These golden and crispy roasted potatoes are so simple to make! They’ll deliver you the crunchiest outsides and fluffiest insides, with that glassy shattering finish that’s the hallmark of a perfect roasted potato. There are no fancy ingredients or additions, just potatoes, salt and oil, so you probably have everything you need to make these already!
Crispy roasted potatoes are one of those dishes that can be quite elusive, but this method simplifies the process and makes it achievable in anyone’s kitchen. You’ll want to serve these will almost everything, from your Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey to a weeknight roasted chicken. They’re essential as part of a spread of festive sides; honey roasted carrots, mash and bacon-wrapped sausages are firm favorites for us.
“I will never roast potatoes any other way again!”
Lisa
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My perfect crispy roasted potatoes are a two-step method of steaming and then roasting (with plenty of olive oil!). I learnt the method from my host mother when I went on student exchange to South Africa as a teenager. She did not have a steam oven, and probably to this day doesn’t know what one is! But she was an excellent cook and made the best roast potatoes I have ever eaten in my life.
I’ve tweaked my lovely host mom’s method to use my steam oven, so it’s not exactly identical. But the principle is the same. If you don’t have a steam oven, do as my host Mom did and put your potatoes in a stovetop steamer basket.
Why you’ll love this recipe for crispy roasted potatoes
- This is an easy process of steaming and then roasting your potatoes, so you get softly cooked starches and very crunchy edges in one. You can steam the potatoes using a stovetop steamer or a steam oven.
- Steaming means you’re pre-cooking the potato, making the edges soft and expanding the surface area for maximum crispiness. The slightly crumbly, imperfect edges on your already-soft potatoes soak up all the fat you toss them in and turn super crispy in the oven.
- These crispy roasted potatoes can be made a couple of hours ahead of time and kept warm in the oven, taking the pressure off when you’re serving a multi-course meal.
Why does this recipe work well in a steam oven?
Using a steam oven for crispy roasted potatoes means they can be done all in a single roasting dish from start to finish, with no pots of boiling water to contend with. You’ll get consistent, even-temperature steaming for the best interior texture of your potatoes.
Ingredients and substitutions
See the recipe card further down for full method and ingredient quantities.
- Potatoes: Use floury or all purpose potatoes rather than waxy ones for the crispiest roasted potatoes. Russet, Red Royal, Yukon Gold and Royal Blue will all work, or look for potatoes labelled for roasting when you purchase.
- Salt: I use fine salt for more even distribution over the outsides of the potatoes, but you could use kosher or flaky salt if you prefer.
- Fat: Olive oil is what I use for more everyday roasting, but duck fat makes for an extremely luxurious and savory-tasting potato with unbeatable glassy crunch on the outside. I use it for special occasion potato roasting, at Christmas or dinner parties.
How to make Crispy Roasted Potatoes
View, save and print the recipe card further down in this post; read on for the visual walk-through.
Tips for success
The first tip for the best roast potatoes is to steam them well; you want them to be pretty much cooked all the way through in this step.
If, during steaming, your potatoes have accumulated a little water in the pan, drain that off and leave the potatoes for a couple of minutes to let any excess moisture evaporate away. Dry steamed potatoes are what we’re looking for, because they’ll take up the oil or fat really well during roasting and become crunchy instead of leathery.
Rough up the corners and the edges of each piece. You can do this by just shaking the pan of steamed potatoes, knocking the pieces together almost like you’re trying to bruise them. The other way to do it is by lightly squeezing and crushing each potato in your hand after steaming. You choose the way that works for you, both are good but sometimes it depends on how floury your potatoes are as to how well the shaking-the-pan method works.
Now comes the most critical tip. We’re going to add more fat than seems holy. Stay with me, you’ll thank me later. I generally go with olive oil, but duck fat makes a truly worthy celebration potato (is there such a thing? I think so). Plenty of fat is the difference between a so-so roasted potato and a truly great crispy roasted potato.
The final tip! DO NOT be tempted to stir or move the potatoes around in the pan until close to the end of roasting. What you need is for them to sit there and form a really good crust while they cook. The crust is how you get the crispiness of a finished potato; you don’t want to tear it off and leave it in the bottom of the pan.
Frequently asked questions about crispy roasted potatoes
How small should I cut potatoes for roasting?
For a good balance between fluffy insides and crunchy roasted outsides, I like to cut my potatoes into pieces about 1 ½ inches (4cm) diameter.
Do I need to peel potatoes before roasting them?
Nope! Peeling, or not, is totally up to you. I don’t usually peel because I really enjoy the texture difference between the skin and the flesh. The skins will crisp up nicely during roasting, but won’t ever get as crunchy as the cut flesh of the potatoes. So if maximum crunch is what you’re after then peeling is the way to go.
