Are you ready to make the best, most addictive potato side dish of your life? The kind that combines the impossibly creamy, fluffy interior of the best mashed potatoes with the shatteringly crisp, golden-brown, and salty edges of the best roasted potatoes? This incredible, from-scratch Crispy Sheet-Pan Smashed Potatoes recipe is your new holiday secret weapon. We’re talking tender, buttery Yukon Gold potatoes, boiled, smashed, and then essentially “pan-fried” in a hot oven until they form a magnificent, craggy, and unbelievably crunchy crust.
This isn’t just another potato recipe; it’s a guide to a modern, show-stopping side dish that brilliantly delivers the best of both worlds. Forget choosing between creamy and crispy. This is pure, cheesy, crispy-edged perfection, and it’s destined to be the star of your Thanksgiving or Christmas feast.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate “Crispy & Creamy” Holiday Side Dish
What makes these Smashed Potatoes so spectacularly delicious is their ingenious sheet-pan method and the incredible contrast of textures. This recipe is a masterpiece of simple, rustic elegance. The star of the show is the technique: buttery Yukon Gold potatoes are first boiled until they are fall-apart tender. Then, in a brilliant move, they are shaken vigorously in a colander to “rough up” their exteriors. The magic happens when these craggy potatoes are smashed onto a sheet pan of screaming-hot oil and roasted for a long time, creating a massive, single-layer potato cake with a magnificent, crunchy crust and a soft, steamy interior.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 2 hours 15 minutes |
| Active Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 8-10 |
The Flavors of the Feast: The Essential Ingredients
This iconic dish uses a handful of high-quality, simple ingredients to create its signature rich and comforting flavor.
- The Potatoes (Yukon Golds are KEY!):
- For the best, most creamy and buttery result, it is essential to use a waxy potato like a Yukon Gold. Their lower starch content and dense texture are perfect for a creamy, not gummy, smash, and their natural, golden color is beautiful.
- The “Crispy” Secret (Hot Oil!):
- The number one secret to the incredible crust is preheating your vegetable oil on the sheet pan in a very hot oven. This is the key that instantly sears and fries the starchy exterior of the potatoes, creating a crispy, not greasy, result.
- The Simple Finish: A few pats of butter melted over the top during the bake add richness, and a final shower of freshly chopped chives adds a burst of bright, fresh flavor.
The Chef’s Secret Masterclass: The Keys to the Ultimate Crispy Potato
This recipe uses two simple but brilliant professional techniques that guarantee a flawless, impressive result.
- The “Rough Up” Technique: The number one secret to the magnificent, craggy crust is to shake the potatoes vigorously in a colander after you’ve drained them. This brilliant, but simple, step roughs up the starchy exteriors of the boiled potatoes, creating a huge amount of extra surface area. This starchy, fluffy coating is the key that will fry and crisp up into an unbelievably crunchy crust in the hot oil.
- The Hot Pan, Hot Oil Trick: The secret to potatoes that are beautifully browned and crispy (and not just steamed and soggy) is to smash them onto a preheated pan of hot oil. By placing your oiled pan in the oven while it preheats, you are essentially turning it into a giant, flat griddle. When your roughed-up potatoes hit the screaming-hot oil, they will immediately begin to sizzle and fry, which is the key to developing that deep, delicious, and caramelized crust.
Step-by-Step to the Best Crispy Sheet-Pan Smashed Potatoes
This elegant, festive side dish is a joy to prepare.
Part 1: The Art of the Perfect Boil and “Rough Up”
Step 1: First, preheat your oven to a hot 425°F ($218^{\circ}C$). Place a wire rack in one sheet pan.
Step 2: Add your 5 pounds of peeled and cubed Yukon Gold potatoes to a large pot and cover them with cold water by at least 1 inch. Heavily salt the water and bring it to a boil. Continue to boil for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes are so tender they can be easily smashed with the back of a spoon.
Step 3 (The Most Important Step!): Drain the potatoes in a colander. Then, shake the colander as hard as you can without losing any potatoes, until their surfaces are very roughed up and craggy. Transfer the potatoes to your prepared wire rack and let them dry for 10 minutes.
Step 4: While the potatoes are drying, pour your 1/3 cup of vegetable oil onto a separate sheet pan and place it in the hot oven for 10 minutes to heat up.
Part 2: The Smash and the Two-Stage Bake
Step 1: Carefully remove the sheet pan with the hot oil from the oven. Transfer your roughed-up potatoes to the hot oil (be careful, as the oil might splatter!).
