These savory Smashed Potatoes are smothered in creamy roasted garlic butter and then oven-roasted to perfection. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, they make a delicious, gluten-free choice any time you need a potato side dish.
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What are Smashed Potatoes?
Smashed potatoes are what happens to boiled potatoes when they take the road less traveled.
Instead of being mashed with milk and butter after boiling, smashed potatoes are … well, smashed. Then they're tossed with olive oil, herbs, and seasonings, and roasted at high heat until they are golden brown; crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.
There are many variations on the smashed potato theme (e.g., cheesy smashed potatoes, herby smashed potatoes, spicy smashed potatoes, etc.), but these roasted garlic smashed potatoes are our absolute favorite!
What Goes into this Recipe
★ Potatoes: In our experience, the variety of potato doesn’t matter as much as the type and size of the potato you choose.
Generally, choose fluffy potatoes over waxy varieties. We most often use baby Yukon Golds for this recipe, but we enjoy baby red Smashed Potatoes just as well.
You want to choose small potatoes, about the size of a golf ball and no larger than a chicken egg.
★ Compound Butter: Compound butter can be made up to a week ahead of time. The variety we are using for this recipe is infused with soft, savory-sweet roasted garlic.
Roasted garlic is one of the most versatile cooking ingredients you can have in your kitchen. It keeps for weeks in the fridge, and can be frozen for up to a year. (For more detailed instructions, visit our post about how to roast garlic in the oven.)
How to Make this Recipe
Prep Compound Butter
First, make the roasted garlic compound butter by mashing together one-quarter cup softened butter with 10-15 roasted garlic cloves.
Roll the butter in plastic wrap and refrigerate until solid. This step can be done up to a week ahead of time.
Prep Potatoes
Preheat oven to 450°F | 232°C.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. (We think the potatoes ultimately turn out crispier when using parchment, and even crispier if you use a bare, well-oiled heavy baking sheet.)
Do not peel the potatoes.
Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover the tops plus about half an inch. Place the saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil.
Once the potatoes are boiling, add a generous pinch of salt to the water, reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender; about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
Drain the boiled potatoes into a colander and allow them to steam dry for 5-10 minutes.
Place the potatoes in a medium bowl (or just reuse the dry, drained saucepan) and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with a sprinkling of kosher salt.
Smash Potatoes
Arrange the potatoes evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
Use a potato masher, hamburger press, or jar bottom to carefully flatten the potatoes until they are about a half- to three-quarters of an inch thick, keeping them in one piece if possible.
Drizzle the smashed potatoes with a little more olive oil, and then place a slice of the Roasted Garlic Compound Butter on the top. (The slices in the image below are ¼-inch thick and the size of a half-dollar, cut in half.)
You can use a knife to distribute the butter over the top of the potatoes before putting them in the oven if you want. We prefer to let it sit on top and form a sort of a roasted garlic cap.
Place the prepared potatoes into the preheated oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crispy.
Remove from the oven and season with another couple turns of the pepper mill and a sprinkling of kosher salt to taste.
FAQs & Expert Tips
Useful Potato Smashing Tools
• Potato masher
• Bottom of a Mason jar
• Hamburger press
We bought our little red hamburger press on a whim when we found it on sale awhile back. The one shown here is actually one of two that came with a "stuffed burger" set. I didn't really expect to use it all that much - we've yet to "stuff" a burger - but it has nevertheless come in surprisingly handy!
Roasted garlic compound butter is delicious with a multitude of foods and recipes. Try it on chicken, fish, steak, potatoes, roast beef, corn, beans, potatoes, noodles, and rice. (So basically, almost anything savory!)
Prolonged contact with salt can cause pitting on stainless steel surfaces, and salt placed in cold water takes longer to dissolve.
While it’s unlikely that adding salt at the beginning of the heating process will cause any real damage while boiling a single pot of potatoes, the process repeated time after time has the potential to affect your pan’s surface.
Related Recipes
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Roasted Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Equipment
- 1 Potato Masher or hamburger press
Ingredients
- 1 pound baby Yukon Gold potatoes or baby red potatoes
- 2 tablespoons light olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Compound Butter
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 15 whole roasted garlic cloves
Instructions
Prep Compound Butter
- (This step can be done up to a week ahead of time.)First, make the roasted garlic compound butter by mashing together ¼-cup of softened butter with 10-15 roasted garlic cloves. Roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate until solid. (For more detailed instructions, visit our roasted garlic compound butter recipe.)
Prep Potatoes
- Preheat oven to 450°F | 232°C.Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.We think the potatoes ultimately turn out crispier when using parchment, and even crispier if you use a bare, well-oiled heavy baking sheet.
- Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover the tops plus about half an inch. Place the saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil.Once the potatoes are boiling, add a generous pinch of salt to the water, reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender; about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Drain the potatoes into a colander and allow them to cool and steam dry for 5-10 minutes.
- Place the potatoes in a medium bowl (or just reuse the dry, drained saucepan) and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with a sprinkling of kosher salt.
Smash Potatoes
- Arrange the potatoes evenly on the prepared baking sheet.Using a potato masher, hamburger press, or the bottom of a Mason jar, carefully flatten the potatoes until they are about a half to three-quarters of an inch thick, keeping them in one piece if possible.
- Drizzle the smashed potatoes with a little more olive oil, and then place a ⅛-inch slice of the Roasted Garlic Compound Butter on the top.
Bake Potatoes
- Place the prepared potatoes into the preheated oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.Remove from the oven and season with another couple turns of the pepper mill and a sprinkling of kosher salt to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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Originally published September 29, 2013. Post has been updated with new content, images, and instructions to improve reader experience.
Mamachandra says
So fancy, love it! I usually take smashed garlic cloves and just shove one in each potatoe after smashing. I like your idea much better.
Those potatoes are crazy good. My husband won't let me make potatoes any other way anymore. Love your blog, ours is a mixed house, too 🙂
Renée ♥ says
Thanks for your enthusiastic words!! The longer I do this blog, the more I come to understand just how many people are living in "mixed households." It's a great lesson in learning to adjust and adapt.
Monica says
Those look amazing! I will have to try them one of these days!
Amber says
*Drools* I love all things garlic..