Crispy Smashed Red Potatoes with Roasted Garlic Herb Butter

These crispy smashed red potatoes are the side dish that steals the show. Baby red potatoes are boiled until tender, smashed into craggy rounds, and roasted at high heat until shatteringly crisp.

Then they're drenched in a foamy roasted garlic herb butter that seeps into every crevice. The result: a golden, crunchy exterior with a fluffy interior, and a sweet, caramelized garlic flavor that's absolutely irresistible. Perfect for weeknight dinners or holiday feasts.

Smashed potatoes have earned their place on the dinner table for good reason: they deliver the best of both worlds—crispy edges and creamy centers. This recipe takes them to the next level with a generous coating of roasted garlic herb butter, which adds a deep, sweet, and savory richness.

The potatoes are boiled first to ensure a tender interior, then smashed thin to maximize surface area for browning. A hot oven does the rest, creating crackling crusts that shatter with each bite. Serve them alongside roasted meats, grilled fish, or simply as a stunning vegetarian main.

Ingredients

Why this recipe works

Boiling the potatoes before roasting ensures they are perfectly tender on the inside while the exterior gets crispy. The smash step creates craggy surfaces with lots of nooks and crannies that catch the heat and turn golden and crunchy. A high oven temperature (425°F) drives off moisture quickly, promoting crispiness rather than steaming.

The roasted garlic herb butter is the crowning glory. Roasted garlic is sweet and mellow, with a caramelized depth that raw garlic lacks. When melted with butter and fresh herbs, it becomes a fragrant, foamy glaze that clings to every potato.

The butter is poured over the hot potatoes just before serving, so it sizzles and soaks into the crispy surfaces without making them soggy.

Notes and substitutions

Choose small, uniformly sized baby red potatoes so they cook evenly. If you have larger potatoes, cut them in half before boiling. The potatoes should be fork-tender but not falling apart; overcooking makes them difficult to smash. Use a glass with a flat bottom or a potato masher to flatten them gently, keeping the pieces intact.

For the roasted garlic, you can use store-bought roasted garlic cloves or roast your own: cut the top off a garlic head, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and bake at 400°F for 40 minutes until soft.

The butter can be made ahead and reheated gently. Fresh herbs are ideal, but dried thyme and parsley can be substituted in a pinch—use about one teaspoon of dried for each tablespoon of fresh.

• baby red potatoes: baby Yukon Gold or other small waxy potatoes
• unsalted butter: salted butter (reduce added salt)
• fresh thyme: 1 tsp dried thyme
• fresh parsley: 1 tsp dried parsley

Equipment

• Large pot
• Colander
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Glass or potato masher
• Small saucepan
• Pastry brush