This is the easiest recipe for crispy roast potatoes. You don’t have to par-boil the potatoes, and you don’t have to peel them. Just marinade the potatoes in olive oil with some garlic, rosemary and thyme and then pop them in the oven for the crispiest roast potatoes with the most amazing flavour!
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The best roast baby potatoes
I have to admit that I feel a bit embarrassed about posting this recipe, because it so easy to make, and once you’ve read through it, I’m sure you are going to say ‘well I knew how to do that‘.
The reason I’m posting it is because I think we all tend to get into a rut where roast potatoes are concerned, and stick to the tried and tested way of making roasties.
- peel and chop the potatoes
- parboil them for a few minutes
- season and pop them into a hot roasting pan
And while potatoes cooked in this way do taste fantastic, I thought I’d remind you of a slightly different way of making the good old roast spud!
I’ve used baby potatoes because you don’t have to peel them, which in turn leads to keeping all the nutrients in the potato.
And because the potatoes are cut in half, not only do you get the crispy skin on the outside, but the cut side turns beautifully crispy and golden too.
I’ve added rosemary and thyme to the potatoes because these flavours go so well together, but you could swap out the herbs for your own favourite. How about sprinkling them with oregano for a Mediterranean twist, or smoked paprika for a spicier version? You can adjust the flavours to complement whatever dish you intend to serve with these roast potatoes.
Let me show you how to make them.
What you will need
Equipment
You will need a mixing bowl to marinate the potatoes with the olive oil and the herbs.
For baking the potatoes you will need a baking sheet or roasting dish.
Ingredients
The quantities in this recipe will feed 4 people as a side dish.
**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making these crispy roast potatoes on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Baby potatoes – you can use baby potatoes, or small charlotte potatoes, jersey royals or even new potatoes. The potatoes should be of the smaller variety with a nice thin skin that doesn’t need peeling.
Olive oil – the potatoes will be coated in the olive oil before being placed on the baking tray.
Rosemary and thyme – you should pull the leaves off the stems, and chop the rosemary into smaller pieces. This will help the flavour of the herbs infuse more easily into the potatoes. You can use dried rosemary and thyme instead of fresh, but the flavour will be much stronger, so use about one-third of the quantity stated in the recipe.
Garlic – the more eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the bowl labelled ‘garlic’ in the picture above is actually salt. I wasn’t concentrating properly when I put the image together! You can use either finely minced fresh cloves of garlic, or for convenience, you can use the equivalent amount of minced garlic from a jar.
Salt and pepper – for seasoning. This is mixed with the olive oil and herbs when the potatoes are coated and you shouldn’t need to sprinkle any more salt on the potatoes when they go into the oven.
What to do
This won’t take long!
Start off by putting a baking sheet into the oven to heat up. Set the temperature of the oven to 200C or 400F.
Wash the potatoes to remove any bits of dirt from the skins. I like to scrub them gently with a small brush.
Cut the potatoes in half and place them in a mixing bowl along with the garlic, chopped herbs, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Mix well to coat the potatoes, then leave them to stand until the baking tray is hot.
Once the tray is hot, remove it from the oven and place the potatoes cut-side down onto the hot tray. Pour over any remaining olive oil that may still be in the bowl.
Replace the baking tray in the oven and leave the potatoes to cook for 25 minutes until they are soft on the inside and golden and crispy outside.
The potatoes should slide easily from the baking tray. If they do stick slightly, use a spatula to help loosen them.
Transfer the potatoes to a serving dish, optionally garnish with chopped parsley, and serve immediately.
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Crispy roast potatoes FAQ
You can obviously serve these crispy roast potatoes as a side dish with your normal meat and 2 veg!
However, there are also lots of other ways to serve them:
– Serve them as part of a finger buffet, with a bowl of creme fraiche or sour cream for dipping.
– They make a nice accompaniment to pan-fried fish instead of chips.
– Top them with savoury mince – you can use the mince recipe from this deconstructed cottage pie.
– They also make a delicious quick and easy supper served with sausages and baked beans.
Potatoes freeze well, so yes, you can freeze these potatoes.
I would cook them for only half of the cooking time and then remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. Pack them into a freezer bag and freeze for up to 4 months.
When you want to use them, arrange them (still frozen) cut-side down on a hot baking tray and bake them in a preheated oven at 200C/400F for the remaining time plus an extra 5 minutes.
Leftovers? Seriously? Joking aside, leftover roast baby potatoes can be sliced and fried up like hash-browns. They are delicious when topped with a fried egg. or a rasher of bacon (or both)!
Save for later
If you would like to make these easy crispy roast potatoes, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
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Other recipes
Here are a few other potato recipes you may like to try:
- Boulangere potatoes – slices of creamy potatoes layered with buttery onions, topped with cheese and baked in a tasty vegetable stock.
- Potatoes Romanoff – a cheesy potato and onion casserole.
- Crispy smashed potatoes with rosemary – smashed potatoes sprinkled with rosemary and oven-baked in olive oil until crispy.
- Scalloped potatoes in batter – slices of potato dipped in batter and fried until crispy.
- Air-fryer baked potatoes (with savoury mince topping) – a crispy skin on the outside and beautifully soft and creamy on the inside, topped with my popular savoury mince.
The recipe
Easy crispy roast potatoes
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1¼ pounds / 600 grams baby potatoes washed and halved
- 1½ tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F and place a baking tray in the oven to heat up.
- Wash the potatoes to remove any bits of dirt from the skins.1¼ pounds / 600 grams baby potatoes
- Pick the leaves from the rosemary and thyme and chop the leave roughly.1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- Cut the potatoes in half and place them in a mixing bowl along with the garlic, chopped herbs, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Mix well to coat the potatoes, then leave them to stand until the baking tray is hot.1½ tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Once the tray is hot, remove it from the oven and place the potatoes cut-side down onto the hot tray. Pour over any remaining olive oil that may still be in the bowl.
- Replace the baking tray in the oven and leave the potatoes to cook for 25 minutes until they are soft on the inside and golden and crispy outside.
- Transfer the potatoes to a serving dish, optionally garnish with chopped parsley, and serve immediately.1 tablespoon fresh parsley
Notes
- Serve them as part of a finger buffet, with a bowl of creme fraiche or sour cream for dipping.
- They make a nice accompaniment to pan-fried fish instead of chips.
- Top them with savoury mince – you can use the mince recipe from this deconstructed cottage pie.
- They also make a delicious quick and easy supper served with sausages and baked beans.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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