Crispy smashed potatoes are a finger-liking delicious potato appetizer, side dish, or snack for a fun everyday dinner.

Eat them as they are, or drizzle them with a quick salsa verde, chimichurri, and pico de gallo for a tasty side dish.

Smashed potatoes
Crispy Smashed Potatoes (appetizer and side dish)

It was love at first bite between us and this smashed potatoes recipe.

First, they are super easy to make, which you’ll love. Second, they get crispy on the outside and buttery tender on the inside, which you’ll love even more.

Third, this recipe is excellent for so many occasions. For example, you can serve them as a side dish as a substitute for roasted potatoes.

Or you can top them with fresh tomato salsa, homemade sour cream, and chimichurri and serve them as a snack or appetizer.

They are the perfect finger food, similar to nachos, and yes, you can even top them with cheese or dairy-free cheese if you like.

The secret to making the best crispy smashed potatoes is to bake them at high temperature until their skin gets super crisp and golden brown.

crispy smashed potatoes on a platter

Ingredients

Ingredients smashed potatoes

Potatoes

Try to use baby potatoes; the smaller they are, the crispier they’ll get, and they are also easier to eat as finger food.

You can use red or yellow baby potatoes. Both work wonderfully for this recipe.

If you can’t find baby potatoes, you can use regular-sized Yukon Gold; however, try to pick the smallest you can find. Smaller potatoes tend to get crispier and cook faster.

Olive oil

We recommend extra virgin olive oil. It has a fruitier and nuttier taste and is more stable at high temperatures, thanks to its high antioxidant content; it is better for you.

You can substitute regular olive oil for EVO oil. We avoid melted butter in this recipe.

Salt and pepper

We season the potatoes with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Herbs

If you serve this recipe as a side dish, you can season the potatoes with rosemary, sage, fresh thyme, and garlic (or garlic powder) before roasting them.

You can also sprinkle them with parsley, dill, chives, or cilantro once roasted.

Toppings

If you are serving them as an appetizer or snack, we recommend omitting the herbs and adding one or more toppings once the potatoes are cooked.

Some excellent toppings for this crispy smashed potato recipe are chimichurri, cashew sour cream, salsa verde, fresh tomato salsa, and many more (see “variations” chapter below).

You can also top them with shredded cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, or shredded dairy-free cheese, then broil them until the cheese melts.

Smashed potatoes ganished pico de gaillo

Instructions

Wash the potatoes, add them to a large pot of water, and add the salt.

Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until fork tender (20 to 30 minutes).

boil potatoes

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line a baking tray or sheet pan with parchment paper.

Next, drain the potatoes and let them cool down for 5 minutes.

This allows the excess moisture in the steam to go, heaping the potatoes crisp up in the oven.

drain potatoes

Smash them with a sturdy fork or potato masher and arrange them onto the baking tray, on a single layer, without overlapping or touching.

potatoes on baking tray

Season each potato with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil, and let them sit for 5 minutes to allow excess moisture to escape.

Note: here, you can add rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic, and other spices if you like. We keep the recipe basic so that we can add toppings later on.

spiced smashed potatoes before baking

Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes, are golden-brown and crisp up on top and around the edges.

baked smashed potatoes

Smashed potatoes are an excellent side dish to most meals and can easily replace more traditional roasted potatoes.

Sprinkle them with fresh parsley or rosemary, and enjoy.

Variations

Another great way to enjoy smashed potatoes is as an appetizer or snack. They, indeed, are the perfect finger food and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Try our:

Green-top smashed potatoes

Smashed potatoes ganished with dressing

Arrange the potatoes on a platter without overlapping much, then drizzle with a green sauce like:

Loaded smashed potatoes

sour cream and tomatoes toppings

Load them up in layers with a drizzle of:

Questions

Is it necessary to boil potatoes before roasting?

Boiling the potatoes before roasting allows them to cook inside without burning outside.

The potatoes will get buttery smooth and tender to the core. Then when you roast them in the oven, they’ll crisp up nicely outside and cook perfectly without burning.

Boiling before roasting is essential for making smashed potatoes.

Tips

Add the potatoes to cold water

Starting with cold water allows the potatoes to cook evenly throughout as the core of the potatoes slowly gets warmed up as the water heats up.

Also, this prevents the potatoes from breaking, which happens when they overcook on the outside and are still hard inside.

Allow vapor to escape

Drain the potatoes, then let them sit for 5 minutes to allow the vapor and moisture to escape. Then smash them with a fork or a potato masher, and let them sit for another 5 minutes before baking them.

Less moisture means crispier potatoes.

Make ahead

You can boil the potatoes up to 2 days ahead and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.

Shortly before your dinner, smash them and bake them for 30 to 40 minutes until crispy.

Storage

Refrigerator: store smashed potato leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The potatoes will lose the crunch.

Reheat in the microwave, or, to make them crunchy again, in a preheated oven or air-fryer for 10 to 15 minutes.

Note that smashed potatoes keep better without toppings.

More potato recipes

If you love potatoes as a side or main dish, get fresh inspiration from these easy potato recipes:

More Vegetable Sides

Give your dinner a colorful and zesty upgrade with these vibrant veggie side dishes:

If you tried this Smashed Potato recipe or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!

Smashed potatoes garnished

Smashed Potatoes

5 from 2 votes
Crispy smashed potatoes are a finger-liking delicious potato appetizerside dish, or snack for a fun everyday dinner or any special meal.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6 – 8 people
Course: Appetizer, Side dish, Snack
Cuisine: American

Ingredients 

  • 2 pounds baby potatoes boil with 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS

Instructions 

  • Wash the potatoes, add them to a large pot with cold water, and add the salt.
    Bring the water to a boil and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until fork tender.
    boil potatoes
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
    Drain potatoes and let them cool for 5 minutes to allow excess moisture to go.
    drain potatoes
  • Smash them with a sturdy fork or potato masher and arrange them onto the baking tray, on a single layer, without touching.
    potatoes on baking tray
  • Season each potato with saltpepper, and a drizzle of olive oil, and let them sit for 5 minutes to allow excess moisture to escape.
    Note: here, you can add rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic, and other spices if you like. We keep the recipe basic so that we can add toppings later on.
    seasoned smashed potatoes before baking
  • Bake at 400°F or 200°C for 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes, are golden-brown and crisp up on top and around the edges.
    baked smashed potatoes

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

  • Side dish: sprinkle with parsley, chives, dill, or cilantro.
    crispy smashed potatoes on a platter
  • Appetizer: drizzle with chimichurri and/or fresh tomato salsa.
    Smashed potatoes ganished with dressing
  • Snack: load them up with salsa and sour cream.
    sour cream and tomatoes toppings

Video

Smashed potatoes loaded with Toppings

Notes

Nutrition information is an estimate for one portion of smashed potatoes out of six, without toppings.
Check out the “variations” chapter above for more ideas and toppings.

Nutrition

Calories: 158kcal, Carbohydrates: 26g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Potassium: 638mg, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 3IU, Vitamin B6: 0.4mg, Vitamin C: 30mg, Vitamin E: 1mg, Vitamin K: 6µg, Calcium: 19mg, Folate: 24µg, Iron: 1mg, Manganese: 0.2mg, Magnesium: 35mg, Zinc: 0.4mg
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Hi! We are Nico & Louise

Weโ€™re here to share delicious, easy, and healthy plant-based recipes (vegetarian & vegan) ๐ŸŒฟโœจ.

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5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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