Crispy Smashed Potatoes With Garlic

Last updated on November 20th, 2022 at 01:56 pm

Crunchy and wonderful these rustic crispy smashed potatoes are the perfect side to any meal. Fluffy on the inside and super crispy on the outside they are kind of like fries, but better!

Bake them in the oven and serve alongside an easy vegan wellington and gravy. With added garlic and fresh parsley these spuds are full of crunch and flavour.

It's easy to halve the potato where there is love.

Except when you're loved by me because I don't share my potatoes. Sorry.

I'm calling it. I like these crispy smashed potatoes more than fries or chips. Whaaaat? And this is coming from a person who judges a restaurant entirely based on their ability to make fries. Seriously, if you can't make fries how can I trust you to make anything else?

Why You Are Going to Love These Potatoes

If I was a baby potato, I would want to be these crispy smashed potatoes when I grow up. They are:

• amazing crispy texture on the outside: you are going to love the crunchy exterior with a soft fluffy inside
• easy: these potatoes are really easy to make with only a few ingredients
• baked not fried: unlike fries, these crispy spuds are baked in the oven where you can control the oil.
• a perfect holiday or any day side: while they look and taste impressive enough for a festive table, they are simple enough to make everyday.
• vegan and gluten-free

These crispy spuds are everything pure and wonderful about potatoes. They are crispy with a hint of garlic and cheesiness (from the nutritional yeast) and soft and fluffy on the inside.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Smaller potatoes will create a crispier smashed spud. Larger potatoes will still crisp up but you'll get a more even fluffy-bits to crispy-bits ratio.

Nutritional yeast: "nooch" gives these potatoes a delicious cheesey punch. You can find nutritional yeast at health food stores and most supermarkets. You could also sprinkle a little vegan parmesan if you can't get nooch.

Herbs: I like parsley on these potatoes but you can use any herb you like! Sage, rosemary or thyme all work beautifully too.

How to Make Super Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Making these potatoes couldn't be easier.

Steps 1 and 2: First, wash the spuds and then cook them in water until soft. After straining them, steam dry them in a colander for 5 minutes.

Steps 3 and 4: Next, smash them! And then steam dry them for another 5 minutes.

Steps 5 and 6: Drizzle them with melted butter and olive oil and season generously.

Roast the potatoes for 20 minutes before removing them from the oven and drizzling them with garlic and parsley butter and sprinkling on some nutritional yeast flakes.

Finally, roast until crispy and deeply golden. So good!

Tips to Making Super Crispy Potatoes

Making smashed potatoes is pretty simply but there are a few things you can do to take your crispy spuds to the next level.

1. Let the potatoes steam dry twice! After cooking in boiling water, drain them and sit them in the colander for 5 minutes to steam dry. Steam dry them again for 5 minutes after you've smashed them to ensure super crispiness. Thanks Nagi at Recipe Tin Eats for this culinary pearl.
2. Use a large sheet pan to roast the potatoes. If you don't have one spread them out over two smaller pans. Your spuds need space to breathe.
3. Use butter and oil. This recipe calls for both butter and oil. Vegan butter isn't as prone to burning at high temperatures as regular butter but I like to add a little oil anyway to offset all that buttery flavour with the slight peppery olive oil.
4. Add fresh garlic later. We are using fresh garlic on these potatoes but it can burn at high heat so I divide my melted butter (2 tablespoon + another for later) and add my chopped parsley, garlic and nutritional yeast about 20 minutes in the cook. That way, we get aromatic garlic not bitter burnt flavour.

And that's it. Crispy, wonderful, flavoursome spuds to serve with pretty much anything or simply in a bowl to eat with your fingers. Amen to that.

Enjoy, x

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