What's crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside? These roasted garlic potatoes! The combination of boiling and roasting potatoes helps produce a soft yet crispy dish that can be dressed up or dressed down to suit whatever you're eating.
This recipe is great if you want to make these roasted potatoes for a crowd because it's very easy to double, triple, quadruple, and so on, to fit your needs! Roasted potatoes are also dairy-free and vegan friendly (unlike standard mashed potatoes), so no need to worry about your guests having these special dietary needs.
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How To Make Roasted Garlic Potatoes:
To start, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. For every 6 cups of water, you'll need about a teaspoon of salt to season. You technically don't have to salt your water, but I like to do it just because I feel like potatoes absorb salt like crazy. Salting the water before boiling the potatoes helps season them inside and out.
Add whole baby potatoes to the pot and boil. Boil your potatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until you don't feel resistance when you insert a knife or fork into a potato. It took me exactly 20 minutes to get my potatoes cooked.
Drain potatoes and let cool enough to handle. You can speed up the cooling process by adding the potatoes to some ice water. Just make sure you drain them again afterwards.
Cutting And Seasoning
Cut baby potatoes in half. If you notice any larger potatoes, you may have to cut them into thirds or fourths to match the size of all of the other potatoes.
Add potatoes to a large baking dish. I used a 15x10 inch baking dish, but these usually fit into a 9x13 inch dish as well.
Add garlic, oil, pepper, Italian Seasoning, water, and remaining salt to the potatoes.
Toss potatoes to coat evenly in seasoning.
Make sure to spread your potatoes into an even layer after you finish tossing them. Do avoid overlapping the potatoes too much because this will prevent them from forming a crust.
Roasting
Bake in the center of a 385°F oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Let cool slightly and serve warm. Be VERY careful. You shouldn't serve these piping hot. There's a reason they call it a hot potato.
Boiling Potatoes Whole VS In Pieces:
Boiling potatoes before cutting them seems a bit silly. For one, they would cook faster if you cut them into smaller pieces first. And there's also the fact that you have to wait for them to cool slightly before you can cut them.
I've made roasted potatoes by cutting then boiling them (especially when I want to speed up the process). But, when I have the time, I prefer to boil potatoes whole before roasting.
I prefer this mainly because they don't absorb as much water, so the inside doesn't get too dense and watery. Another great thing about boiling before cutting is it helps them hold their shape better (even if you overcook them a bit). Finally, if you wanted to peel your potatoes, they're super easy to peel after they've cooked.
It's really your choice how you want to do it. I've tried boiling them before and after cutting the potatoes, and they're both equally delicious.
Which Potatoes Roast Best:
When roasting potatoes, I recommend you stick to using either Yukon Gold or russet potatoes. I wouldn't recommend using any other varieties just because some types either can't form a proper crust or the texture is off.
Are Roasted Potatoes Healthy?
Yes and no. Just try to enjoy them in moderation.
Roasted Potatoes And Meal Prep:
Can Roasted Potatoes Be Reheated? Yes! All you have to do is add a splash of water to the baking dish before adding it to a 350°F oven. If you're reheating potatoes that are cold from the fridge, you should let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before putting them into the oven. Bake the potatoes for 10-15 minutes, then serve.
Can Roasted Potatoes Be Made A Day Ahead? Definitely! You can make roasted potatoes ahead and easily store them in the fridge. After you boil them, you can add the potatoes and the toppings (without the garlic) then refrigerate them for up to 5 days.
I don't recommend adding the garlic and then refrigerating just because chopped and minced garlic go bad and lose their flavor quickly. Add garlic right before you plan on baking it. When you want to roast the potatoes, simply bake normally.
Can Roasted Potatoes Be Frozen? Well ... you can definitely boil potatoes and freeze them (no toppings). To do this, let them cool completely before placing them on a large baking dish in an even layer. Cover the dish and place in the freezer until the potatoes are fully frozen. You can then transfer them to a freezer safe bag and store for up to 3 months.
When you want to bake the frozen potatoes, you don't need to let them defrost first. Simply top the potatoes with your preferred seasonings and bake normally. You may need to tag on an extra 5 or 10 minutes to your bake time.
What Goes With Roasted Potatoes?
I like to serve roasted potatoes with meat and some vegetables. For the meat, I usually like to have steak, chicken, or turkey. And for the vegetables, I like some corn, asparagus, broccoli, or even just a salad on the side. But these are just my preferences. You can pair this with anything you like. You can even have these for breakfast with some eggs.
Roasted Garlic Potato Add-Ins and Substitutions:
This is a pretty basic roasted potato recipe, so there are a lot of ways you can change things up.
I sometimes like to add some grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano to this recipe to add some crunch on top. You could also add other herbs/spices to this, like oregano, thyme, onion powder, paprika, and so on.
For liquids, you could add some wine, lemon juice, or stock for some extra flavor. If you do use wine or lemon juice, you would still need the water so they don't evaporate and burn. If you use chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, you can omit the water altogether.
In terms of potatoes, you can use russet potatoes or full sized Yukon Golds. And for other fats, you can use butter or coconut oil in place of the olive oil.
Garlic Roasted Potato Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1.5 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, washed & drained well
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water (about 6 cups) to a boil. Add 1 & ½ teaspoons of salt and your washed, whole baby potatoes to the pot. Boil the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain completely and let them cool enough for you to handle (you can speed this up by running them under cold water).Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Cut potatoes in half and add to a large baking dish (I used a 9x15 inch dish).
- Add remaining ½ teaspoon of salt, garlic, olive oil, pepper, and Italian seasoning to your potatoes. Toss to coat potatoes evenly with the toppings, then arrange your potatoes in a single layer. Try to avoid having the potatoes overlap.
- Bake in the center of a preheated 400°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Let cool slightly and serve warm!
Enjoy!
I would love to hear any tips you’d like to add to this post and how your roasted potatoes turned out in the comments below. Have any questions? Any ideas to improve this recipe? Feel free to comment for that as well. Happy making!
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