Crispy and creamy! Sweet and salty! These crispy smashed potatoes are herby, garlicky, and incredibly satisfying.
Smashed potatoes have all the creaminess as mashed potatoes (without all the gluttony – which isn’t always a bad thing) with the addition of a satisfying crunch!
I love mashed potatoes but I always feel like I am missing substance. It took me a while to realize that the missing element is something crispy and crunchy, so these smashed potatoes will be a go to of mine!
Most smashed potatoes recipes I looked at when it came to developing this one used (Yukon) Gold Potatoes. Gold potatoes are great because they’re really creamy and have a smooth consistency. They even make the best mashed potatoes.
I really wanted to make a recipe using red potatoes. I like how buttery and kind of sweet that red potatoes can be. If you boil them enough, they get just as creamy as gold potatoes can be, and their skin is really flavorful. The flavors work really well with the herby, salty flavor of the seasoning.
For the seasoning, you can use a premixed Herb De Provence or Italian seasoning, but if you have all of the individual herbs, I would use them instead.
I’m not the biggest fan of salt but you can feel free to add another 1/2 tsp of salt to the seasoning.
When you boil the potatoes, the result is best if they are boiled until are fork can easily pierce it to the center.
Try to make sure that you don’t smash the potatoes TOO much when you crush them with a spoon. I used a flat heavy wooden spoon to smash my potatoes. You want them to still have ridges and be held together for the most part.
This recipe is named Crispy Smashed Potatoes for a reason, but everyone has varying preferences for how crispy they like their potato skins.
The recipe calls for 40 minutes for the baking time but I would start checking the potatoes at the 30 minute mark and pull them when they are to your preference!
Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 lbs Red Potatoes
Seasonings (use herbs individually or an Herb de Provence seasoning)
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- ½ tsp Crushed Red Pepper
- 1 Clove Garlic Finely Minced or Grated
- ½ tsp Dried Basil
- ½ tsp Dried Thyme
- ½ tsp Dried Rosemary
- ½ tsp Dried Oregano
- 4 Tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°.
- Place the potatoes into a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil until the potatoes they are tender and a fork can pierce them easily to the center.
- Mix together the salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, garlic, dried basil, dried thyme, dried rosemary, dried oregano, and olive oil in a bowl.
- Arrange the potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet.
- Using the back of a heavy bottomed spoon smash the potatos but keep them lumpy (refer to photos).
- Evenly drizzle the oil seasoning over the potatoes.
- Place in oven and bake for at least 30 minutes but up to 40 depending on how brown you want the skins.
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