These Crispy Smashed Potatoes are a great side dish for chicken, steak, pork, and more! They taste like a fried hash brown, but way healthier and way more delicious!
So here’s a short little story for you: My husband grew up on a farm. My husband thinks diets should consist of only steak, potatoes, eggs, and cheese. My husband has cholesterol issues. The End.
That just about sums him up in a nutshell, huh? Lol! Actually, he’s been a champ the past few months working out 5 days a week and eating well, so I really can’t poke fun at his cholesterol levels anymore. He’s the one giving me crap now for not working out, so maybe I should follow his lead… Right after I devour these Crispy Smashed Potatoes!
So the point of that fun little story was to tell you that there is a lot of potato eating in our house. A LOT. My husband would prefer that to be the only vegetable served to him, and my children would live on mashed potatoes if I let them! Luckily they have me to expose them to all sorts of interesting side dishes beyond the simple potato, (asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini… who knew??) but on those nights when potatoes deserve a spot on the menu, this is one of my FAVORITE ways to prepare them!
The best way I can describe these smashed potatoes is this: They taste like the most amazing crispy, salty, fried hash brown you’ve ever eaten, but ten times BETTER! It’s like the grown up version of tater tots. Are you hooked yet?
Here’s the low-down on creating these magical little taters:
First you boil the potatoes until tender to make them smashable. Is that a word? It is now! Smashable. I like to use the back of a solid metal spatula to do the smashing for me, but you can also use the heel of your hand if you’re short on utensils. Give the potatoes a gentle smash until the skins burst open and create a nice, flat surface. You don’t want to pulverize the potatoes, just smoosh them enough to flatten them out. There’s another new word for you: smoosh.
Generously drizzle olive oil and both sides of the potatoes and season with coarse salt. Don’t skimp on the salt!
Now comes the best part: roasting the potatoes. Throw them in the oven for 15-20 minutes on each side until they are golden brown and perfectly crispy. Just look at those skins! I’m drooling already.
Now take a bite… Welcome to Potato Heaven! You will never want to make potatoes any other way again! I sometimes like to add fresh chopped rosemary or shredded Parmesan to my potatoes to make them extra tasty.
Smashed potatoes are a great side dish for steak, chicken, pork, breakfast… just about anything! Try these tasty taters for dinner tonight!
Crispy Smashed Potatoes
1 1/2 pounds small potatoes (yellow potatoes work best)
olive oil
coarse salt
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large pot, bring potatoes to a boil in salted water. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 18-20 minutes. Drain potatoes and transfer to a baking sheet. Let cool 5 minutes, then gently smash each potato with the back of a solid spatula or the heel of your hand. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with coarse salt, then gently flip the potatoes over and repeat on other side. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, then flip potatoes and roast for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
Serves 4
Try these other great side dish ideas:
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P.S. I’m sharing this post at some awesome link parties… Check them out HERE!
Yes, please! I don’t even like potatoes and these look amazing to me. My husband would die if I served these at dinner.
This is such a great idea! Simple and stunning.
Liz, these potatoes look absolutely delicious!!
Need to try this !! Thanks for sharing ! Delicious!
this might actually be fun to try, with the smashing and all. looks yummy!
So delicious. I’m stuffing my face right now. I also broiled them for 7 mins for extra crispness.
Oh my….. these look really, really good! I have some yukon golds in my cupboard right now just waiting to be smooshed! Thank you so much!
I can practically taste the Parmesan cheese and rosemary in these. What a great recipe!
These look so good! I cook potatoes every way I can think of…love them! Thanks for sharing this!
I’m making these potatoes tonight using some fingerlings I picked up at the farmers market this weekend. I am so excited to try this out! They look and sound amazing!
I make these potatoes, too – they’re one of my favourite side dishes! I only ever cook one side – never tried cooking both. Will have to give that a go next time 🙂 I’d be thrilled if you’d come on over to Pink Recipe Box and link up at Creative Wednesdays: http://pinkrecipebox.com/creative-wednesdays-with-pink-recipe-box-13
Ummm YUM!! Thanks so much for this recipe! I’m like your kids – I could eat mashed potatoes all day long! Can’t wait to try these. Totally pinning. 🙂
These sound AMAZING! Pinned!
