Crispy Roasted Potatoes (3 Ways!)

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My favorite recipe for ultra-crispy roasted potatoes — easy to make with 3 different seasonings!

This recipe is sponsored by McCormick, my go-to brand for stocking my spice drawer.

Raise your hand if you love extra-crispy roasted potatoes!

Right there with ya. ♡

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I love them served up first thing in the morning as breakfast potatoes, or hot outta the oven to go with dinner.  I love them old-school dipped in ketchup or honey mustard sauce, or (nowadays in Spain) aioli and romesco.  I love them sprinkled with heaps of freshly-grated Parmesan, or a good squeeze of lemon juice.  I love them spicy, I love them herby, I love them citrusy, I love them cheesy, and I always love them extra-garlicky.  But the one non-negotiable?

They’ve gotta be crispy.  I love some legit-crispy potatoes!

So today, I thought I would show you my base recipe for making the best oven roasted potatoes.  I’ve also included three easy options for how to season them (shown above), plus lots and lots of other seasoning suggestions below.  The techniques featured here to make the potatoes extra-crispy are the same ones featured in my baked sweet potato fries recipe, and they’ve never let me down.  So if you’re looking to serve roasted potatoes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even the upcoming holidays, give this recipe a try and let me know how it goes!

10 Tips For Extra-Crispy Roasted Potatoes:

To avoid having soggy potatoes and make sure that your batch roasts up extra crispy, keep these 10 simple tips in mind:

1. Cut evenly-sized potatoes: Your first step is one that will make the biggest difference — take the time to evenly dice your potatoes.  I recommend about 3/4-inch cubes, more or less.  This will help avoid having oven roasted potatoes that are over- or under-cooked, and will help them get nice and crispy.

2. Give them a cold water bath: Once your potatoes are chopped, toss them into a large bowl.  Then cover the potatoes completely with cold water and let them soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight).  This will help to rinse off the excess starch and help the potatoes crisp up beautifully in the oven.  Once the potatoes have soaked, rinse and drain them.  Then — also very important — use a towel to pat them down until they are nice and dry before moving onto the next step.

3. Coat with cornstarch: Another next key to crispy potatoes?  Cornstarch.  Yep, it’s the secret ingredient that helps achieve that perfectly crispy exterior in a variety of baked recipes.  Whisk together the cornstarch and dry seasonings (garlic powder, black pepper, plus any other dry seasonings) and toss them with the potatoes, after they have been coated in oil.  But be sure to…

4. Wait on the salt: We’ll add it on at the very end, which will also help reduce the soggy factor and allow you to salt to taste.  Win-win.

5: Use parchment paper: This will help prevent the potatoes from sticking to the baking sheet and help them crisp up nicely.  Just be sure, though, that you use a brand of parchment paper that can withstand 425°F cooking temperatures.  If not, you can also just bake these on a greased baking sheet.

6. Don’t crowd the pan: Once you add your potatoes to the baking sheet — very important — be sure that they are laying in an even, single layer.  If they are overlapping on top of each other, the potatoes on the bottom won’t have the chance to get as crispy.  So go for an even layer and try not to completely crowd the pan.  (If the potatoes are overlapping, use a larger pan or two smaller pans.)

7. Bake at high heat: This will help the potatoes get nice and crispy.

8. Take the time to flip all of the potatoes:  Once the potatoes have baked halfway through, you need to give them a good flip.  Which — I will be the first to admit — isn’t the most graceful or speedy of processes.  But it’s worth it.  So grab a spatula, and even if it takes an extra few minutes, be sure that each of those potatoes has made a 180° flip.

9. Wait just 5 more minutes: Once the potatoes are nice and crispy and ready to go, remove the pan from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack.  Then resist the urge to take a bite, and let the potatoes rest on the baking sheet for 5 more minutes.  It will help them crisp up a bit more and be ready to serve.

10: Then dig in!  Once your roasted potatoes are ready to go…enjoy immediately!  Roasted potatoes are definitely best fresh outta the oven, and they will start to get soggy (as any kind of potatoes will) once they sit out for too long.  So go for it!

Crispy Roasted Potatoes Ingredients:

To make this oven roasted potatoes recipe, you will need:

• Red potatoes: Organic, if possible, and scrubbed so that they are nice and clean.  If you prefer, you could also use Russets or Yukon Gold potatoes for this recipe.  But I’m partial to red potatoes.
• Olive oil: Or any cooking oil that you prefer.
• Cornstarch: As mentioned above, to help the potatoes crisp up.
• Seasonings: I always begin with a simple base of garlic powder and freshly-cracked black pepper.  But see below for extra seasoning suggestions that you can add to this!
• Sea salt: Fine sea salt, which we will sprinkle on at the very end.

