Garlic Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

I am going to get this out of the way - potatoes are life. If you disagree, I don't think we can be friends. Just kidding! But, in all seriousness, I can eat potatoes of any kind, any time of the day. These garlic parmesan smashed potatoes are a great spin on classic roast potatoes, with plenty of opportunities for crispy goodness.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Recipe Overview
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Tips and Tricks
• Try These With ...
• Garlic Parmesan Smashed Potatoes
• 💬 Comments

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• They are super crunchy on the outside, and light and fluffy on the inside - the best of all worlds!
• They are fuss free - all you need is to boil your potatoes, and arrange them on a sheet pan.
• They require little oil to get crispy - you can, of course, use more olive oil if you prefer.
• Kids LOVE them! You can make them as simple or as fancy as you'd like, but i find garlic parmesan smashed potatoes are pretty kid friendly on their own.
• NO PEELING! For weeknight dinners, peeling vegetables can be a pain. None of that here!

Recipe Overview

• Flavour: These crispy potatoes have are perfectly garlic-y and salty, with a little kick from the old bay. The parmesan adds a nuttiness to the potatoes. While I think the parmesan is key, if you are not a fan, these potatoes are still perfectly spiced.
• Ease: Smashed potatoes are a three-step process - boil, smash and bake. No fancy tools are required to make these - as long as you have a pot, a sheet pan, and a good ol' glass. Easy peasy!
• Time: Because this recipe uses smaller baby potatoes, they only take between 10-15 minutes to boil until fork tender. Make sure you are preheating the oven while you are boiling the potatoes, so it is nice and hot by the time you are done smashing and seasoning the potatoes. They take another 15-20 minutes in the oven to get nice and crisp!

Ingredients

• Assorted Baby Potatoes: For these smashed potatoes, you will want to use baby potatoes, specifically. Larger potatoes will not give you the same result. I also find that baby potatoes are perfectly portioned. You don't have to use multicolour potatoes like I did, this is just what ended up in my weekly grocery order.
• Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Old Bay Seasoning and Rosemary: These are the main spices you need to make delicious potatoes. If you prefer, you can use fresh garlic as well, but since I mix together the spices in a mix before seasoning, I find garlic powder works better. If you are unfamiliar with Old Bay, it is a seasoning mix often used for seafood. It includes celery salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and paprika, which is a great way to incorporate tons of flavour with one seasoning!
• Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese: Ok please hear me out - fresh parmesan cheese is best for this recipe. However, I understand that fresh parmesan cheese is not always budget-friendly, and as a student there is nothing I relate to more. You can either skip the parm or use whatever you have on hand.

Instructions

1. Preheat your Oven: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Having a hot oven is the key to weeknight success, so you are not waiting around.
2. Boil the Potatoes: The first step to making smashed potatoes is to boil the baby potatoes in very liberally salted water. I think this is super important, as it will help with the issue of bland potatoes. You will boil these potatoes until they are fork tender - meaning, when you stick a fork into a potato, you should be able to do so with little-to-no resistance. This should take approximately 10-15 minutes.
3. Drain the Potatoes: Once the potatoes are boiled, drain the potatoes. Arrange them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
4. Smash the Potatoes: Using the bottom of a medium-sized glass, smash down on the whole potatoes - as pictured above.
5. Season the Potatoes: Mix together the seasoning ingredients. Either spray the potatoes with olive oil cooking spray (which is what I did), or drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle the potatoes liberally with the seasoning mix.
6. Roast: Roast the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, or until perfectly crispy. You can either sprinkle with parmesan and bake for the last 3-5 minutes, or you can grate the parmesan on the warm potatoes when they come out of the oven. I sprinkled them with cheese out of the oven.

Tips and Tricks

• Be careful! The potatoes will be hot when you drain them, so please use caution, and let them cool down if needed.
• Try and get more ridges in the potatoes - the more nooks and crannies allow for more crispy bits on the potatoes.
• Don't be stingy on the seasoning - the recipe measurements make a good bit of seasoning. It may seem like a lot, but potatoes are pretty bland without it!

Try These With ...

• Alabama White Sauce Chicken
• Weeknight Chicken Cacciatore
• Skillet Mushroom Gravy Meatballs