The BEST EVER Salty Herbed Smashed Red Potatoes are the perfect side dish! Smothered in tasty herbs and chunky salt, these are finger-lickin’ good!
Gosh, I just love salt. I know it’s not great for you, and you probably shouldn’t eat too much of it, but when you do eat it, PLEASE eat the good stuff; I prefer kosher or sea salt as they’re the best options for roasting vegetables by far. You are doing yourself an injustice if you are roasting your veggies with table salt…just don’t do it. If you are going to indulge and use salt, use the good stuff. With that said, when I was making these Salty Herbed Smashed Red Potatoes, I knew I had to go for the good stuff; the big chunky kosher salt. By loading these bad boys up with kosher salt, herbs, and olive oil, they really are The BEST EVER Salty Herbed Smashed Red Potatoes.
As much as I wish I could, I can’t take credit for this recipe. However, it was so good, I felt like I had to share it. This recipe comes from non other than The Pioneer Woman.
Funny story…I was talking to one of my friends, and she was telling me that a friend of hers from high school was going to be on TV. She wasn’t really sure why, but she thought it was something to do with cooking. She told me that her friend did some ‘pioneering stuff’…at which point I questioned her, “Umm, are you talking about The Pioneer Woman?”..she wasn’t sure. She told me her name was Ree Drummond, and at that point my jaw dropped hitting the telephone. “Wait, your friends with THE PIONEER WOMAN???” She nonchalantly said, “Yeah, I guess, if that’s who it is..” I went on to try to explain just how well known Mrs. Drummond is, but my friend was still like, “oh well, I don’t know, you know I don’t cook!”…yeah, okay. Sure enough, I tuned into her TV appearance and there she was, my friend’s friend, the Pioneer Woman.
Turns out my friend’s brother dated The Pioneer Woman’s sister like for years, so they knew each other. Crazy. I guess that’s what happens when you are from small town. You are probably guessing this is before the Pioneer Woman got huge, but it wasn’t…this was like a year ago…she already had her own TV show, a line of cookbooks, and was pretty recognizable. But again, my friend doesn’t cook, so how would she know?! LOL. About 3 months after I found out about all this, I actually was able to meet Ree, The Pioneer Woman, at a blog conference. I brought up my friend and she knew exactly who she was, about her family, and asked me some very personal questions about my friend and how she is doing. Anyway, it was a great time and fun to have a mutual friend!
The Pioneer Woman and me! I’m 8 months pregnant here (June 2014), don’t judge!
Anyway, I did tweak this recipe a bit, so I will post the recipe below, but you can also check it out on The Pioneer Woman’s Blog.
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The BEST EVER Salty Herbed Smashed Red Potatoes are the perfect side dish! Smothered in tasty herbs and chunky salt, these are finger-lickin' good!
- 12 red potatoes
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- olive oil
- dried basil leaves
- dried thyme leaves
- dried rosemary
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In a large stock pot filled halfway with water, bring to boil and liberally salt water. Add red potatoes, and boil for 15 minutes, or until they are fork tender. Strain; set aside.
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Using a baking sheet, drizzle some olive oil onto the sheet, and spread around using hand (or paper towel). Line your potatoes up 4 to a row, 3 across, making sure they aren't too close to each other. Using a potato masher or strong fork, press down in the center to smash your potato; repeat for all potatoes.
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Drizzle olive oil over the tops of the potatoes, then brush around the entire potato (I used a basting brush). Sprinkle kosher salt, pepper, and all herbs over the tops of the potatoes. Place into oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until browned on the top.
These are delicious by themselves, but also taste amazing topped with sour cream or greek yogurt, and also parmesan cheese! Yum!
Like potatoes as much as I do? Check out these other potato recipes from Domestic Superhero:
Thanks for visiting!
– Allyson
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
I love a classic smashed potato side! Definitely need to make these and determine whether they truly are “the best ever”.. they do look pretty delicious though.
Lynn @ Riggstown Road says
These look so good. We make roasted potato wedges a lot, but these are way easier, and the chunky salt will be yummy. Definitely making soon! (Also, I love the pioneer woman’s show!) 🙂
Allyson says
Yes, the chunky salt is a must! Isn’t the pioneer woman great!?
Rick says
I’ve done this recipe twice and my potatoes crumble, what would you think pf microwaving them? Great recipe by the way!
Jared says
Try smashing them with the bottom of a cup instead of a potato masher or fork. I initially had the same problem but the cup fixed it.
Stephanie Filapose says
Thanks for the great tip!! I tried making them your way by spraying the bottom of a glass with olive oil spray and it worked great!!
Andrea says
I placed parchment paper on top of my potatoes before smashing it with a ramekin! It worked so incredibly well.
Susan - ofeverymoment says
These were the perfect recipe to include in my “summer foods” Memorial Day menu. I made them, and my family gave me high praise! Sharing my whole menu with this link on my blog today. Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Allyson says
That is so awesome! I am so happy everyone loved them! I always find myself cooking them up when we have extra potatoes! Cheers!
Dagmar ~ Dagmar's Home says
I’m so making these tonight!
Sumit says
delicious
Kristi says
I made these for dinner today and while they didn’t end up to be as pretty as the ones in the picture as mine just went all over when I used my potato masher to smash them. Mine weren’t nice individual smashed potatoes. But, I baked them as is and they still tasted very good! I will be making these again! I also added garlic powder with the other spices.
