Dive into the ultimate crispy side dish with this recipe for fingerling smashed potatoes! Crispy outside, creamy inside – these adorable spuds are a flavor party with garlic, butter and parsley.
Potatoes are one of my go-to sides dishes because they are so versatile. I love picking up a bag of fingerling potatoes, with their thin skins and creamy flesh, they are perfect for crispy and creamy smashed potatoes.
I love to serve these with my stuffed whole chicken, panko-crusted cod or bacon-wrapped chicken thighs.
Jump to:
📋 Ingredients you’ll need
This recipe is so easy and uses ingredients that you most likely already have in your fridge.
- Fingerling potatoes are just the perfect size, they’re easy to smash and you won’t have to worry about uneven cooking. Plus, they have a really rich and almost nutty potato flavor.
- We’re using two types of fat here, olive oil for greasing the pan and butter for topping the potatoes with a savory garlic butter. This is because olive oil has a higher smoke point than butter, so it works to help crisp up the bottoms without burning. I like to use salted butter for the garlic butter, but feel free to user whatever you have on hand.
- And finally fresh garlic for the garlic butter.
🔪 Step by step instructions
This recipe is really easy to make even though it requires two cooking methods: boiling and roasting.
First, preheat oven to 425F. In a mediuadd potatoes to a medium pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, and boil for 12-15 minutes until potatoes are fork tender and able to easy smash.
Meanwhile, grease a large baking sheet with olive oil.
Dump boiled potatoes onto the greased baking sheet.
When potatoes are cool enough to handle. Using the bottom of a glass, press down on potatoes to smash them, some potato may stick to the bottom of the glass, just carefully remove it.
Repeat with remaining potatoes. Ensure they are in an even layer, without any overlapping. This will help them crisp on the tops and bottoms.
Prepare the garlic butter. Carefully melt butter in the microwave, stir in minced garlic.
Brush the potatoes with garlic butter.
Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. When they’re done, top with fresh parsley.
✏️ Substitutions
- Fingerling potatoes: If you don’t have fingerlings, you can swap these for new potatoes.
- Garlic butter: You can use store bought garlic butter instead of making your own.
📖 Variations
There are so many ways to change up these smashed potatoes.
- Garlic herb: I like to use fresh parsley in this recipe, but you can change up the herbs, try mixing rosemary, oregano or thyme into the butter before brushing over the potatoes.
- Crispy parmesan: After brushing with butter, sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese like I do for these baked zucchini slices.
- Pesto: When they come out of the oven, drizzle with pesto before serving.
- Spicy: Add some cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes or smoked paprika to the butter before brushing overtop.
💭 Cooking tips
Start boiling your potatoes in cold water for a few of key reasons. Firstly, it’s a time-saving hack as the potatoes cook gradually while the water heats up.
Plus, it’s a safer method, you don’t need to worry about splashing or scalding when adding potatoes to boiling water.
Finally, it will ensure even cooking and avoid mealy potatoes.
❓FAQ
Fingerlings are a variety of potatoes that are small and narrow. Not to be confused with new potatoes, they are fully mature when harvested. They have a rich almost nutty flavor and are great roasted, smashed and used for potato salads.
Yes, you can also use new potatoes if you can’t find fingerlings.
Pair these with
These are my favorite dishes to serve with smashed fingerling potatoes:
This recipe was originally posted on October 28, 2013 and updated on February 19, 2024.
Fingerling Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs 680g fingerling potatoes
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Minced parsley for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil.
- Place the whole fingerling potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water. Add a generous pinch of salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer the potatoes for about 12-15 until they are fork-tender.
- Drain them in a colander and let them cool for a few minutes until they are cool enough to handle.
- Place the fingerling potatoes onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving some space between each potato. Use the bottom of a flat glass or a potato masher to gently press down on each potato until it’s flattened to your desired thickness (about ½ to ¾ inch thick). The potatoes should hold their shape but have a rough, textured surface.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the melted butter with minced garlic. Brush this garlic butter mixture over the smashed potatoes, ensuring they are evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt.
- Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are crispy and golden brown on the edges.
Maebeth
Louisa Clements
Shirley Clements
Avril
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl
Lou
Sarah @ My (Mostly) Healthy Life
Lou
Sue - my cooking pots
Lou
Shirley
Lou