Weeknight

Smashed Potatoes
with Golden Edges and Creamy Centers

Name: Smashed Potatoes with Golden Edges and Creamy Centers
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1.5 lb (680 g) baby yellow potatoes, similar sizes; 1 tbsp (18 g) kosher salt, for the boiling water; ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil; 1 tsp (3 g) garlic powder; ½ tsp black pepper; Flaky salt, for finishing; For the bar: sour cream with chives, crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar, sliced green onions, hot sauce

Ingredients Cooking steps

Prep 10 minCook 50 minTotal 1 hrEasyServes 4

“Smashing things, officially sanctioned.”

By Sok Heng Oeun, Founder and Reviewer · Published July 21, 2026 · Updated September 22, 2026

Few dinners begin with permission to smash something, which is probably why this one has such a devoted following. You boil baby potatoes until tender, line them up on a sheet pan, and flatten each one with the bottom of a glass.

Every crack and ragged edge increases the surface area that can brown in the oven, producing crisp rims and creamy centers. A toppings bar can turn the potatoes into a flexible side or light meal.

🥔 The promise: shatter-crisp smashed potatoes with creamy middles and a toppings bar — about an hour, mostly hands-off.

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How to make it

View ingredient overview

All ingredients for Crispy Smashed Potatoes, labeled — 🧺 Everything you need, all in one look

🧂 Ingredient notes & easy swaps

Baby yellow potatoes (the little gold ones) are the sweet spot — thin skins that crisp, creamy flesh that smashes without crumbling. Size-match them so they boil evenly. The boiling water is salted heavily because it is the only chance to season the inside; the flaky salt at the end is for the surface. Be generous with the oil — those shattered edges only fry crisp where oil can reach them, which is why this uses a full ¼ cup for 1.5 lb of potatoes. The bar is fridge-cleanout friendly: leftover chili, taco meat, or pesto all work.

🍳 What you actually need (equipment)

A pot for boiling, a rimmed sheet pan, and a sturdy flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup for smashing. Skip parchment here: a well-oiled bare metal pan conducts heat straight into the undersides and crisps them harder.

Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Boil the potatoes in a large pot of water with the tablespoon of salt, 15–18 minutes, until a fork slides to the center with no resistance. Undercooked potatoes crack instead of smash.
Drain and let them steam-dry in the colander for a full 5 minutes — surface water has to evaporate before the skins can brown, and skipping this pause is the most common reason smashed potatoes come out soft.
Rub a sheet pan with a tablespoon of the oil. Arrange the potatoes on it with space between them, and smash each one to about ½ inch (1 cm) with the bottom of a glass — ragged edges are the goal, not neat discs.
Brush or drizzle the remaining oil over every potato, letting it pool into the cracks, then season with the garlic powder and pepper.
Roast 25–30 minutes without flipping — the pan crisps the bottoms while the exposed craggy tops go deep golden. You should hear a faint sizzle when you open the oven door — that is the oil frying the undersides.
Finish with flaky salt while they are hot, then pile onto a board with the toppings set out in bowls alongside. They lose their crunch as they cool, so top and eat within 10 minutes.

✅ How to know it's done

The edges should be deep golden-brown and audibly crisp when tapped with a fork, the bottoms fried crunchy from the pan, and the middles creamy when you break one open. Pale potatoes mean either a crowded pan or not enough oil in the cracks — both fixable with 5 more minutes and a drizzle.

💡 Practical tips (and what not to do)

Steam-dry before smashing. Five minutes in the colander evaporates the water that would otherwise steam off in the oven and delay browning.
Smash ragged, not tidy. Cracks, frills, and rough edges are exactly what browns — a neat disc has far less surface for the oil to fry.
Oil the cracks. Drizzle where the potato broke open; dry cracks bake, oiled cracks fry.
Space on the pan. Crowded smashed potatoes steam each other soft; use two pans rather than overlapping them.
No flipping. The pan side fries crisp on its own — flipping just tears off the crust you were building.

💛✨ Flavor boost

If bacon is going on the toppings bar, cook it first and swap 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat for 2 tablespoons of the olive oil when you drizzle the smashed potatoes. Bacon fat fries the ragged edges just as crisp as oil and leaves a smoky, salty taste in the cracks, so the potatoes already taste loaded before anything is piled on top. Keep the other 2 tablespoons as olive oil for the pan; bacon fat alone scorches at 450°F.

🧀 What Goes Well With It

The bar itself: sour cream, bacon, cheddar, green onions, and hot sauce.
Alongside our Garlic Butter Steak Bites with a Golden Thyme-Basted Crust for a steakhouse-style plate.
Under a fried egg the next morning, reheated in a skillet.
With grilled sausages or roast chicken.

📦 Storage & Freezer Notes

Fridge: 4 days airtight; they soften as they sit but crisp again with dry heat.
Freezer: freeze after roasting, 2 months; re-crisp from frozen at 425°F (220°C) for 12 minutes.
Reheat: 425°F (220°C) oven or 400°F (200°C) air fryer for 6–8 minutes, in a single layer, until the edges crackle again. Skip the microwave — it steams the potatoes and leaves the skins limp.

🧒 Serving Ideas for Kids

Older children can do the smashing with a sturdy glass once the potatoes have cooled enough to handle.
Let them build their own potato from the toppings bar.
Re-crisped leftovers with a bowl of sour cream make an easy after-school snack.

❓ Quick answers

Can I use bigger potatoes?

Halve red or yukon potatoes before boiling and smash the halves — russets get too fluffy and fall apart under the glass.

Why did mine turn out soft instead of crispy?

Wet potatoes, a crowded pan, or too little oil — the big three. Steam-dry 5 minutes, space them out, and make sure oil runs into the cracks. A parchment-lined pan also crisps the bottoms less than bare oiled metal.

Can I make them in the air fryer?

Yes — boil, dry, smash, and oil the same way, then air fry at 400°F (200°C) for 15–18 minutes in a single layer. You will need two or three batches for 1.5 lb of potatoes.

Can I boil the potatoes ahead?

Yes — boil, dry, and refrigerate up to 2 days; smash and roast straight from the fridge with 5 extra minutes.

🥗 Nutrition, roughly: about 240 calories per serving before the toppings bar. Estimates only; brands, cuts and portion sizes change the numbers.

Published by MommyCooking.org. AI assists with web copy; food images are generated illustrations. The publisher confirms the recipes were tested before publication. Nutrition is estimated. Editorial policy · Report a correction.

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