Introducing your new favourite potato recipe – buttery, crispy SMASHED POTATOES! Crazy crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, there’s a serious risk that only half of these will make it to the dinner table….
Smashed Potatoes
Let me introduce you to your new favourite way with potatoes.
SMASHED!
CRISPY!
BUTTERY!!
Buttery CRISPY SMASHED POTATOES!
Best ever potato recipe!
If you are yet to experience the joys of crispy smashed potatoes, and my first experience was only 3 years ago when I was introduced to them by Claire from Sprinkles and Sprouts, a fellow Australian food blogger, these are going to change your potato game forever.
These taste like buttery french fries, albeit they are look completely different. “Rustic”, I declare loftily. They’re fluffy on the inside, and ultra crispy on both the underside and on the surface. All those ridges are the best! Forget squashing them neat and flat – the more nubbly the surface, the better the crunch!!!
Tips to make ultra crispy smashed potatoes
Ultra Crispy Smashed Potatoes are straight forward to make – boil, squish, drizzle, bake – but there are two little tips I’ve discovered along the way:
Let the potatoes steam dry a bit after smashing them. This ensures optimum crispiness!
Use butter and a touch of oil. Because butter = flavour, oil ensures more even and better browning and crispiness. Can’t use just butter because it burns in the oven at high temperatures.
Also, you can totally feel free to add flavourings like garlic and dried herbs, but they do burn a bit so you’ll get little black bits on the surface. In all honesty, these are so tasty as they are, they don’t need anything more! (In my personal, potato-opinion)
How to serve Ultra Crispy Smashed Potatoes
I would be totally happy just munching on these as a snack. And if I had a larger oven, or multiple ovens, I would make loads of these and serve them as a snack at gatherings. Because if you make these with small potatoes as I have done, they are perfect finger food snacking size.
But I typically serve these on the side of mains. It will go with pretty much any Western dish, from pork chops to fish, chicken to steak. Try it on the side of this Steak with Creamy Peppercorn Sauce, these Lemon Garlic Marinated Pork Chops, these Crispy Garlic Chicken Thighs or this Sun Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breast.
However you plan to serve these Crispy Smashed Potatoes, it has your name written all over it. Do it, do it, do it! – Nagi x
More potato recipes
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Potatoes (side dish or to nibble)
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Sometimes it helps to have a visual, so watch me make these Crispy Smashed Potatoes!!
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Ultra Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients
Potatoes – choose:
- 700g / 1.4 lb small potatoes (12 – 14) (Note 1)
- 1 – 1.2kg / 2 – 2.4lb medium potatoes (6 – 8)
Cooking:
- 1 tbsp salt (for boiling)
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 tsp salt (for sprinkling)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Finely chopped parsley , optional garnish
Instructions
- Cook potatoes: Bring a pot of water to the boil, add 1 tbsp salt. Cook potatoes until soft – small ones should take around 20 to 25 minutes, medium ones might take 30 minutes. It's ok if the skin splits. Alternatively, steam or microwave them.
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
- Steam dry: Drain the potatoes and let them dry in the colander for 5 minutes or so.
- Smash! Place on the tray then use a large fork or potato masher to squish them, keeping them in one piece. Thin = crisper. Thicker = fluffier insides. (Both good!) More nubbly surface = better crunch!
- Steam dry again: Leave on the tray to steam dry for 5 minutes or so – makes them crispier!
- Drizzle: Drizzle with butter, then olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Bake: Bake for 45 minutes (small potatoes) to 55 minutes (medium) or until deep golden and crispy. Do not flip!
- Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
When I travel, Dozer stays with a golden retriever boarder. Rumbling with his friends, a whirlwind of fur chasing each other around the backyard, somersaulting across the lounge room as they tumble.
I’m told he’s internally fretting about me. 😂
these were amazing!!! my only gripe is that they take so long…but well worth the wait 🙂
going to try microwaving them to shave off some cooking time. tips welcome!
Why not flip?
Because there’s no need to here J! N x
Great minds – I always do the same. Keeps the potatoes dry on the outside so that they go lovely and crispy. Especially if you then roast them in duck or goose fat with rock salt. Also nice with rosemary.
No matter how many of these I make, it’s never enough! Thanks Nagi 🙂
Hi Nagi!
