How do I make crispy smashed potatoes?
Boil, squash, dry, then roast hot. The two decisions that separate genuinely crisp smashed potatoes from soft flat ones — how hard you squash and how much you leave them alone.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 3 min
Short answer
Boil small waxy or all-rounder potatoes whole until fully soft, drain and steam dry, then squash each one to about 1 cm on an oiled tray, brush generously with oil and roast at 220°C for 30–40 minutes without turning until the edges are deep brown and brittle. The crisp comes from the ragged edges, so squash until they crack rather than flattening them neatly.
Smashed potatoes are not a shortcut roast potato — they are a different thing, with far more crisp surface per potato and a creamy middle rather than a fluffy one. They also want a different potato from a roast.
Step by step
- Pick small potatoes and cook them whole.Waxy or all-rounder, roughly golf-ball size — Charlotte, Anya, small Maris Piper, or a bag of small mixed potatoes. Whole and skin-on so they hold together through the squash.
- Boil until properly soft, not al dente.Cold water, well salted, simmered until a skewer meets no resistance at all — 15–20 minutes. Underdone potatoes will not squash; they shatter or bounce.
- Drain and steam dry thoroughly.Back in the hot pan off the heat, lid off, for a few minutes. Then spread them on the roasting tray and give them another few minutes to cool and dry. Surface water is the difference between crisp and leathery.
- Oil the tray, then squash.Space them out on an oiled heavy tray. Press each one with the base of a glass, a mug, a flat spatula or your palm through a tea towel. Aim for about 1 cm thick, pressing until the skin cracks and the edges go ragged. Those ragged edges are the entire point — they are what goes brittle.
- Oil generously on top and season.Brush or spoon oil over every surface. This is not the moment to be sparing; the exposed starch needs fat to crisp rather than dry out. Salt, pepper, and any hard herb — rosemary or thyme — goes on now. Garlic and soft herbs go on at the end or they burn.
- Roast hot and do not touch them.220°C, 30–40 minutes, one tray, no crowding. Do not turn them. They crisp on the base against the hot metal and on top from the oven air, and turning them breaks the crust off. Check at 30 minutes; you want dark brown edges, not golden.
- Finish immediately.Flaky salt, and whatever you like on top — grated parmesan for the last five minutes, chopped garlic and parsley off the heat, soured cream, or a spoonful of something sharp. Serve straight away; they soften as they sit.
Tips
- You can boil and squash them hours ahead, leave them on the tray in the fridge and roast at the last minute. They crisp better for having dried out.
- A heavy tray matters more here than for most things, because so much of the crisping happens by conduction from the metal.
- If they stick, they are not ready. Leave them longer and they will release.
- Parboiled new potatoes left over from another meal are ideal for this.
Common mistakes
- Squashing them too thin — Below about 5 mm there is no creamy middle left, and they go from crisp to dry and papery.
- Being timid with the oil — The cracked starchy surface is enormous. Without enough fat it dehydrates into cardboard instead of frying.
- Crowding the tray — Trapped steam between potatoes stops any of them browning. Use two trays.
Questions people ask
Can I do these in an air fryer?
Yes, and the smaller chamber and strong airflow suit them well. Roughly 200°C for 15–20 minutes, in a single layer, in batches.
Why waxy rather than floury?
A floury potato tends to fall apart entirely when you squash it. Waxy holds as a disc, which is what gives you the ragged-edged shape.