Step 2: Use the back of a large spoon to gently smash the potatoes until they fill most of the sheet pan in a single, rustic layer. Season with 1 tablespoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Scatter your 4 tablespoons of butter pieces over the top of the potatoes.
Step 3: Bake for about 45 minutes, until the bottoms of the potatoes are turning a beautiful golden brown.
Step 4: Use a large spatula to toss and flip the potatoes. Continue to bake for another 50 to 55 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown again and the tops are crispy and golden in a few places.
Let the potatoes cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Season with any more salt and pepper to your taste and sprinkle generously with your chopped fresh chives.
Crispy Sheet-Pan Smashed Potatoes (A Holiday Showstopper!)
A unique and delicious recipe for ‘Sheet Pan Crispy Mashed Potatoes,’ a perfect side dish for a holiday feast. This dish creates a texture that is a hybrid of creamy mashed potatoes and crispy roasted potatoes. The process involves boiling Yukon Gold potatoes until very tender, roughing up their surfaces, and then mashing them onto a preheated, oiled sheet pan. The potatoes are dotted with butter and then baked for a long time, being tossed once, until they are deeply golden brown with an irresistibly crispy crust.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Add the potatoes to a large pot, cover with cold water, and heavily salt the water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, until the potatoes can be easily smashed with a spoon.
- While the potatoes are boiling, pour the vegetable oil onto a large sheet pan and place it in the preheating oven for 10 minutes to get the oil very hot.
- Drain the cooked potatoes in a colander, then shake the colander vigorously to rough up the surfaces of the potatoes. Let them dry for about 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove the hot sheet pan from the oven. Transfer the potatoes to the hot oil. Gently mash the potatoes with the back of a spoon, spreading them across the pan.
- Season with 1 tablespoon of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Scatter the pieces of butter over the top of the potatoes.
- Bake for about 45 minutes, until the bottoms of the potatoes are turning golden brown.
- Toss the potatoes and continue to bake for another 50 to 55 minutes, until the potatoes are crispy and golden brown all over.
- Let them cool slightly for about 10 minutes, then season with more salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh chives before serving.
Notes
- This is a showstopper side dish, perfect for a large gathering or a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
- The key technique for achieving the crispy texture is to rough up the boiled potatoes and then mash them onto a preheated, oiled sheet pan.
- The total baking time is quite long (close to two hours), which is necessary to achieve the desired level of crispiness.
- This recipe is a great alternative to traditional mashed or roasted potatoes.
What to Serve With Your Smashed Potatoes
This beautiful and savory dish is a fantastic and incredibly versatile side. It is the perfect accompaniment to almost any holiday main course or Sunday supper.
- Holiday Roasts: It is an absolute must-have alongside a classic Roasted Turkey, a Glazed Ham, or a beautiful Prime Rib.
- Weeknight Dinners: It is also the perfect, comforting side for a simple roasted chicken or some classic meatloaf.
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Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- Make-Ahead: For a super-fast and impressive side dish, you can prepare the boiled and roughed-up potatoes up to a day in advance. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Storage: Store any leftover potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheating: The absolute best way to reheat these potatoes and bring back their original crispy crust is right back on a sheet pan in a hot 425°F oven for about 10-15 minutes. An air fryer also works beautifully!
Frequently Asked questions (FAQs)
Q1: Why are my potatoes soggy instead of crispy?
The most common culprits are not getting the oil hot enough before adding the potatoes, or not drying the potatoes after boiling them. The preheated oil and the dry, craggy surface of the potatoes are the non-negotiable keys to a crispy, fried result rather than a steamed, soggy one.
Q2: Can I use a different kind of potato?
Yes! If you prefer a fluffier, less creamy interior, a starchy Russet potato will also work beautifully with this method.
Q3: Can I add other flavors to these potatoes?
Of course! This recipe is a wonderful base for all sorts of delicious additions. You could toss about 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, or some smoked paprika with the potatoes before you smash them, or add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh, chopped rosemary or thyme. A generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese added during the last 15 minutes of baking is also fantastic!
Q4: Do I really need to use that much oil?
Yes! The large amount of hot oil is the key to the “pan-frying in the oven” technique. The potatoes will not absorb all of it, but it is necessary to create that beautiful, all-over, crispy crust.
Q5: Can I make these in a smaller batch?
Yes, you can easily halve this recipe and bake it on a smaller, 9×13-inch sheet pan.