That is a simple, 5-ingredient recipe for completely crispy vegan smashed potatoes. New potatoes are steam cooked till tender, then smashed with the underside of a glass or jar to attain a flattened form. The smashed potatoes could be seasoned merely after which oven-baked on a sheet pan till they’ve a splendidly crisp-tender texture. Snack on the potatoes as they’re, or drizzle or dip them utilizing your favourite sauce: both manner, they’re irresistable!
I don’t make a variety of viral recipes. Normally, by the point I understand {that a} recipe went viral, it isn’t viral anymore.
This previous April, nevertheless, in looking for enjoyable new preparation strategies for my favourite vegetable, I made sheet pan smashed broccoli florets.
It was love at first chew.
I do not know which went viral first: smashed potatoes or smashed broccoli. What I do know is that the crispy smashed potatoes I’m sharing right this moment are one of the vital irresistable meals I’ve made in a very long time.
It’s not possible to not fall in love with these potatoes’ tremendous crispy edges, firm-yet-tender interiors, and salty, barely garlicky taste.
In the event you’ve been on the lookout for a brand new technique to get pleasure from potatoes, a aspect dish that everybody will love, or a contemporary savory snack so as to add to your rotation, this recipe is for you.
What does it imply to make smashed potatoes?
The potatoes on this recipe, identical to the broccoli florets that made me fall in love with smashed veggies, are cooked initially by way of steaming.
Then, you employ the flat backside aspect of one thing—a glass, a mason jar, a measuring cup—to “smash” the potatoes on a sheet pan.
This flattens them, not into skinny pancakes, however into items which can be about 1/2-inch / 1.3cm thick and about 2 or 3-inches (5-7.5cm) in diameter.
After smashing, you’ll season the potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder, switch them to the oven, and bake them.
The “why” behind this cooking methodology
Why undergo all of those steps? Texture and extra texture!
I’ve made loads of cubed and oven-roasted potatoes, however even these don’t provide as a lot cool texture distinction as smashed potatoes do.
There’s one thing actually distinctive about having all of that flat floor space for browning and crisping. Plus, I like how agency the potatoes are, all whereas retaining chewy facilities.
What sort of potatoes ought to I exploit for smashed potatoes?
I believe that cream-colored new potatoes, that are additionally generally referred to as child potatoes, work greatest for smashing.
For one factor, they’re the right form and measurement for becoming beneath the underside of a ingesting glass.
As well as, these cream or pale gold-colored potatoes have a splendidly creamy consistency.
It’s potential to seek out red-skinned new potatoes, they usually have an analogous form, however I believe that their low starch content material makes them too grainy and crumbly for this preparation.
Listed below are a number of different varieties that you should use to make the smashed potatoes:
- Small Yukon gold potatoes
- Child purple potatoes (also referred to as Dutch Blue® Potatoes)
- Pale yellow fingerling potatoes
- Further small russet potatoes
Find out how to make crispy vegan smashed potatoes, step-by-step
The method of creating smashed potatoes takes a bit of time, however the steps are all enjoyable and uncomplicated.
Plus, I like this recipe’s simplicity: solely 5 components!
Step 1: Steam the potatoes
A pair years in the past I found that steaming potatoes, moderately than boiling them, was the important thing to tremendous flavorful, completely fluffy mashed potatoes.
Whereas boiling can water-log potatoes and get in the best way of their potential to soak up taste, steaming preserves their lightness and locks of their taste.
I don’t suppose I’ve boiled a single potato since having this realization, and equally, I select to steam my child potatoes earlier than smashing them.
You are able to do this in a steamer basket, fitted to your pot at residence, or you should use one in every of these hacks. I’ve used a fine-mesh strainer, too, and it takes a bit of longer as a result of steam escaping from beneath a pot lid, but it surely works.
It ought to take you about Quarter-hour to steam the potatoes; after they’re prepared, you’ll be capable of pierce them simply with a fork.
Step 2: Smash the potatoes
After the potatoes end their steaming, make it possible for they’re dry, then organize them on a sheet pan with a number of inches of area between.
Now’s the enjoyable half: use the underside of a glass or mason jar or measuring cup to smash every potato!
Step 3: Season
You need to use olive oil or avocado oil for making ready the potatoes. I like to begin by drizzling some oil onto the parchment or foil that you simply use to smash the potatoes on. Then, brush the remainder of it over the tops of the potatoes.
Season them generously with salt and freshly floor black pepper, plus some garlic powder.
Step 4: Roast
Switch the potatoes to a 400°F / 200°C oven and roast them for 35 minutes, or till the potatoes are very crispy and golden throughout.
You might have considered trying the smashed potatoes to be much more browned and crispy, through which case you may depart them in for a number of further minutes.
Step 5: Serve
Lastly, you may serve your smashed potatoes nevertheless you want!
I discover it not possible to not begin snacking on the potatoes as quickly as they’ve completed cooking. Like my favourite crispy roasted chickpeas, they’re the definition of moreish.
That stated, you possibly can make the smashed potatoes a bit of fancier trying and extra presentable as a aspect dish by arranging them over some greens.
Since I simply made and wrote about vegan honey mustard, I’ve had a variety of it available. I’ve discovered it enjoyable to layer the smashed potatoes over a mattress of crispy arugula and dollop the honey mustard sauce on high.
A couple of different vegan sauces that will work rather well for dipping or drizzling onto the potatoes:
Storage & reheating
After I first made the smashed potatoes, I wasn’t positive how effectively they’d maintain up in leftover kind. A lot to my shock and delight, the leftover potatoes are nice!
To be trustworthy, I’ve eaten them chilly, proper out of the fridge, with no complaints. However for those who’d prefer to re-crisp them and heat them up, you may both:
- Warmth them in a 350°F / 175°C oven for 10-Quarter-hour (until sizzling and properly crisping once more)
- Air fry them at 375°F / 190°C for five minutes
Irrespective of the way you select to benefit from the potatoes that you’ve left—and you could need to double the batch, as a result of they’ll get eaten shortly—a saved portion will maintain for as much as 4 days in an hermetic container within the fridge.
Yields: 4 servings
- 1 1/2 lb yellow new (child) potatoes (680g)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
- Garlic powder
- salt
- freshly floor black pepper
-
Add a number of inches of water to a pot and match it with a steamer insert. Deliver the water to a boil and switch the warmth to medium low. Add the potatoes to the steaming basket and steam for Quarter-hour, or till they are often simply pierced with a fork.
-
Whereas the potatoes are roasting, preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C and line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Brush the sheet frivolously with a small portion of the oil, in order that it is coated throughout.
-
Place a steamed child potato onto a baking sheet. Use the underside of a glass to “smash” the potato, in order that the pores and skin breaks and it turns into flattened. The flatter it’s, the extra crispy it’ll change into; I like mine to be about 1/2-inch / 1.3cm thick. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.
-
Brush the entire smashed potato tops with the remaining oil. Season them with garlic powder, salt, and freshly floor black pepper.
-
Switch the potatoes to the oven and roast for 35 minutes, or till the potatoes are golden throughout and properly crispy. Take pleasure in them as they’re, or serve them together with your favourite dipping sauce.
Potatoes are so humble and hearty and lovable. Simply after I suppose I’ve tried the entire cooking strategies, I discover a new one which I like.
Effectively behind the viral curve, and no worse off for it.
Take pleasure in!
xo
Discussion about this post