Can I boil potatoes for roasting instead of steaming them?
Sure. I steam them because I have a steam oven and it means I can do the entire dish using one pan and one appliance. But if you’d prefer to boil your potatoes then go ahead. Potatoes cut into roughly 1 ½ inch pieces (4cm) take about 12 minutes to par-boil.
The key to boiling, if you do it, is to make sure you drain the potatoes very well and let the excess moisture evaporate. You can do that by putting the drained potatoes back into the pot and carefully tossing them over a low heat to cook out excess water. This will roughen the edges at the same time, which is a bonus.
What is the best fat to use for crispy roasted potatoes?
I most often use olive oil, because I have it on hand and it makes lovely crunchy potatoes. If I’m making crispy roasted potatoes for a special occasion I’ll use duck fat for a deep savory flavor and glassy crunch.
If you’d like to try another kind of oil, coconut oil also works well. I don’t love the taste but plenty of people do!
When should I salt my potatoes for roasting?
This is a little contentious. If you’re roasting potatoes start-to-finish in the oven, you should always salt them after cooking. This is to avoid drawing out moisture while they cook and making the outer layer leathery. With my steam-then-roast method, the potatoes will have lost a lot of their moisture before the roasting step, so you can salt them when you add the fat. I find this gives a good salty hit to the potato flesh without sacrificing crunchiness.
Do let me know in the comments if you’ve tried my crispy roasted potatoes, and if you enjoyed them! They’re easy once you know the little tricks to make them super crunchy, and you’ll win with just about everyone at the table.
Serving suggestions
Crispy roasted potatoes are the white t-shirt of side dishes; they go with everything! From a simple summer barbecue to a full Thanksgiving dinner, roasted potatoes are welcome and beloved wherever they appear.
Roasted potatoes are best served on the day of making, but leftovers do reheat well in a dry oven. If you want to get ahead with your dinner prep, you can fully complete this recipe up to a few hours ahead of when you need them. Leave them in the roasting dish and keep them in a warm spot, then return the dish to the oven for about 10 minutes before serving, just to reheat the potatoes back to piping hot.
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Crispy Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
Instructions
Steam the potatoes
- Preheat your oven to 212°F/100°C, steam setting (100% humidity). If you don't have a steam oven, you can either steam in a stovetop steamer or boil your potatoes instead.
- Peel your potatoes if you want to (although you certainly don't have to – I actually love a roasted potato with skin!). Depending on the size of your spuds, cut them in halves or quarters – you want each piece to be roughly 1.5-2 inches (4-5cm) in diameter.1 lb potatoes
- Put the potatoes in a single layer in a stainless steel pan or roasting dish and put the pan into your steam oven oven. Steam for 30 minutes, until they're very tender when pierced with a knife (if you're boiling instead of steaming, they will only need around 15 minutes cooking time).
Roast the potatoes
- Remove the steamed potatoes from the oven and change the setting to 350°F/180°C, convection setting (no steam).
- While the oven heats, drain the potatoes of any water and return them to the dish. Give them a good shake around to crush the edges slightly, this helps make them extra crispy later.
- Pour the oil over the shaken-around potatoes and season with the salt. Toss to make sure the potatoes are well-coated.1/3 cup olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
- Return the pan to the hot oven and roast the potatoes for 45 minutes to an hour, until they're golden, crisp and crunchy on the outside. You can give them a stir towards the end of cooking, but don't be tempted to do so until they've formed a really good crust, or you'll lose all the crunchy bits to the bottom of the pan!
- If you dare, season the potatoes with extra flaky salt, then pile them into a warmed bowl and serve.
Video
Notes
- These are quite forgiving when it comes to timing. If you’re making other parts of a meal and your potatoes are done too early, just lower your oven temperature to 300°F/150°C and leave them there. They’ll be fine for another 20-30 minutes while the rest of the meal comes together. Or, pull them from the oven and keep them somewhere warm for up to a couple of hours. Then reheat at your roasting temperature for 10 minutes before serving.
- Duck fat potatoes are a really special treat – if you can get some, use it in place of the olive oil for an amazing, savory depth of flavor.
23 Responses
I’ve never tried to do this so I’m not sure how it would go. If you do try it, I’d do a test batch first, and I would roast straight from frozen but give the potatoes a few extra minutes in the oven.
Is it possible to steam the potatoes now & freeze them ready for Christmas lunch?
I imagine they would need to be thawed before roasting?
Thanks
Yes, absolutely. You may need to alter the cooking time to suit but smaller whole potatoes will work just fine.
can i use small potatoes instead of cutting a large ones in pieces
Cooked these today for the first time – not one was left and everyone said we will need extra for Christmas!
Winner with the whole family!