Lemon Garlic Smashed Potatoes

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Get the best of both spuds—creamy mashed potatoes and crispy French fries—in today’s Lemon Garlic Smashed Potatoes recipe. These garlic smashed potatoes made with Baby Yukon gold potatoes are tender on the inside, yet crispy on the outside.

Lemon Garlic Smashed Potatoes are a great accompaniment for grilled chicken, steak, burgers, barbecue, or any other meal!

This smashed potato recipe starts with boiling baby Yukon Gold potatoes until they are fork tender and then finishing them in the oven. Smashed and seasoned with parsley, garlic, and freshly grated lemon zest, these potatoes are hands-down absolutely delicious and addictive.

Lemon Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Of course, you know potatoes are a pretty versatile vegetable and can be prepared all kinds of different ways. Boiled, mashed, roasted, fried, I personally love them all.

But I must say, smashed potatoes is one of my new all-time favorite ways to cook potatoes.

First of all, there’s no need to peel the potatoes, so the prep work is easy. Second, these potatoes get the crispy skins I love as they bake! Salty, crispy skins have always been my favorite part of cooking baked potatoes at home!

Freaky Friday blog hop

Today is FREAKY FRIDAY, y’all! That may not mean a thing to you, but it’s pretty exciting for me. Freaky Friday is a fun blog project (the brainchild of Michaela from An Affair From the Heart) where a group of food bloggers secretly cook or bake a recipe from another blog they were assigned, then reveal the recipes at the same time on one Freaky Friday morning — that’s TODAY!

Meet Michelle from West Via Midwest

I’m excited to introduce you to my friend, Michele, from West Via Midwest. I met Michele a few years ago at a blogging conference and was immediately impressed with her zeal and enthusiasm for food.

She carries her passion over into her blog where she shares entertaining tips and easy to follow recipes designed to make hosting any social occasion a roaring success. If you’re planning a party, Michele is your go-to girl!

Michele definitely knows her stuff. She was professionally trained at culinary school and even has a Sommelier Certification from the American Sommelier Association. Not only can she help you plan the perfect party menu, she can help you pair the perfect wine/cocktail/beer for every meal, too!

Her blog has a ton of delicious party appetizer recipes, as well as easy air fryer recipes like Korean Chicken Wings and Hot Cheetos Chicken (wow!). Personally, I can’t wait to try her Huli Huli Hawaiian BBQ Sauce—doesn’t that sound delicious?!

It was really difficult choosing which recipe I wanted to try for the Freaky Friday Blog Hop, but I finally settled on her Lemon Garlic Smashed Potatoes. I served them last weekend alongside my husband’s smoked pulled pork. Everyone LOVED them!

What are smashed potatoes?

Smashed potatoes are cooked with a two-part method, boiling and roasting. First, they are boiled on top of the stove until tender. Then, they’re transferred to a large baking sheet, gently smashed to slightly flatten, and roasted in the oven until crispy.

What is the difference between mashed potatoes and smashed potatoes?

Mashed potatoes are peeled, cooked in boiling water until done, then drained and mashed with cream and butter. Smashed potatoes are unpeeled, cooked until tender in boiling water, then smashed and roasted with a drizzle of olive oil and spices.

How long does it take to boil potatoes?

Small whole potatoes take about 20 minutes to cook in boiling water. If the potatoes are diced, they will cook in about 10 minutes.

Should you boil the water before adding potatoes?

Unlike pasta, you shouldn’t let the water boil before adding potatoes to cook. Instead, start the potatoes in cold water to ensure they cook evenly.

Ingredients

• Baby Yukon Gold potatoes — Yukon Gold potatoes have thin skins, so there’s no need to peel them before baking. You could also use baby red potatoes.
• Garlic — adds delicious flavor
• Flat-leaf Italian parsley — for freshness
• Lemon zest — brightens up the over all dish. If you love lemon, squeeze fresh lemon juice on the potatoes right after removing them from the oven.
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make smashed potatoes

1. Rinse the potatoes and scrub their skins to remove any grit. Add the potatoes to a large pot and fill with enough cool water to cover the potatoes by about an inch.
2. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
3. Drain the potatoes in a colander and allow to cool for 5 minutes or so.
4. While the potatoes are cooling, combine olive oil with chopped fresh parsley and minced garlic.
5. Place the potatoes about 2 inches apart on a large baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand to gently smash, or flatten, the potatoes.
6. Brush the potatoes with the olive oil mixture and sprinkle the lemon zest over all. Season with the salt and pepper.
7. Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping midway to crisp both sides.

Related recipes

• Roasted Red Potato Salad
• Tex-Mex Inspired Mashed Potato Cakes
• Ham and Cheese Potato Bites
• Asiago Potato Stacks
• Grilled French Fries with Spicy Ketchup

Let’s cook!

To give these smashed roast potatoes even more lemon zing, splash them with fresh lemon juice while they are still hot from the oven.

Take a look at all of our 2020 Freaky Friday Fall Edition Recipes:

1. An Affair from the Heart – Instant Pot Chicken & Rice Soup
2. An Affair from the Heart – Honey Corn Bread
3. Aunt Bee’s Recipes –  Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
4. Devour Dinner – Instant Pot French Onion Meatballs
5. House of Nash Eats – Slow Cooker Crack Chicken
6. Lemoine Family Kitchen – Turkey Cranberry Sliders
7. Life Currents – Cheesy Shrimp Dip
8. Life, Love & Good Food – Lemon Garlic Smashed Potatoes
9. Or Whatever You Do – Traeger Grilled Parmesan Halibut
10. Sugar Dish Me – Whipped Shortbread Cookies
11. Take Two Tapas –  Pork Tenderloin Sliders
12. The Foodie Affair – Easy Greek Style Cauliflower Rice Salad
13. The Speckled Palate – Upside Down Cranberry Cake
14. West Via Midwest – Hawaiian Pulled Pork (Kalua Pork Recipe)

Lemon Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Author: Sheila Thigpen

Extremely tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, these lemon garlic smashed potatoes make a delicious side dish for any meal.

4.86 from 14 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Vegetables & Sides

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Calories 353 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 ½ pounds baby Yukon gold potatoes
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup parsley minced
• 2 tablespoons garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon sea salt course grind
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• fresh lemon juice optional

Instructions

 

• Rinse the potatoes and scrub their skins to remove any grit. Add the potatoes to a large pot and fill with enough cool water to cover the potatoes by about an inch.
• Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Drain the potatoes in a colander and allow to cool slightly While the potatoes are cooling, combine the olive oil with chopped fresh parsley and minced garlic.
• Place the potatoes about an inch apart on a large baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand to gently smash, or flatten, the potatoes.
• Brush the potatoes with the olive oil mixture and sprinkle the lemon zest over all. Season with the sea salt and pepper.
• Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, flipping midway through, until the edges are crispy and golden. Remove the potatoes from the oven and squeeze with fresh lemon juice, if desired.

Notes

https://www.westviamidwest.com/smashed-lemon-garlic-potatoes/

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 353kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 6gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gSodium: 555mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4g

Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

Keyword easy recipe, roasted potatoes

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was.

About Sheila Thigpen

Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer

Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.