How To Make Roasted Potatoes:

To make this crispy roasted potatoes recipe, simply:

1. Dice your potatoes: An even 3/4-inch dice, more or less.
2. Soak in cold water: Soak the potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes.  Then rinse, drain and thoroughly pat dry.
3. Toss with oil: Transfer potatoes to a dry bowl, and toss evenly with oil.
4. Toss with cornstarch and seasonings: Then toss the potatoes with your cornstarch/seasoning mixture.
5. Transfer to parchment-covered baking sheet: And spread out the potatoes in a nice even layer.
6. Bake until crispy: Being sure to remove the pan and flip the potatoes halfway through.
7. Let cool: Remove the baking sheet from the oven, sprinkle the potatoes generously with salt, and let rest for 5 more minutes.
8. Serve immediately: And enjoy!!

Seasoning Variations:

Alright, my favorite topic — seasonings!!  There are about a million different ways that you could season your roasted potatoes.  As I mentioned above, I always begin with a base of garlic powder and freshly-cracked black pepper.  But in the recipe below, I’ve also included three simple examples of how to make your potatoes extra…

• Smoky: Just add some smoked paprika, plus maybe a pinch of cayenne if you’d like some heat.
• Lemony: For a Greek twist, add in some dried oregano.  Then, once the potatoes have roasted, add the zest and juice of a small lemon.
• Cheesy: Or for an Italian twist, add in some dried thyme.  Then, once the potatoes have roasted, sprinkle on lots and lots of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

Or, feel free to experiment with other:

• Dried seasonings: I often turn to McCormick’s pre-made blends to season potatoes, such as their Cajun, Caribbean Jerk, Italian, or Mexican seasonings.  I also love their Moroccan, Southwest and Za’atar seasonings in their gourmet line.
• Fresh herbs: Feel free to also chop some fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, or thyme and sprinkle them on top after roasting the potatoes.
• Cheeses: As mentioned above, freshly-grated Parmesan is always a win.  Or feel free to sprinkle on any other shredded cheeses that you might like!  I recommend adding cheese immediately after removing the potatoes from the oven.  Or you can add it in during the last 5 minutes of baking, so that it’s extra melty.
• Finishing oils: I’m a big fan of tossing roasted potatoes with a drizzle of truffle oil after baking — delicious!

You can either make one big batch with the same seasoning.  Or, for a fun surprise, try including a few different seasonings on the same baking sheet to give everyone around the dinner table some options!  You can either bake the batches side by side on parchment, as I did, or create little dividers on the baking sheet with aluminum foil — up to you.  🙂

Other Favorite Potato Recipes:

Crispy Roasted Potatoes (3 Ways!)

My favorite recipe for ultra-crispy roasted potatoes!  My base recipe is included below, but see notes above for different seasoning ideas.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound red potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon McCormick Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
• fine sea salt, to taste
• optional: extra seasonings (see below), finely-chopped fresh parsley (for sprinkling)

Directions:

1. Dice the potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes.  It’s important that the potatoes are uniformly sized for even cooking.  Add the potatoes to a large bowl of cold water and soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight).
2. Preheat the oven to 425°F.  Line a large baking sheet (or two medium baking sheets*) with parchment paper, or mist with cooking spray.  Set aside.
3. Drain the potatoes, rinse with cold water, then transfer to a dry bowl and blot the potatoes dry with a clean towel.  Drizzle the potatoes evenly with olive oil, and toss until they are evenly coated.
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, garlic powder, black pepper and any additional dry seasonings (see below) until combined.  Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the bowl of potatoes, then toss until the potatoes are evenly coated and the cornstarch has soaked into the oil.
5. Spread the potatoes out in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.  Be sure that the potatoes are not overlapping, or else they will not cook evenly.
6. Bake for 15 minutes.  Then remove pan from oven, and flip the potatoes 180° with a spatula.  Rearrange again so that the potatoes are evenly spaced and not overlapping.  Then bake for 10-15 more minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and have begun to brown and caramelize a bit around the edges.
7. Remove baking sheet from the oven, and sprinkle potatoes generously with your desired amount of salt.  Transfer baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the potatoes cool for 3-5 minutes, to continue crisping up.  Then serve immediately while still hot.

Feel free to incorporate these extra seasoning blends if you would like:

• Smoky: Whisk 1½ teaspoons McCormick Smoked Paprika (plus a pinch of McCormick Cayenne) in with the cornstarch, garlic powder and black pepper.
• Lemony: Whisk 1 teaspoon McCormick Dried Oregano in with the cornstarch, garlic powder and black pepper.  Then, once the potatoes have roasted, toss them with the zest and juice of 1 small lemon.
• Cheesy: Whisk 1 teaspoon McCormick Dried Thyme in with the cornstarch, garlic powder and black pepper.  Then, once the potatoes have roasted, sprinkle them with lots of freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.

*If you need to spread the fries out between two baking sheets, be sure to switch their positions on the top and bottom oven shelves at the halfway point when you flip the fries.

*Note that a double batch (2 pounds of potatoes) is featured in the photos above.

Difficulty: EasyCategory: Quick

All images and text ©Gimme Some Oven

This post is sponsored by McCormick, my go-to brand for stocking my spice drawer.  Many thanks for continuing to support the brands who help to make this site possible.