Crispy smashed potatoes sprinkled with rosemary and oven-baked in olive oil are the perfect alternative to normal roast potatoes. With crispy skins and a creamy soft interior, these smashed potatoes will make a welcome addition to any roast.
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The best crispy potatoes
These crispy smashed potatoes are definitely the real deal when it comes to deliciousness. Who doesn’t love the crispy outside of a roast potato? I know I do! I’ve even been known to pick the crispy edges from a roast potato, leaving the rest of the potato on my plate.
If you are like me, then you will love these crispy smashed potatoes. They are ultra-crispy on the outside, with a soft creamy inside. Not only are they the ideal accompaniment to a roast dinner, but they are also perfect for serving with a tasty dip as a snack to hand around at any get-together.
They are super simple to make too. Just par-boil the potatoes until they are soft enough to smash. Once soft, crush them onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and rosemary and bake them until browned and crisp.
Don’t worry if you smash the potatoes too finely – the more surface area you open up, the crispier the potatoes will be. You are aiming for about a half-inch thickness.
You can even place these crispy smashed potatoes in the oven alongside your roast so they are ready at the same time.
How to make them
**You can get the complete instructions for making these crispy smashed potatoes on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Ingredients you will need
- Potatoes – I prefer to use firm waxy potatoes like baby charlottes or jersey royals, but it really is a matter of preference. Maris Pipers or roosters would be good as would King Edward or Yukon Gold. (Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve even made these smashed potatoes with the cheapest Morrison’s Wonky potatoes and they turned out perfectly too).
- You don’t need to peel the potatoes either – the skins crisp up beautifully. Just rinse the potatoes in clean water to remove any traces of dirt. Use a small scrubbing brush if they are very dirty.
- I allowed 2 medium potatoes per person, plus 2 extra in case anyone wants seconds.
- Rosemary – this is fresh rosemary, and you should pull all the little leaves off the main stem before scattering them on your potatoes. If you can’t get hold of fresh rosemary then use a couple of pinches of dried rosemary (or leave it out altogether). You could also replace the rosemary with fresh thyme.
- Salt and pepper – for seasoning.
- Olive oil – for baking. If you don’t have olive oil you can substitute with sunflower oil or equivalent.
What to do
The first thing you need to do is wash the potatoes and get them on to boil. If you are using small potatoes there’s no need to chop them. Larger potatoes should be cut into halves or quarters depending on their size. Try to get all the potatoes approximately the same size.
Place the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water with just enough water to cover them. Bring the pan to the boil and then boil the potatoes for 8 to10 minutes (depending on the size) until they are soft enough to be pierced with a fork.
Drain the potatoes and cover them with cold water to stop the cooking process. This will also allow them to cool down to a temperature where you can handle them without burning yourself.
The next step is to crush the potatoes. Use a potato masher or the bottom of a sturdy drinking glass to press down onto the potatoes until they split and flatten.
If you want your potatoes to look a bit neater than the picture above, cut a small cross through the skin on top of the potatoes before smashing them. This will help them to smash more evenly.
Now sprinkle the potatoes with a little extra salt (which helps them to crisp), drizzle with another tablespoon of olive oil, and sprinkle with the rosemary leaves.
Check the potatoes occasionally and turn them to make sure they brown on all sides.
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Serving suggestions
You can serve these potatoes in place of normal roast potatoes with a roast dinner.
To vary the taste, why not try sprinkling them with grated parmesan cheese or chopped chives, or drizzling with garlic butter before serving.
They are also great served as a snack with a bowl of dipping sauce. Why not try one of these sauces:
- Honey mustard sauce with ricotta cheese
- Hunter’s sauce (to turn this chunky mushroom sauce into a dipping sauce, just whizz it around in a blender)
- A bowl of tomato ketchup
- A dish of sour cream.
Top tip for making smashed potatoes
My number one top tip for making these potatoes is ‘MAKE MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU WILL NEED’. These potatoes will get eaten, believe me. And of course, don’t forget one or two extra for the cook to taste too!
Questions
Yes you can do this in one of two ways.
1. Prepare the potatoes until they are ready to go into the oven then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. When you are ready to make them, just bake in a hot oven as per the recipe instructions.
2. Completely cooked potatoes can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat in the microwave (they will not be as crispy) or place them on a baking tray in a hot oven for 10 to 15 minutes until they are piping hot.
I haven’t frozen them myself, but that said, there is no reason why you can freeze the cooked smashed potatoes.
I would open-freeze them on a baking tray until they are completely frozen and then transfer them to a large freezer bag. They can be frozen for up to 6 months.
To use, place on a baking tray and reheat from frozen in a hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Check them after 20 minutes to see if they are hot enough.
To serve more (or less) people, you should allow 2 medium-sized potatoes per person (plus one or two extra for seconds).
If you are making a larger batch you may need extra olive oil for baking, plus additional rosemary.
Additional resources
Don’t forget to check out my handy Cookery Conversion Calculator if you want to convert any of your recipe measurements from grams to cups, ounces, tablespoons or millilitres and vice versa. You can also use the calculator for converting oven temperatures between Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Gas marks.
If you live at a high altitude you may find you need to adjust your baking recipes to compensate for this. You can read all about it in this post on baking at high altitudes.
Pin for later
If you would like to make these rosemary smashed potatoes why not pin the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily. Just click on the image below.
Other recipes to try
Not quite what you are looking for? Why not try one of these other potato recipes:
- German fried potatoes with bacon and onions
- Scalloped potatoes in batter
- Potato and onion bake
- Crispy french fries with a spicy coating
- Potato frittata with cheese
The recipe
Crispy smashed potatoes with rosemary
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Sharp Knife
Ingredients
- 10 small potatoes 2 per person + 2 extra
- 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided) approximately
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes. Leave the smaller ones whole and cut larger ones into halves or quarters.
- Place the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water with just enough water to cover them. Bring the water to the boil and then boil the potatoes for 8 to10 minutes (depending on the size) until they are soft enough to be pierced with a fork.10 small potatoes
- Drain the potatoes and cover them with cold water to stop the cooking process. This will also allow them to cool down to a temperature where you can handle them without burning yourself.
- Drizzle a baking tray with one tablespoon of olive oil and arrange the potatoes on top2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- Using a potato masher or the bottom of a sturdy drinking glass, press down onto the potatoes until they split and flatten.
- Sprinkle the potatoes with a little extra salt (which helps them to crisp), drizzle with another tablespoon of olive oil, and sprinkle with the rosemary leaves.1 tablespoon rosemary leaves, salt and pepper to taste, 2 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- Bake in a hot oven (200C / 400F) for about 45 minutes until the potatoes are crispy and golden. Check the potatoes occasionally and turn them to make sure they brown on all sides.
- Serve hot.
Notes
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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