to peel.
  • BOIL OR STEAM POTATOES: To steam potatoes, read note 2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once the water is boiling, add 1 tablespoon fine sea salt. Return water to boil and then add the potatoes. Cook until potatoes can be pierced with a fork, about 20-25 minutes for small baby potatoes, 25-30 for larger potatoes. Once potatoes are tender (a fork can pierce through), drain and let stand in the colander to steam dry, about 5 minutes.
  • SMASH POTATOES: Place potatoes on a clean surface. Working one 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 pa,n ensuring potatoes aren't overlapping or too close together -- they need room! Let smashed potatoes stand to steam dry another 5 minutes on the sheet pan.
  • SEASON: Meanwhile, melt butter. Add seasonings to a small bowl -- garlic powder, paprika, salt & pepper to taste (I add 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper) 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 all the potatoes, working to avoid dropping seasonings on the pan (they'll just burn).
  • BAKE: Bake for 35-45 minutes for baby potatoes and 45-55 minutes for larger potatoes or until potatoes are crispy and golden. Check the potatoes a few times as you near the end of baking time to avoid burned potato bottoms. No need to flip the potatoes halfway during baking.
  • ENJOY: Remove from the oven and promptly grate on Parmesan cheese( if using) and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Serve immediately -- these are best hot! Unfortunately, Smashed Potatoes don't store very well and aren't great being made ahead of time.

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Potatoes: We recommend baby Yukon gold/gold/Dutch yellow potatoes. We love the creamy, tender, buttery flavor Yukon golds deliver and they roast amazingly well. No need to peel potatoes beforehand. The smaller the potatoes, the better. Smaller potatoes will cook more evenly and develop better crispy exteriors. Do your best to get as similarly sized potatoes as possible for even roasting.
Note 2: Steam instead of boil: Put cleaned potatoes in a large microwave-safe bowl and fill up the bottom of the bowl with 1/2 inch water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in the top. Microwave on high until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Check at 10 minutes and then continue to microwave for 5 minutes at a time, checking every 5 minutes. Add more water if needed. Once tender, remove potatoes, drain well, and let steam dry for 5 minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 128kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 59IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

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