Yum! I like how simple they are but they look amazing!
Omg! Yummy…I made these last night. They were so creamy soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside. Definately making these again and again.
Holy cow! YUM!!! I love everything about these!!!
Okay – so I tried these last night (told you I would) and holy smokes were they good! Our new favorite potato recipe! Thanks again!
Okay, these look unreal!! So yummy, Liz!
Oh wow they look delicious! I’m going to give these a try, thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂 Smoosherific! hehe.
These look so good! Something tells me I will be smashing some potatoes in my future 😉
I was drooling over these – think I will try them this week!! thx
Recipe looks wonderful. Thanks for contributing to the Link Party Palooza.
This recipe looks delicious. It’s always nice to find a new potato recipe.
Thanks for sharing,
Suzanne
Pieced Pastimes
PS-Would love to have you link this up to Saturday Sparks. Links are open till Friday.
These sound delicious! I love that they taste fried even though they aren’t!
I wonder, could you microwave the potatoes instead of boiling first? What do you think?
They sound great and I can’t wait to try them!
Sure! Using the microwave first would be just fine. You really just need to cook the potatoes first so they’re smashable for roasting! Mmm Mmm good!
Ok, this is the single best idea that I’ve seen all month. I know my kids will love the idea and the flavor.
Very creative!
My husband makes these for me along with sau’te brussel sprouts and I am in heaven. When we mention these to other people they can’t understand how much better they are Smashed. OK I didn’t either until we tried them. Thanks for proving I’m not crazy. Trish Butler
Hi Liz, I just made these tonight – DELICIOUS!!! I do have to work on my shmooshing technique, though. Maybe I over-boiled the potatoes but when i tried to press them flat, they fell apart. Even still, they tasted fantastic! Reminds me of home fries. Yum.
YUMMMMM, I am drooling too! I WILL make these tomorrow night!!! Thanks!
I am putting these on my menu next week. I have been wanting to make these for such a long time, but I keep forgetting, excuse me while I make a not to myself. 🙂
These look delicious! Just my kind of cooking–yummy and easy! Linda
I came across this post over at Stone Gable. These potatoes look really yummy. I’m going to try them…as soon as I get some new potatoes in my pantry! 😉
Hi. Found this via Pinterest & tried them last night. I made them with rosemary and a heavy dose of salt. OMG, I must have eaten a pound of potatoes! They were delicious! Like Amy above, though, I had trouble with the smooshing–my potatoes fell apart too. I think some of my potatoes were a little big for this technique, but it also might have been overboiling. But that didn’t affect the taste at all. Thank you!
These were great – I used gold potatoes, butter in place of the olive oil, & fresh rosemary. They had just enough crisp for my non-potato-eating four year old to liken them to oven fries before scarfing them down! 🙂
I have a weakness for potatoes! I’m going to try these out!
My potatoes completely fell apart when I smushed them. I am using Yukon Gold- did I boil them too long?
Hi Lauren! I’m so sorry they fell apart! It took me a time or two to get the potatoes perfectly boiled the first time I tried to make them, and yes, boiling them too long will make them fall apart. You want them just barely tender enough to smash, so maybe reduce the boil time just a few minutes next time. I’m sure you will be a potato-smashing expert in no time! 🙂
Great, thank you! They still tasted delicious, just a little messier 🙂
Hi I make these by washing small potatoes, pricking them with a fork, putting them on a paper towel in a circle in the microwave and pressing potatoes on the front panel. Once cooked I let them cool a bit sometimes I don’t take the time, I smach them and I put a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan and cook them till the out shell is crispy, sprinkle with garlic power, salt and pepper or whatever spices you enjoy! This was one of the only way I could get my son to eat potatoes he is now 25 years old and still loves them.
That’s too funny, Lorraine! Your son picked a great way to enjoy them… they’re so tasty! Thanks for sharing.
