My favorite way to make Extra Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes! The trick is to parboil them and then let them roast in the oven so the outsides are garlicky and crispy and the inside is buttery soft!

crispy roasted potatoes on a metal spoon resting on sheet pan

Have you ever seen 3 pounds of potatoes disappear?

POOF. Well you’re about to with these extra crispy roasted potatoes. Buttery soft potatoes on the inside, with a garlicky crispy exterior that will make you want to make a meal out of these babies.

And the best part is it’s just a handful of straightforward pantry staple ingredients that work together beautifully and leave you with crispy herb and garlic outer crust while these potatoes are pillowy soft on the inside! These potatoes are seriously the perfect accompaniment to homemade steak, grilled chicken or any other protein. Crispy roasted potatoes are the perfect side dish for holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter but still simple enough to put together for your weeknight chicken dinner.

I’ve said this many times before, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of potatoes before. And now I love making a big batch of my breakfast potatoes to serve up with scrambled eggs and fresh homemade salsa. I’ve cracked the code on the perfect homemade baked potatoes and don’t even get my started on my sour cream and chive potato salad recipe. Even make a batch of roasted sweet potatoes for bowls and such.

Can you tell potatoes are quickly rising in ranking for my favorite carbohydrate? They’re loaded with nutrition and I’m sad I waited this long to fall in love with them all over again. Homemade French fries with garlic, truffle and parmesan are next on my list.

How to make crispy roasted potatoes:

roasted potatoes speckled with fresh parsley in a white speckled bowl with metal spoon

Ingredients for the BEST crispy roasted potatoes

  • Potatoes: I like Russet potatoes best for this recipe as they tend to give the best crispness after roasting. In a pinch you could use Yukon Golds, however, they will undoubtedly be less crispy than the russet potato version.
  • Baking soda: also known as bi-carb or sodium bicarbonate to our friends across the pond. Adding baking soda to a pot of boiling water makes the water alkaline. Alkaline water helps breakdown the exterior of the potato quicker. The soft outer edges then crisp up in the oven and provide that crispy texture. A little trick I picked up from Serious Eats.
  • Ghee or oil: I like to use a 50:50 split of melted ghee and oil for this recipe. However, you could also use beef tallow, or even duck fat if you’d like.
  • Grated garlic: a few cloves of grated garlic infused into the oil mixture helps give these potatoes a garlic and herb flavor.
  • Other seasonings: I use freshly chopped parsley and a hint of dried thyme to flavor these roasted potatoes. You can certainly add other seasonings for variations of this roasted potato recipe like oregano, onion powder, smoked paprika, or anything else you like. Try my rosemary red potatoes with olive oil if you’re into that sort of thing! And don’t be shy to add a handful of grated parmesan cheese when the potatoes are hot out of the oven.
close up of parboiled potatoes in stock pot
parboiled potatoes spread on sheet pan ready to roast

How to make extra crispy potatoes:

  1. Chop the potatoes. It’s important that all the potatoes are cut in a uniform shape and size so that they cook evenly. Having some small and some large pieces may leave you with some that are crispy while others are soft.
  2. Boil the potatoes. Bring a large stockpot full of cold water to a boil. Once boiling, season liberally with a couple of tablespoons of kosher salt and a hint of baking soda. Add the potatoes and stir to combine. Allow the potatoes to boil for 8-10 minutes or until you can pierce through them (fork tender) with a paring knife but still get a bit of resistance.
  3. Drain and prep for roasting. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then put them back in the stockpot or a large bowl. Using a metal spoon, toss the potatoes so the edges start to mush up and become soft. Season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with the oil.
  4. Toss with garlic herb oil. Spread the potatoes out in a single layer on a baking sheet. I avoid using parchment paper for this recipe as the surface of the baking sheet aids in making the potatoes crispier! Roast the potatoes until they’re golden and start browning a bit. Then, heat the remaining oil, grated garlic, and herbs in a small bowl and toss the potatoes with the mixture before returning to the oven for several more minutes.
  5. Allow the potatoes to sit before eating. They crisp up a bit more if they have a chance to sit for a few minutes! Make sure to place leftovers in an airtight container and keep them in the refrigerator.
crispy roasted potatoes on a metal plate

Tips for making delicious extra crispy roasted potatoes:

