Crispy Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

This is a super fun trend that I recently got into. Boiled baby potatoes are smashed and baked until crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. They’re pretty much a potato lovers dream. In this recipe, garlic and parmesan are mixed with olive oil and tossed with the red potatoes for a crispy parmesan smashed potato that is sure to be your new favorite dinner side!

It’s What To Make With Baby Potatoes!

This squished potato recipe has been ALL of the rage this past year. I’m sure they have been around for a long time, but to be honest, I had never seen or heard of them until I saw a video on tiktok on how to make them! The reason why you want to use small potatoes as opposed to the large ones is because the smaller squished potatoes tend to crisp up a lot easier than the bigger ones! They sort of turn into a ‘thick chip’, and I’m sure you can imagine how awkward a giant thick chip would be to eat! That’s why we use the babies in this crispy smashed red potatoes recipe!

Here Are Some Options For The Type Of Potatoes That You Can Use For This Squished Potatoes Recipe!

• Fingerling Potatoes: fingerlings are thin skinned, making them perfect for this recipe!
• Red Baby Potatoes: this is what I used.
• Baby Purple Potatoes: these would look AWESOME with their deep purple hue!
• Small Yukon Golds: sometimes you can find little Yukon golds at the grocery store, and these would work fine.

Any variety of new potato, or baby potato, works! I found out that baby potatoes are just potatoes that have been harvested before the crop matures; isn’t that interesting! Here I was thinking they were entirely their own thing!

How Do You Make This Easy Smashed Potatoes Recipe?

You guys are going to love this baby potato recipe for dinner. It’s done and ready in 4 easy steps! Here, let me break it down:

1. Boil ‘Em: Start by bringing a large stockpot filled with salted water to a roaring boil. Toss in your potatoes and boil them until they are fork tender.
2. Smash ‘Em: When they are done boiling, drain them and run some cold water over the top so they are easier to handle (the old nursery rhyme ‘hot potato’ was no joke…these things can be HOT). Lay them out on a parchment lined baking sheet, and using the bottom of a glass or a potato masher, smush them until they are thin and even.
3. Toss ‘Em: Combine olive oil, melted butter, garlic powder, parmesan and parsley in a bowl and drizzle over the potatoes. Using your hands, mix the potatoes around on the baking sheet so that every piece is coated, front and back.
4. Bake ‘Em: Throw them in the oven and bake at 425 for about 25 minutes, then finish under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes, making sure to check frequently to prevent burning!

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This OXO Good Grips Smooth Potato Masher would work great for this recipe!

What To Eat With Baby Potatoes:

This crispy smashed potatoes recipe makes a wonderful dinner side dish idea! I think they go great with chicken breasts because their crispy texture compliments the softness of the chicken. They also taste amazing with a little gravy poured over the top, almost like a poutine! You can serve parmesan smashed potatoes with pretty much any dinner main, such as fish, beef, chicken or turkey.

I served mine with my delicious chipotle ground chicken meatballs recipe! And by ‘served mine’ I really mean I served the ones that make it past my snacking mouth! It’s so hard not to eat all of them before dinner is served!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Do I have to broil them at the end?	I would! In my experience, this ensures the crispiest potatoes. But you have to be careful not to burn them, so make sure to check in on them every minute until the desired crispiness is achieved!
Should I peel the potatoes?	No, don’t peel them. The skin is what helps keep the potato together in a cute little circle when you squish them! Without the skin they will just fall apart. Plus the skin provides lots of fiber.
Can I use butter instead of olive oil?	So despite the fact that I make a ton of healthy recipes on my blog, I’m actually a HUGE butter lover…I used to eat it as a kid LOL! We only use 1 tbsp of melted butter in this recipe, but if you want to use more butter, that is totally fine, and it will definitely taste great! Just add a little olive oil to the mix, as butter has a low smoking point, meaning that it will burn without the oil.