Dear Liz,
I made these potatoes for the first time tonight. They were to die for delicious. My Dad and partner gobbled them up. To me, they were just about the best potatoes I’ve ever tasted. Thanks a million for sharing this recipe. Warmest wishes, 🙂 Jane
Jane, I am so glad you loved them! It makes my heart sing to know that someone is enjoying my recipes, so thank you so much for sharing! You are most certainly welcome. 🙂
I made these tonight with mini yellow potatoes….. sooooooo yummy!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Meredith! They are very yummy, indeed! Thanks for your sweet comment. 🙂
These look amazing, but you really shouldn’t be cooking with olive oil. The heat damages it. Some melted grass-fed butter would be better since it is heat stable. Do you add the herbs before or after baking?
Hey Susan! When I’m adding herbs to these potatoes, I like to add them before baking. It gives the potatoes fantastic flavor! I’m sure using butter would be delicious for cooking in this recipe too! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I made these tonight and they were DELISH! I boiled the potatoes ahead of time and smooshed them (I didn’t have a metal ladle and was too impatient to wait to do it by hand so I just put each potato, one by one, on a side plate and smooshed it with another side plate on top – it worked out great) then I put them in the fridge while I ran out to the gym. While the oven was preheating when I got back, I took the potatoes out of the fridge and laid them on some paper towels to soak up some of the condensation (did I mention I didn’t wait for them to cool down?) and then followed the rest of the instructions. I did 15mins each side then an additional 3 minutes each side under the broiler – it worked out great! Thanks for such a delicious recipe…I’m adding it to my permanent collection :o)
I’m SO thrilled to hear that, Lucy! I’m totally impatient when it comes to my food, too! Lol! Thanks so much for sharing this with me!
I am so gonna make those smashed potatos…they look AWESOME and so simple to do! Thank you so much for this recipe and when I make them, I will share them with you….I was thinking even to sprinkle some fresh bacon pieces on them or even melt cheese….so many ideas you could use!
Mmmm… bacon and cheese would be amazing on these potatoes! Great idea, Sue! Hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think! 🙂
Even better, boil the potatoes in crab boil (or use the potatoes from out of your crawfish boiling pot). That’s what we do here in New Orleans… ;). Another way to enjoy those Crab Boil potatoes is cubed or grated and fried up with some good red onion and then scramble some eggs into it. Even add bacon if that’s your thing. I’m gonna try this and use my crab boiled taters. Thanxx!!
That sounds AMAZING, Jason! You’ll have to let me know what you think!!
I had some amazing potatoes like these for a bday dinner this summer and came home searching for a recipe that sounded like what I had at this dinner. These potatoes are EVEN BETTER than the ones I had for my birthday! Thank you for such a simple, delicious recipe! They are on our family’s dinner rotation now. 🙂
I am so happy to hear that, Jennifer! These potatoes really are crazy delicious, aren’t they? So glad you stopped by. 🙂
I added a sprinkle of Parmesan, a bit of fresh ground pepper & a little less salt.
How did you like them, Judy? We love these crispy potatoes! Adding the Parmesan sounds delicious!
We loved them. All the crunch & flavor of crispy fried potatoes w/ out all the fat.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing, Judy!
These were delish!! So glad I finally got around to making them after pinning them over a year ago 😉 Can’t wait to make them again! I think I will add a little nutritional yeast to make them dairy-free and paleo-friendly.
I’m so happy to hear that, Jess! I do that all the time… pin things and never get a chance to make them. I’m thrilled that my recipe made it to your kitchen. 🙂
Made these recently for family & friends when we hosted a BBQ instead of the usual potato salad. They went down really well and shared recipe. Will definately make again (soon)!
So happy to hear that you all enjoyed them! Thank you for sharing your feedback! 🙂
I made these last night. They are so good. I substituted a little bit of the oil with bacon drippings from another recipe that needed bacon. They were so good.
Bacon drippings… oh man! I bet that was delicious! Thanks for sharing your feedback with us, Matt! 🙂
Just made these for dinner tonight!!! I used our measuring cup to smash the potatoes, perfect smasher!!!! I drizzled our garlic infused olive oil plus some garlic too!!!! Topped with Parmesan cheese all I can say is OMG!!! Hubby says this is a must from now on!!!
Do you think boiling and smashing the day before you want to serve them would work? Then just bake them right before you want to serve? I want to do as much ahead of time as possible so I can enjoy my guests.