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Smashed Potatoes is a great way to make a delicious side of potatoes that’s buttery, crunchy and delicious without the hassle of prepping the potatoes. This smashed potatoes recipe is the love child of my mashed potatoes and my crunchy garlic potatoes. But unlike those recipes, there is no peeling or cutting involved. All you have to do is par-boil, smash, season and bake! To par-boil means to partly cook the potatoes in boiling water. The goal is to soften the potatoes enough, so they easily smash under the weight of a drinking mug.
Smashing the potatoes creates more surface area for the potatoes to get a golden crust as they bake with butter in a hot oven. Another great aspect of this recipe is you don’t even have to measure all the seasoning. Just season with your heart. This recipe calls for garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and dried parsley. You can always add more or less, this is what works for us!
Tips for the Best Smashed Potatoes
- Buy either the petite version of yukon golds or cut yukon gold potatoes in half.
- This recipe calls for three pounds of potatoes. You can easily halve the recipe but if you’re making the full recipe, you’ll need two sheet pans.
- The potatoes get really crispy when cooked on the bottom rack of the oven. If you’re making the full recipe and have two sheet pans and both don’t fit on the bottom rack, just put one on the bottom and one on the top rack. Rotate the pans halfway through cooking.
- Use a flexible offset spatula to flip the potatoes to ensure the best part of potato doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 lbs yukon gold potatoes
- olive oil
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- dried parsley
- 8 tbsp salted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- If your potatoes are large, cut them in half. You want to work with small to medium sized yukon gold potatoes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add potatoes to the water (no need to peel them).
- Once the water re-reaches a low boil, set a timer for 14 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes.
- Oil the bottom of two sheet pans.
- Take the potatoes and using the bottom of a mug, smash the potatoes down onto the sheet pan.
- Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and dried parsley.
- Top the potatoes with 8 tbsp diced butter (4 tbsp per sheet pan)
- Bake on bottom rack for 30 minutes. If you don't have enough room to fit both sheet pans on the bottom rack, place one on top and one on bottom and rotate them halfway through cooking.
- Check the potatoes and rearrange the potatoes if some are more done than others. Usually the perimeter of the pan is a hot spot and browns quicker than the middle. Put middle potatoes on the outside and outside potatoes in the middle. Put back in the oven for 10-15 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm.