Smashed Potato Salad

No ratings yet

Smashed potato salad combines crispy golden roasted potatoes with a creamy and zingy dressing and fresh green veg. It’s an unbeatable combination that you’ll want to make on repeat.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 45

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Western

Keyword: potato salad, smashed potato salad, smashed potatoes

Servings:

Calories: 293kcal

Ingredients

For the smashed potatoes

2 lb baby potatoes scrubbed, cut in half if large
4 Tbsp olive oil divided
1 tsp flaky salt

For the dressing and salad

3/4 cup Greek yogurt unsweetened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped dill fronds
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 shallot finely chopped
1 garlic clove minced
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp flaky salt or to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper or to taste
1 cucumber large, deseeded and finely diced
1/3 cup cornichons or a medium dill pickle, finely chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Put the baby potatoes onto a large baking sheet and put them into the oven. Set oven to Steam, 212°F/100°C (100% humidity), and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a small knife. This could take up to about 45 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes.
2 lb baby potatoes
When the potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and change the oven settings to Convection, 400°F/200°C (no steam). If the baking sheet has residual water in it, drain this off. Toss the potatoes in half of the olive oil to coat.
4 Tbsp olive oil
Using the base of a jar or glass, gently press down on the potatoes until they are squashed, but in one piece. They should be about a centimetre thick, with lots of rough edges, and with a little space around each one to allow for good airflow and crisping.
Drizzle the squashed potatoes evenly with the remaining olive oil and season generously with salt. Bake until crispy, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
1 tsp flaky salt, 4 Tbsp olive oil
While the potatoes are roasting, make the dressing. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, dill, parsley, shallot, garlic, Dijon, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Scoop about a third of the dressing out and spread it over the base of a large serving platter.
3/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup chopped dill fronds, 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, 1 shallot, 1 garlic clove, 2 tsp Dijon mustard, 3 Tbsp red wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp flaky salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
When the potatoes have cooled to warm, reserve the crispiest ones as a garnish, then add the rest to the bowl with the remaining dressing. Add the cucumber and pickles and toss everything gently until well coated. Taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if necessary.
1 cucumber, 1/3 cup cornichons
Pile the salad on top of the dressing on your serving platter, and top with the extra crispy potato bits to finish. Serve the salad immediately to maximise the texture of the smashed potatoes.

Notes

Potatoes. Any kind of roasting potato will do here. Little baby potatoes are easy because you don't have to cut them up, but I have used blue-skinned, red-skinned and white potatoes of varying types and sizes, and they've all worked beautifully. My absolute favorite for soft insides and crunchy outsides is Royal Blue.
Yoghurt and mayonnaise ratios. I like a yoghurt-heavy dressing with a little mayo to make it richer, but not too heavy. You can play with these ratios to make it more classically mayo-based potato salad, but I find with the oily, crispy potatoes the tang of the yoghurt gives it better balance.
Herbs. Almost every one of the viral social media versions of this salad went heavy on the dill, and who am I to say they're wrong? I have followed suit but I do think this dish would be lovely with almost any soft green herbs, so feel free to mix it up.
Bacon. There is none here. My husband says this is a grave oversight and I must rectify it for proper potato salad credentials; I enjoyed the meatless version but I would still eat it with little salty flecks of bacon, obviously. You do whatever feels right to you.

Nutrition