  1. Cut the potatoes in a uniform shape and size. Having potatoes that are all relatively the same in terms of shape and size ensure that they all cook together at the same time without over/undercooked potatoes.
  2. Season liberally. I know it may seem like we’re using a lot of salt but potatoes need a generous palmful while boiling and then another sprinkle while roasting.
  3. Don’t be scared to give them a good toss. The scraggly edges are formed when you use a metal spoon and really get in there are toss the potatoes. This allows the most cooked part of the potatoes to crumble and becomes mushy, which then roasts up in the oven and becomes super crispy!
  4. Skip the parchment paper and foil: roast the potatoes directly on the baking sheet so you get the best crispy edges. If you’re worried about the potatoes sticking, you can spray the baking sheet with cooking spray before adding the potatoes, however we are using enough fat in this recipe so they shouldn’t stick!
  5. Don’t overcrowd the pan! If you plan on doubling this recipe or using more potatoes than what I’ve suggested, you will need to divide the potatoes out onto two cookie sheets. For this recipe, if the potatoes are touching or overlapping, they just won’t crisp up properly. It’s best to leave space between the potato pieces.
  6. Roast the potatoes at the right temperature and for longer. Once you’ve boiled the potatoes, we need to dry them out in the oven. Don’t rush the process, leave them in the oven and allow them to slowly cook and dehydrate. The edges get extra crispy while the centers are tender and delicious.
  7. Serve immediately! These potatoes should be the last thing you pull out of the oven right before you sit down to eat! Give them a couple minutes to cool on the baking sheet and then transfer to a serve dish.
close up of roasted potato texture in bowl with hand holding spoon
close up or crispy roasted potato texture in bowl

FAQs about this recipe

What kind of potatoes are best for roasting?

I like to use russet potatoes for this recipe. The excess starch in russet potatoes aids in making them extra crispy and crunchy! Waxy potatoes, like red potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, and fingerling potatoes have a lower starch content and won’t get as crispy.

What if I didn’t want to boil the potatoes, will they still turn out crispy?

No, unfortunately, this recipe requires a parboil before you roast the potatoes in the oven. In my recipe testing, I was never able to achieve the same crispy edges if I did not boil the potatoes before roasting them

Is it better to boil potatoes whole or cut up?

For this recipe, I suggest boiling the potatoes once you’ve cut them into pieces. This ensures more surface area on the potato chunk to boil more evening. Larger potatoes won’t cook through in the same amount of time.

Can I make these in advance? How do you suggest reheating leftover roasted potatoes?

This recipe is best when consumed shortly after preparing them. I’ve reheated leftovers in a 350ºF oven and they reheat just fine, but they do not get as crispy if you reheat them. And the texture is best the day of, in my opinion.

Why are my roast potatoes not crispy?

I’d say it’s due to overcrowding the baking sheet with too many potatoes. This will cause the oven-roasted potatoes to steam rather than crisp up. When in doubt bake the potatoes on two baking sheets to ensure even crisping all around.

top shot of roasted potatoes speckled with parsley in bowl with spoon
Yield: serves 5-6

Garlicky Extra Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

My favorite way to make extra crispy roasted potatoes. The trick is to parboil them and then let them roast in the oven so the outsides are garlicky and crispy and the inside is buttery soft!

Garlicky Extra Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled + cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 5 tablespoons melted ghee or olive oil (or melted animal fat), divided
  • 2-4 cloves garlic, grated or minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced parsley
  • ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, optional

Instructions

      1. PREHEAT: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425ºF.
      2. PARBOIL: Add the potatoes to a large dutch oven or stock pot. Season with a generous fistful of kosher salt (or about 1 ½ tablespoon) along with the baking soda; stir to combine. Allow the potatoes to come to a boil and cook about halfway through, about 8-10 minutes. Test using a paring knife, it should go through with some resistance. Drain potatoes, then return to the same pot.
      3. CRISPY EDGES: Using a large metal spoon, quickly toss the potatoes in the pot. You want to use the edges of the metal spoon to create texture and scraggly, mushy edges on the outside of the potatoes. This will cause the edges to get extra crispy in the oven! Drizzle the potatoes with 3 tablespoons of melted ghee with a bit more salt (just a bit!) and a few good cracks of fresh pepper.
      4. BAKE: Spread the potatoes out on a baking sheet in a single layer, leaving a bit of space around the pieces so that they crisp up. Roast the potatoes for 45 minutes, tossing them once halfway through.
      5. COMBINE: When the potatoes have 3 minutes left of roasting time, combine the grated garlic, remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, parsley, and thyme in a small bowl and zap in the microwave for 30 seconds or until the liquid just heats through.
      6. FINISH: Remove from the oven and toss the potatoes. I shake the pan to see if they’ll all come loose before using a fish spatula to help turn them over. Drizzle the prepared garlic mixture over the potatoes and toss until evenly coated. Return the potatoes to the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes or until you can smell the garlic wafting through the kitchen and the potatoes are golden brown and crispy looking. Let cool for a few minutes then serve immediately!

Notes

  • The addition of baking soda to boiling water was a tip I picked up from Serious Eats.

Have you made this recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and a comment below. You can also share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #LITTLESPICEJAR, I'd love to see what you made!

@littlespicejar Elevate your potato game with these extra crispy roasted potatoes! 🥔✨ Perfectly golden and irresistibly crunchy – the ultimate crispy goodness! 😍🔥 Full recipe linked in my profile and on littlespicejar.com. Search the web for “little spice jar roasted potatoes” Shout out to seriouseats for the baking soda tip! #crispypotato #crispypotatoes #roastedpotatoes #roastedpotato #sundayroast #potatotiktok #potatoes #extracrispy #bakedpotato ♬ vlog, chill out, calm daily life(1370843) – SUNNY HOOD STUDIO