Crispy roast potatoes
Golden and crunchy on the outside, and light and fluffy on the inside. It’s not difficult to achieve, but there are a few little tricks to get it right. I created this recipe using healthy oil so people could serve them all the time without feeling guilty. An important thing to note with roasting potatoes is that they crisp up best without anything else in the oven (like a roast) creating moisture – so I do these potatoes while the meat is resting. You also need to start with the right potato – Agria is my favourite, but you can also use Ilam Hardy, Red Rascal, Fianna, Victoria, Laura, and Marabel…stay away from waxy potatoes!
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4–6
Ingredients
1–1.5kg floury potatoes (such as Agria), chopped into evenish pieces, 4–5cm
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup oil (grapeseed, rice bran or light olive oil)
salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 220c fan bake.
Scrub the potatoes, or peel them (I like the skin on). Add to a large saucepan of salted water over a high heat. Bring to to a gentle simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are about three-quarters cooked – the outsides should be soft.
Drain in a colander then add back to the saucepan and place over a low heat for a few minutes to dry out excess moisture. Shake the pan a few times — you’ll see the steam evaporating. Don’t forget about them and burn them!
Put the lid on and give the pan a good strong shake for 5 seconds. What you want to happen is for the outsides of the potatoes to get nice and roughed up. If some of them look mushy and fall to pieces, don’t worry — this is a good thing. Add the oils and toss briefly, less roughly, just to coat the potatoes.
Tip the potatoes and oil (and all the mushy stuff at the bottom) on to a large roasting tray or dish, and separate them so they aren’t touching one another. Season generously with salt (salt helps them crisp up too).
Bake in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes — or until golden brown on the bottom and crunchy.
Here’s the important part: Don’t be tempted to turn them over or shake the tray during cooking — just leave them as they are for the whole time. Have a taste and if they need more salt, hit them.
Serve with a lovely roast meal or just with a bowl of homemade aïoli or tomato sauce and get stuck in. Have fun fighting over the little crunchy bits!
Thanks for all the effort you have gone to for this recipe . How yummy they look in the photo.
Hi Chelsea, these were AMAZING, made them withy the pan fried fish dish with the snapper we caught today :) you specified putting the spuds in cold water and then bringing to the boil – my husband would like to know why he can’t just boil the jug and pour over spuds to save time? Does it make any difference? Thanks!
The. Best. Spuds. Ever! I can’t stop making them! I’ve made them bigger and smaller and with Kumara…nothing seems to fail. Yet another win – thanks Chelsea!
I made your crispy roast taties last night, WOW, my family LOVED them, especially my 2yr old twin boys, everyone raved about them. I have never perfected crispy roast taties before this recipe, thank you so much.
Love these recipes. Thanks Chelsea
Hi Chelsea
is there a way that doesn’t use so much oil, is it possible to do with spray can oils?
what sort of potato would I use in Australia, I haven’t heard of the ones you mention
Hi Chelsea, This is how I do my roast potatoes all the time but just to add an extra zest…I mix up Rosemary, olive oil and a splash of white wine vinegar…has a fantastic taste and is now my new favourite way to cook potatoes…. we have them 3 or 4 times a week
Hi Chelsea, could you use just Grape seed Oil instead of combining the two oils??? We use Grape seed oil for everything and it’s great. Love your recipes and am making your roast chicken tonight and Italian chicken and tomato bake for Fathers Day on Sunday together with the Black Doris Plum cheesecake for Desert….. can’t wait.
What’s Taking place i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered It absolutely useful and
it has helped me out loads. I hope to contribute & help different users like its aided me.
Good job.
I agree, I’ve done these a few times now and – so long as I’ve use the right spuds – they’ve turned out great! I’ve only ever used vegetable oil as that is all we have, without any issues. Plus I add a few more herbs and a bit of chilli powder for a wee kick. Thank you, Chelsea, for such a great recipe :)
Best roast potatoes I have ever made, the whole family LOVED them. Thanks Chelsea for sharing your wonderful recipe :-)
Have made these potatoes a few times and I could eat them all day! They are also the only potato my 14 month old daughter was willing to eat (she ate most of a pretty big piece!). YUM!
Best roast potatoes ever!! Thank you Chelsea
I have ALWAYS failed in the roast vege department of a roast.
Tried these tonight… Best potatoes and kumera ever!
Thanks!!
This was so easy, and such a hit with everyone chelsea you are amazing. something so simple but yet so yummy and delish! To be honest i’ve made them like 5 times since I found this recipe only like 2 weeks ago!!
