I have yet to meet a person who doesn’t like these potatoes. They’ve got it all- flavor, texture, and the comfort food factor, plus they are vegan and gluten-free. They are great for breakfast or brunch, served up with eggs, or for dinner alongside fish, chicken, meat, or your favorite vegan main. The leftovers are even good, but in truth rarely last that long.
Potatoes have gotten a bad rap through the years and many low-carb diets shy away from them. But I don’t care, I love them. They are tasty, full of nutrients and actually low in calories if you pay attention to what you put on them. Farmer’s markets will be rolling out with their new spring potatoes soon, colorful little thin-skinned potatoes, freshly dug up from the ground. To me, they smell heavenly and earthy and somehow my body knows they are full of minerals and vitamins.
Crispy Smashed Potatoes | 60-second video
What potatoes to use:
Most thinned skinned potatpes will work here! Use small to medium-sized for the best results- baby reds, purple potatoes, tri-colored, small yukons, even fingerlings.
How to prep the potatoes:
Steam or boil the ptoatoes whole, until tender then cool or chill. This can be done ahead! I find that chilled potatoes are easiest to work with.
How to make smashed potatoes:
Once your potatoes are steamed and cooled, heat oil in a skillet and season the oil with salt and pepper.
Add a handful of fresh herbs- rosemary, thyme, sage or all three, and whole garlic cloves. Swirl to infuse the oil.
Set the herbs and garlic aside and mince the garlic.
Using a potato masher or bottom of a pot, or your hand, smash the steamed, cooled potatoes and fry each side until crispy and heated through.
Work in batches, keeping them in a warm oven until ready to serve.
The health benefits of potatoes are plentiful!
Believe it or not, potatoes are full of nutrients, especially their skin! High in Potassium, Vitamin C and B6, potatoes also contain both soluble and insoluble fiber keeping us feeling regular, and fuller longer
***Steaming the potatoes ahead and cooling (before smashing) increases the level of “resistant” starch in the potatoes- boosting the health factor even more. Resistant starch acts as a prebiotic- feeding the good bacteria in our guts, building immunity and overall health- so very important!
So I often plan this way: Steam the night before, cool overnight in the fridge, then smash and pan-sear either the next day or next evening when I’m ready to serve.
Sprinkle the Smashed Potatoes with the caramelized garlic and herbs and serve immediately.
Leftovers reheat easily in an oven, uncovered. But there usually are none. 😉
What to serve with Smashed Potatoes:
- Oven-Baked Frittata with Veggies
- Shakshuka!
- Moroccan Eggs with Harissa Yogurt
- Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus, Leeks, Chèvre and Dill
- Roasted Chicken with Sumac and Meyer lemons
- Simple Baked Salmon with Asparagus and Dill Sauce
- Tarragon Chicken (or Tofu) with Asparagus, Lemon and Leeks
- Grilled Chilean Beef Kabobs with Chimichurri Sauce
- Grilled Lamb Chops with Harissa Yogurt
Smashed Potato Variations to further elevate:
Depending on what you pairing the potatoes with you can kind of customize them to fit the theme of any meal. Here are some ideas. If you have picky eaters, leave the sauce on the side.
- Drizzle with Chimichurri Sauce
- Drizzle with Harissa Paste or Harissa yogurt
- Drizzle with Flavorful Spanish Romesco Sauce Recipe
- Drizzle with Authentic Zhoug Sauce or Zhoug Yogurt
- Drizzle with Gremolata (a zesty Italian herb sauce)
- Sprinkle with Homemade Chili Seasoning
- Drizzle with Salsa Macha.
- Drizzle with Cilantro Mint Chutney Recipe
- Drizzle with Fermented Hot Sauce
Hope you enjoy these highly adaptable Herby Smashed Potatoes – they are always a hit around here and go with so many things! Find some new spring potatoes at your local farmer’s market this spring and play around with different varieties! So much fun.
Happy weekend friends.
xoxo
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Herby Smashed Potatoes
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4-5 1x
- Category: sidedish, potato recipes
- Method: smashed
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Crispy Herbed Smashed Potatoes with Garlic – a healthy vegan side perfect for breakfast or dinner! Best to steam potatoes ahead, and let cool in the fridge.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place whole potatoes in a large pot and cover with an inch of salted water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer until fork-tender, 20-30 minutes, depending on size. You want these fairly tender, so they are easy to smash. Drain, let cool. You can do this the night before or few days before and store in the fridge. FYI Chilling potatoes after cooking actually increases health benefits (see post).
- When ready to fry, heat oven to 400F (to keep the potatoes warm)
- Smash the potatoes until relatively flattened, about 3/4 inch thick, using a potato masher or bottom of a skillet, set aside.
- Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the smashed garlic cloves and swirl the oil around, until fragrant and garlic is golden. Add the herbs, and cook for 45-60 seconds, infusing the oil. Set both aside, saving for the garnish at the end.
- Season the fragrant rosemary garlic oil in the pan, with salt and pepper, and swirl.
- Add the smashed potatoes, working in batches, leaving room to maneuver. Season the top of them with salt and pepper. Fry each side of the potatoes until crispy and deeply golden, about 5-7 minutes, resisting the urge to fiddle too much so they get nice and crispy. Add more oil if you need it when you flip.
- Keep the first batch warm in the oven, while doing the second batch. When done, pile them up in the skillet.
- Chop up the caramelized garlic cloves sprinkling along with the herbs over the potatoes.
- Add chili flakes if you like and serve.
Notes
Optional Additions to further elevate:
- Drizzle with Chimichurri Sauce
- Drizzle with Harissa Paste or Harissa yogurt
- Drizzle with Authentic Zhoug Sauce or Zhoug Yogurt
- Drizzle with Gremolata (a zesty Italian herb sauce)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5 ounces
- Calories: 257
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 619.9 mg
- Fat: 14.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 30.8 g
- Fiber: 5.8 g
- Protein: 3.4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
I made this recipe to accompany tarragon tofu. It was delicious (as was the tofu). As usual, I cooked way too much and heated the rest of the potatoes up in the air fryer for lunch. No apologies, I love potatoes lol
Perfect!
Mmm simple and delicious.
Possibly my new favorite “potato recipe”- super flavorful and crispy! Served with five-spice chicken thighs – SO good! Followed the recipe exactly but just used the fresh rosemary I had on hand from the garden and that was enough herbs to make this dish come alive!
Perfect Merideth, glad you liked them!
So good!
This was such a simple yet flavorful way to make potatoes. It comes together so quickly since the potatoes are already cooked. Made this with Yukon gold but will definitely try with other types for variety.
Great to hear Diane! Yes, simple and easy. 😉
This was very good! I baked the potatoes instead of frying them, with the infused oil on top, and they were delicious.
Made this dish this morning. It was fabulous and got rave reviews. I’ll never try to make hash browns again. We followed the recipe exactly and the potatoes came out perfectly. Next time, though, I’ll ad a little more cayenne pepper for a bit more of a kick. Just my personal taste.