Smashed Potatoes in the Oven
Absolutely everybody seems to love these Smashed Potatoes in the Oven because they have delightfully crispy edges with a creamy center. Flavored with butter, garlic cloves, and Kosher salt, these are easy, fast, and absolutely addictive.
I love to serve easy potato side dishes to my family, like this one, my Air Fryer Roasted Breakfast Potatoes with Bacon, or Baked Potato Wedges.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Smashed Garlic Potatoes
- ⏲️ Ready In: 40 minutes
- 👨👨👦👦 Serves: 4
- 🍽️ Calories: 305kcal
- 🥣 Main Ingredients: Baby potatoes, butter, olive oil, garlic
- 💯 Why You’ll Love It: Serve these as a side dish any time you want to make dinner a special family affair!
If you can resist smashed potatoes like these, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. You’ll NEVER be able to eat just one!
This recipe takes humble potatoes to an entirely new level. They come out golden brown, with crispy edges, and soft, creamy centers—to die for, seriously.
Super simple and easy to make, this easy potato side dish requires only a handful of ingredients. Add a nice glass of red wine and eat smashed potatoes as a meal.
This recipe serves four, and that might seem like a lot of potatoes per person – that’s 1/2 pound each! Trust me when I say that each person WILL eat that many. These little suckers are so good you just can’t stop with a few.
Ingredients and Substitutions
For a complete list of ingredients, see the detailed recipe card below.
- Small yellow or red potatoes: These small potatoes are called B-size potatoes and are usually sold in 1-3 pound bags in the produce department. Leave the skin on the potatoes as they cook so that when you smash them the skin helps to hold the potato intact.
- Kosher salt: This is for boiling the potatoes and helps the center of the potatoes remain creamy in texture all throughout the cooking process.
- Olive oil: May substitute avocado oil or even vegetable or canola oil.
- Unsalted Butter: I use unsalted butter for everything because I like to control the amount of salt I’m adding when I cook.
- Garlic cloves: May substitute garlic powder.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Place the potatoes into a large pot; cover the potatoes with water until they are submerged by 1-inch; add the tablespoon of kosher salt to the water.
Over medium-high heat, bring the potatoes to a boil, continuing to cook until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, approx. 20-25 minutes.
Step 2: Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander and let them rest for 10-15 minutes so they are cool enough to handle with your fingers.
While the potatoes are cooling, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
In a small saucepan over medium low heat, add the olive oil and the butter. When the butter is melted, remove the saucepan from the heat, gently stirring in the garlic.
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Step 3: Cover two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, then brush each one with olive oil. **You can use foil in place of the parchment paper, if needed.
Using a fork, smash the potatoes, one at a time on the baking sheet to about 1/4-inch thickness. **This works best if you hold the outside of each potato with your fingertips on one hand, then use the other hand to smash the potato with the fork, using your fingertips to help the potato hold it’s shape a bit as you’re pressing it out.
Step 4: Brush the smashed potatoes with the prepared butter/garlic mixture.
Step 5: Place the baking sheets into the oven and roast the potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown with crispy edges.
Step 6: Remove the potatoes from the oven. Season to taste as desired with salt and pepper; serve warm.
Body Text
My Recipe Tips
- When the testing the potatoes as they cook in the water on your stove, always be sure to test them with a fork, not a knife point.
- The point of a knife will slide right into any vegetable, making you think it’s fork-tender when it very well may not be! Always use the dull tines of a fork to test for doneness, most especially when cooking potatoes of any type.
- If you don’t have small potatoes for this recipe, I’ve often used bigger potatoes, as well. Depending on their size, you can just cut them in half or quarters to make this recipe work. No worries!
- The potatoes should be cooked in salted water. The salted water cooks the potato’s starch more thoroughly, helping the flesh have a more creamy texture once they are roasted in the oven.
- If the potatoes tend to stick to your fork as you are smashing them, dip the fork into a bit of oil (or spray with a bit of nonstick spray) and try again.
- Cover your rimmed baking sheet with foil and a sheet of parchment paper to make for super fast and easy clean up. It feels so good to toss the foil or parchment in the trash to find a clean baking sheet beneath.
Smashed Garlic Potatoes FAQs
IF you have any leftovers, store the potatoes in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. You can also freeze any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
We like to reheat out leftovers smashed garlic potatoes in the air fryer because they get all crispy again. I have also reheated them in a hot skillet over medium heat and this makes them crispy once again, as well. You can also reheat the potatoes in the microwave for a few seconds, but because this is a moist heat cooking method, the potatoes will be hot but not very crispy. Still delicious, but not crispy!
Smash the potatoes while still warm, but not super hot. This way, you can work with them without hurting your fingers while you hold them in place to smash. If they get cold, they are too hard to smash properly. Do not worry if they fall apart a bit. Once you brush them with the garlic butter and pop the into the hot oven, everything will come together.
You sure can. The potatoes will still be golden brown and delicious with the crispy edges, thanks to the butter.
More Recipes
This Baked Potatoes in a Roaster recipe is hands-down the easiest and best way to cook and keep warm baked potatoes for a crowd.
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Smashed Garlic Potatoes
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds small yellow or red potatoes rinsed well and dried, DO NOT PEEL
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic Minced or crushed, may substitute 1 teaspoon garlic powder, if desired
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the potatoes into a large pot; cover the potatoes with water until they are submerged by 1-inch; add the tablespoon of kosher salt to the water.2 pounds small yellow or red potatoes, 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Over medium-high heat, bring the potatoes to a boil, continuing to cook until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, approx. 20-25 minutes.
- Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander and let them rest for 10-15 minutes so they are cool enough to handle with your fingers. **The potatoes will smash more easily when they are still warm, but if they are too hot they will fall all apart when you smash them.
- While the potatoes are cooling, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- In a small saucepan over medium low heat, add the olive oil and the butter. When the butter is melted, remove the saucepan from the heat, gently stirring in the garlic.3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3 cloves garlic
- Cover two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, then brush each one with olive oil. **You can use foil in place of the parchment paper, if needed.
- Using a fork, smash the warm potatoes, one at a time on the baking sheet to about 1/4-inch thickness. **This works best if you hold the outside of each potato with your fingertips on one hand, then use the other hand to smash the potato with the fork, using your fingertips to help the potato hold it's shape a bit as you're pressing it out.
- Brush the smashed potatoes with the prepared butter/garlic mixture. Place the baking sheets into the oven and roast the potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown with crispy edges.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven. Season to taste as desired with salt and pepper; serve warm.kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Notes
- When the testing the potatoes as they cook in the water on your stove, always be sure to test them with a fork, not a knife point. The point of a knife will slide right into any vegetable, making you think it’s fork-tender when it very well may not be! Always use the dull tines of a fork to test for doneness, most especially when cooking potatoes of any type.
- If you don’t have small potatoes for this recipe, I’ve often used bigger potatoes, as well. Depending on their size, you can just cut them in half or quarters to make this recipe work. No worries!
- The potatoes should be cooked in salted water. The salted water cooks the potato’s starch more thoroughly, helping the flesh have a more creamy texture once they are roasted in the oven.
- If the potatoes tend to stick to your fork as you are smashing them, dip the fork into a bit of oil (or spray with a bit of nonstick spray) and try again.
- Cover your rimmed baking sheet with foil and a sheet of parchment paper to make for super fast and easy clean up. It feels so good to toss the foil or parchment in the trash to find a clean baking sheet beneath.
So far everything has been great, love cooking with your recipes
Hi Steve –
Thank you for letting us know you’re been enjoying our recipes – we so appreciate feedback!
Let’s Keep Cookin’,
Chef Alli