Allyson says
I am happy you tried and liked them. Full disclosure, my food doesn’t look this good unless I’m taking pictures of it 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
Julie lipke says
Can these be boiled and smashed in advance and then baked a day or so later.
Allyson says
I haven’t tried that, but I would imagine it would work fine!
Mike says
I used the top of a preserves jar to squash down while retaining the round shape and it keeps them together. The preserve jar lids are also non stick so it works very well…..now the potatoes are just awesome and I do prepare them several hours before baking with wax paper. Hope this helps a bit
Allyson says
Thank you for the tips!!
CHANTAL COSTELLO says
Thanks for the recipie..
I’m going to make this but my oven is temporarily not working. So, I decided to do everything up to putting them into the oven.
I’m going to add a little olive oil to my cast iron pan heat it up and add potatoes smashing them. Turning them over to make a crust on both sides..Then drizzle the rest of the ingredients on top…
I hope it will be as delicious as your recipie
I guess I have to be creative to make this…
It looked to good to pass up..
I could use my grill instead of my oven, but, looks like rain..
Allyson says
So how did they turn out?!
Marie Wilson says
I make a similiar potato cooking small to med potatoes in chicken broth and the herbs with a very tight lid. I don’t quite cover them with the broth and let it cook down until barely any broth left in the pan. I use the bottom of a heavy spoon to crack them open as opposed to smashing. Then i put aout 1/2 stick of butter in the pan and burn them just enough until crispy. Then put them on a plate dumping the drippings from the skillet over the top.Top with salt.
Seth says
I have 7 kids and have a stay home wife….so, my wife does a majority of the cooking. I, however, decided to make these potatoes once for the family and my wife absolutely LOVED THEM. So I just wanted to say thank you for that. I love her very much and was very happy to do something that she could enjoy without doing herself. I’m making them again, right now, to surprise her.
Allyson says
OMG how sweet are you?!?!? Going to share this amazing comment on my FB page! Thank you!
Cori says
You, Seth..are a rock star!
Susan says
The best way to smash these potatoes is this: Using a clean kitchen towel, place one potato on towel and fold towel over potato. GENTLY press down on potato, open towel and TA-DA!!! ….perfectly smashed but still intact potato. Then just transfer potatoes to parchment paper lined baking sheet. My grandkids love to be the potato smashers!
Allyson says
Great tips!!
Anthony Allen says
I made these for a co-workers birthday and everybody loved them! I will definitely be adding these to my cache of favorite recipes! Thanks for your sharing! Can’t wait for your next recipe.
Jess says
Don’t over boil the potatoes! They didn’t smash easy so I let them keep boiling, which was a big mistake 🙁
Allyson says
Oh no! Yes, you want to cook them just right according to the directions! I hope you will try it again as this is such a delicious recipe!
Dawn says
Easy way to smash them is to put them on the cookie sheet & place another sheet on top & press down.
Allyson says
Great tip – thanks!
Jimbo says
I lay pots out on a cookie sheet. Lay a grilling spatula over each one. They are a little heavier than a household one. A little olive oil. I use spray. Then smash with a rubber hammer. Not to hard. Spice then short time in oven to toast.
Works great for me
Todd McNabb says
Add bacon crumbles and Parmesan cheese on top during the last five minutes of baking. Place a dollop of sour cream on top when serving. Also add purple and yellow potatoes for a colorful mix. Water content is higher in these potatoes so cooking time will be longer to obtain desired crispness.
Lisa B. says
Has anyone tried freezing them once they have been smashed? My baby Yukons were really small, so I’m freezing them in a single layer and then wraping them in nonstick foil. Going to store in a freezer bag. Figured I’d defrost and bake away per the directions,
Meghan says
Would anyone recommend poking holes in the potatoes before putting them in the pot of boiling water? Or would that be counterproductive? I made this recipe over the weekend and I ran into the same problem people talk about: a potato masher not smashing the boiled potatoes. Will try greased bottom of glass next time to smash them. Other than that, they tasted amazing!!
Meghan says
What size of red potatoes do people use when making this recipe? I have made this recipe twice and the potatoes I used were on the large size. The problem I have run into is that I cannot smash them successfully; the first time I used a potato masher, the second time I used a mallet and then the bottom of a glass. The potatoes were still really good to eat, but I would like to get them smashed before tossing the recipe.
Sammy says
Just made these two days after Thanksgiving as there was no oven room on Thursday. Big hit. I put them on a parchment lined baking sheet and gently crushed with a potato masher. Everything done as written except I brushed a bit of melted butter on top when they came out of the oven. Delicious and a keeper.
Rena Pichcuskie says
Question: Can you use the tiny little round red potatoes instead of the regular big ones??
I guess that would knock time off the cooking??
Allyson says
Probably! I haven’t tried it personally, so I can’t quote you a time, but just cook until tender!
Ruth McAllister says
This recipe actually came from http://www.jilldupleix.com/
and is called Crash Hot Potatoes. The Pioneer Woman even credits her.
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/crash-hot-potatoes/
Allyson says
Thanks for the update Ruth! I have actually changed the original recipe, but the inspiration was definitely amazing! Thanks!!!