Crispy potatoes are a passion of mine. I love them hassleback-ed, roasted with rosemary, and these crispy roasted potatoes are my latest obsession. On a trip to Paris, the best meal we ate was the simplest: Salad with lemon dressing, tender ribeye, and these crispy roasted potatoes at a cozy little restaurant called Robert et Louise.
Back home, I became obsessed with replicating the crispy potatoes! It took a while to perfect them, but I am so excited to share the recipe today.
Why You’ll Love These Potatoes
- Elegant: Rustic and elegant at the same time, these are a show stopping side that’s also simple and perfect. Classic French country food!
- Few ingredients: Just potatoes, oil, garlic and salt, no special ingredients needed.
- Easy: While this recipe takes a little time, there is very little active time and no complicated techniques needed. A perfect low-effort side dish that gives you time to work on the mains.
Ingredients
See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Potatoes: I love Yukon Gold potatoes, which are waxy little potatoes that are so tender and sweet when roasted. Russet potatoes work, too.
- Salt: I boil the potatoes with kosher salt, but I like to finish them with fancy flaky salt.
- Baking soda: Adding baking soda to the potato water is a little trick! More on that below.
- Olive oil: Golden extra virgin olive oil is my pick because the flavor is just so good. If you want to make the potatoes even more rich and delicious, add a little butter to the oil.
- Garlic: Yes, six whole cloves! The garlic will just perfume the olive oil as it warms in the oven, but you won’t actually eat it. YUM.
- Fresh herbs: I use parsley, but you can try other herbs, too! Chives, dill, parsley or cilantro would all work well.
How To Make Crispy Roasted Potatoes, Step By Step
See the full recipe at the bottom of this post for more detailed instructions.
- Boil the potatoes, salt, baking soda, and water in a pot. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Warm the oil and garlic on a sheet pan in the oven as it preheats.
- Let the potatoes cool and dry for at least a minute, ideally longer. Note: You could even do this part an hour or two ahead of time.
- Add the potatoes to the warm oil in a single layer. (Discard the garlic cloves.)
- Turn the potatoes in the oil so they each get coated. One-by-one with tongs is the easiest way to do it.
- Roast the potatoes for 20 minutes.
- Turn the potatoes again and roast them for another 30 minutes.
- Finish with parsley and salt. Serve!
Tips + FAQs
- Why boil the potatoes with baking soda? I learned this trick from Kenji Lopez-Alt, who wrote about how adding baking soda to the water makes it more alkaline and helps break down the outside of the potatoes. In this case, that’s what we want! Those roughed-up outsides make for lovely crispy edges after roasting.
- Let the potatoes dry out completely after boiling! In fact, the longer the better.
- Remove the garlic cloves before roasting the potatoes, or it will burn in the oil.
- Make sure the oil on the sheet pan is hot before you add the potatoes! This is key to crispy potatoes. If the oil isn’t hot enough, your potatoes will be oily instead of crispy.
Serve Them With…
- Butter lettuce salad
- Steak! At Robert et Louise, steak is king. Try serving these potatoes with a rare grilled Ribeye, or tender flank steak.
- Classic Roast Chicken would also be dreamy.
- A saucy side like garlic aioli, chimichurri or romesco would be lovely with these potatoes.
- As a Thanksgiving side! Why not swap out your usual mashed potatoes for these crispy roasted potatoes?
More Potato Side Dish Ideas
Crispy Roasted & Beyond!
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