Love all your recipes.. especially the potato rosti.. yum!
with respect to this smashed potato recipe, would it be better to use ghee instead of melted butter as you do in the rosti recipe?
Made these for my 3 girls but melted the butter with oil and added squeezed fresh lemon juice …they were so tasty and everyone wanted more thank you
Hi Mark, you could if you wanted to – the butter in this recipe is more for flavour rather than for crunch factor but ghee would be just as good! N x
Hi Nagi!
I ended up using ghee as per the potato rosti and the result was great!
Thank you 😊
OMD**G! These are just perfect. I haven’t made any snack quite as on-pointe as these little taters. I didn’t have to ‘puff” them up, as in adding or subtracting any ingredient. And they were easy to make, those perfect little crispy chicken thighs you have on your site-my favorite and only way to make chicken. Served with a dollop of sour cream, flavored a bit with fresh chives. Heaven! My flatmate (who cooks by defrosting) was going crazy, I was happy I had made more than I originally planned. Thank you so much for posting these on your blog, your site will now forever
be my first “go-to” for any meal or snack. Many blessings from Florida, Flap. 04/05/21
** D stands for DEAR.**
Great recipe. The only thing that needs to be changed is your total time to complete. 30min to boil, 10 to rest/steam, 55min in oven. Thats already 1hr 35min and we havent smashed anything, or started on the garlic butter. The recipe says 1hr 10min total. I am making these for Easter brunch btw.
On the crispy smashed potatoes, do you peel them first or do you leave the skins on??
Skin on Paulette, it holds them together! N x
Hello, I’m going to make these for Easter. I’m prepping today an was wondering if I could boil and mash them today to be cooked on Sunday? Just to free up sometime. Thank you 🙂
I’m doing the same thing. I cooked and smashed them tonight. Will season and bake tomorrow!
These potatoes are life changing. It took me a while to get on the smashed potato train. But now, I’m never getting off. Never.
They’re very dangerous aren’t they Linda?! N x
I added just a touch of grated cheddar and a couple of real bacon bits (I had some on hand from another recipe). I wonder if you could use sweet potatoes if you wanted to change up for a sweet/savory flavor?
Hi Flap, sweet potatoes don’t go as crispy due to the sugar content in them – something I’d need to test, but I love the idea! N x
Thanks. I’m mostly used to turning them into pies!
No matter what recipe I’m looking for, I always seem to find one of yours, Nagi. And when I do, I know it’ll be awesome!
Oh thanks so much Rafaela!! ❤️ N x
Do my dearest husband came in while I was starting the smash process and suggested putting them all on one pan and using another pan-same size-to smash them!!! Holy cow!! Talk about timesaver! Additional tip-I used a basting brush to “paint” the parchment with olive oil-again, big time saver which means I’ll do again and again! Thank you for a delish way to serve potatoes!
Ok, so these look terrific, but you have a big mistake on your recipe card that has thrown off my night. Card says total cook time 1 hour. However, I am on boil now (30mins) will need 5 mins to steam and 5 more after the smash … AND THEN bake for 45min to 55min more???? This is a lot more than 1 hour cook time. I should have read ahead, and blame myself for not planning properly. But perhaps update the cook time for others.
I used the microwave (8-15 minutes) +baking at 220c (with fan) and it
took less than hour with the same results.
Fabulous. Not rocket science so whatever you want to top these with, go for it. I suspect Nagi has your blessing. Cooking should be fun and exciting. I am adding some of that sprinkle bacon in a bottle, some sour cream and chives before serving. Thank you Nagi. You always have the answer!!
the slider for quantity does not reflect the change in weight:ie: small potatoes 12-14
medium potatoes 6-8
regardless of weight.
this does not change the fact that it sounds so good I am trying this next. Thanks Nagi
These were so good!
This is my latest addiction. I have made few recipes that I love as much as this. I could eat them daily. I add a bit of melted butter over top when they come out of the oven. Yum!
I think the degrees for cooking is backwards. 200c is 95 f I was trying to understand why it was taking so long also.
Hi Elizabeth, no it’s written correctly – 200°C/390°F 🙂 N x
Simple and delicious. I followed the exact cook time a they came out crispy but creamy in the middle. I sprinkled some thyme and basil before baking which added a nice flavor.
This worked GREAT… very tasty… but it did smoke up my house. What do you think my problem was?