Crispy Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes

Crispy Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes are a delicious side dish.  They’re easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner and pretty enough to serve to guests.

You can do all kinds of fancy things with potatoes, but nothing beats digging into soft red potatoes with crispy edges, plenty of garlic, and a scattering of herbs. That combination is simple, classic, and exactly how potatoes are meant to be eaten.

These smashed red potatoes deliver serious crispy, salty, garlicky goodness on the outside, with tender, almost buttery centers inside — even though they’re made with olive oil. (That said, butter would be very welcome here, too.) They look impressive, but don’t be fooled: this is an easy side dish that’s only slightly more involved than boiling potatoes. In other words, it’s potato magic without the fuss.

Make this smashed potatoes recipe for a party

When I invite friends over for dinner, I like to do as much cooking as possible before they arrive. Are you the same way? These smashed red potatoes are straightforward to make in advance. Here’s what you do:

• Boil the potatoes, then smash them and leave them on a baking sheet.
• Make the garlic oil.
• 15 minutes before you want to eat, drizzle the potatoes with the oil and broil them in the oven.

Doing it this way lets you get the messy smashing part out of the way before your friends arrive.

Or for more laughs, boil the potatoes, then enlist your friends’ help in smashing them with their fists. ← Done this and it’s FUN! 

Prevent your garlic smashed potatoes from falling apart

When you smash potatoes, it can be easy to be enthusiastic and smash them a little too hard. Don’t worry, if they fall apart more than the potatoes in the pictures here, that means you’ll have extra crispy bits. And no one in the whole history of the world has ever complained about that.

If keeping them pretty is important to you, squish them gently. And if they do fall apart a bit, they can often be squished back together.

For the prettiest results, make sure you boil the potatoes until they are soft. If they’re not quite soft enough, they can break into chunks when you squish them. Nice soft potatoes are much easier to smash.

Tap stars to rate!

4.93 stars (40 ratings)

Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes Recipe

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 40 minutes mins

Total: 45 minutes mins

Rate Recipe Print

• Pin

Remove Ads

Crispy Garlic Smashed Red Potatoes are an insanely delicious side dish recipe.  They're easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner and pretty enough to serve to guests.

8

Ingredients

• ▢ 8 medium red potatoes (2 lb. total)
• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon EACH: pepper and dried thyme
• ▢ 2 large garlic cloves (very finely minced)

Instructions 

• Place the potatoes in a large pot (so they are in a single layer) and cover them with an inch of water. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
  8 medium red potatoes
• In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic.
  ¼ cup olive oil, 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon EACH: pepper and dried thyme, 2 large garlic cloves
• Remove the potatoes from the pot and let them cool slightly. Turn your oven to broil with the rack near the top.
• Smash the potatoes (see notes) then drizzle them with the oil and herbs. Broil for 10 minutes, or until the tops are crispy.

Notes

To smash the potatoes:

1. Use your fist to punch them. This way is more fun but also messier.
2. Gently squish the potatoes with the palm of your hand or something heavy, like a pot. This way you’ll get prettier looking smashed potatoes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving = ⅛ of the recipe, Calories: 211kcal (11%), Carbohydrates: 34g (11%), Protein: 4g (8%), Fat: 7g (11%), Saturated Fat: 1g (6%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 475mg (21%), Potassium: 976mg (28%), Fiber: 4g (17%), Sugar: 3g (3%), Vitamin A: 16IU, Vitamin C: 19mg (23%), Calcium: 24mg (2%), Iron: 2mg (11%)

© Author Kristen Stevens

We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.