Ingredients You’ll Need and Why

This recipe needs just three ingredients: potatoes, oil, and salt. Some herbs after roasting are nice but optional and roasted potatoes should be served with whatever sauce you like most. These are my notes from recipe testing, and you can find the full recipe card written out below.

• Potatoes: choose small waxy potatoes like Annabelle. If you’re not sure which potatoes are waxy or firm at the store, ask someone working – they’ll be able to tell you. Same definitely goes at the farmer’s market.
• Oil: the type of oil you use is up to you, but I prefer olive for this for the best flavour and because I find it contributes to even browning. I know some people are hesitant to bake or cook with olive oil and if that’s you, use a different oil.
• Salt: fine sea salt is best for even flavour. If you only have coarse salt, you can use that, but note that it won’t season as evenly. You could grind it more finely in a mortar and pestle first.

How to Make Roasted Potatoes

It’s as easy as that, just two steps. You don’t need any special methods to make a tasty potato.

Step 1: scrub and halve the potatoes, then toss well with oil and salt. It’s best if you use your hands to properly mix. I prefer to keep the potatoes cut-side up for even browning and find that cut-side down tend to burn more easily.

Step 2: roast the potatoes until evenly golden and crisp. This will take longer than you think it needs, and you don’t want to increase the oven temperature or try to rush it.

Expert Tips for the Best Potatoes

• Give it enough time: roasting potatoes, when they haven’t already been cooked first, takes about an hour. Keep this in mind and give yourself enough time before planning to eat.
• Don’t use convection: browning isn’t as even and the texture isn’t as good (too chewy) when potatoes are roasted on the convection (fan) setting. Top and bottom heat is best, or convection combined with top and bottom in a pinch.
• Don’t skimp on the oil and salt: this isn’t the time for that. Use the full amounts and enjoy yourself, you’re eating potatoes, they should taste good!
• Serve right away: the longer roasted potatoes like this sit, the less crisp they get. For the best texture try to serve as soon as they come out of the oven and don’t cool first. It should be the last thing you put on the table right before starting to eat.

More Potato Recipes

Like most people living in the northern parts of the world, I like a good potato, and eat them several times a week. This isn’t necessarily reflected in my recipes here (mostly because I roast them 90% of the time) but these are some good ways to use potatoes.

• If you’re thinking about potato side dishes, try Kartoffelpuffer (German potato pancakes), this winter vegetable cabbage potato hash, and my dairy-free mashed potatoes. These are all staple recipes that I’ve made dozens of times and I can highly recommend them.
• Better with starchy than waxy, a blended or partly blended soup is an ideal way to use potatoes. Try my cauliflower potato soup, roasted parsnip soup, and potato leek soup, all with added beans for some sneaky protein. The first two are fully blended so the beans are incorporated completely into the soups.
• My top potato main dishes are these samosa pasties, Swedish filled dumplings (vegetarian, with mushrooms), and a lentil cottage pie. Again, great recipes I make all the time.

If you make this Roasted Potatoes recipe or any other vegetarian side dish recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.