Wow these are amazing!! I usually fail terribly when making roast vegetables but these came out perfect – crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside – and absolutely delicious!
Uh Oh! One word…..DANGEROUS! Sooooooo good :)
Can you use other types of potatoes as down south we are limited in our supermarkets provides. I’m giving it a go with Desiree potatoes.
Have tried it with 3 different kinds now. Agria, Desiree and Rua.
Agria is by far the best. You get quite different results with other types.
I tried kumara too – not quite as crispy but came out ok.
Hi Chelsea! Cooking your pork belly tonight for Mother’s Day, wanting to accompany it with these potatoes! How long should I cook the potatoes for bearing in mind the oven will be at 150degrees? Thanks, can’t wait ~ hungry already!
Why would the oven be at 150deg?
The recipe says 220 fan bake. There should be nothing else in the oven when cooking the potatoes for best results.
You’ll be letting the meat rest for a good 30 min before youserve it, so make the potatoes in a 220degree oven then, that’s what I do :)
I’ve never really like roast potatoes but thought I’d try this method to see….Wow…..I am now an addict….the best roast potatoes…..ever!!!!
I tried your Crispy Roast Potatoes tonight.
I think I love you.
I don’t think I can eat roast potatoes made any other way from now on.
Try duck fat, it’s awesome for creating crispy potatoes especially via the par boiled method.
Rice bran oil is not as healthy as one is made to believe through marketing. While It does have a high smoke point it is an oil that is unstable and very easily oxidised, therefore you are ingesting free radicals that are destructive to cells and is an added load to what the body already has to detoxify.
There is a reason why this oil hasn’t been popular in the past and is cheap..basically it goes off very easily.
You’re right, I learned this after I posted this recipe.
That’s almost exactly how I learnt to do my potatoes. The only tip I have is to add a little extra flavor, about five minutes from the end I’ll add about 25gm of butter into the roasting dish and mix it around a bit… delicious!
That’s a good tip, I might add that!
Rubbing the potatoes with a little salt and leaving them for a few minutes while you chop the rest of the veges works too.
Scratch the potatoes with a fork to rough them up then brush w olive oil and bake in a hot oven (350 f). All veges crisp up but you need to turn them when they are golden.
Two words: duck fat. But not every day.
For a faster cook can you cut the tatters smaller? Im thinking 1cm thickness rather than nice chunky potato quarters. How would that impact on the cook time. Or would you just do it the same and they’d get even crispier?
Also, will Kipfler potatos work? ive been looking for a Kipfler potato recipe that really stands out but havent come across anything.
Hi Chelsea. I just wanted to say thank you for this recipe. I’ve never succeeded in making yummy, crispy roast potatoes until tonight. These are seriously yummy and I highly recommend them to anyone! Thank you!
Par boiling, roughing up and flouring the potatoes before roasting makes the best potatoes ever. My family love them =) the flour gives them a bit more crunch =D
Unfortunately it’s not gluten free and adds extra starches to starchy food… Gosh I sound terrible:) just got a gluten intolerant kid and got to watch out for any flour, coating etc…
There is no flour and is gluten free! You just use floury tupeoof potatoes!
Can I use coconut oil for roasting potatoes?
Sure can!
Hi Chelsea. Will these still work as well if I line the pan with baking paper? I am saving to buy your book! From the feed back it is a “must have”!
Coconut oil is the best for crisping!!!
Hi Chelsea, just wondering why the combination of oils??? I thought that olive oil should only be used at room temp??? Thanks.
Olive oil adds a nice flavour – combined with the rice bran oil it has a higher smoke point too. Only cold pressed extra virgin olive oil should not be cooked with – the standard varieties are fine over a medium heat.
Could these be prepared earlier in the morning and cook 20 mins before lunch?
Yes! The roasting part can be done just before serving.
If u pre cook in the morning how is best ? Still add oil and place in roasting dish ready 2 go?
Pingback: ChelseaWinter.co.nz Christmas roast lamb with fresh mint topping » ChelseaWinter.co.nz
Pingback: ChelseaWinter.co.nz Chelsea's Cheeseburgers with secret sauce » ChelseaWinter.co.nz
Pingback: ChelseaWinter.co.nz Pan fried fish with lemon & herb butter sauce » ChelseaWinter.co.nz
Hi Chelsea, these have to be the best roast potatoes EVER and they are soooo easy – I made them last night and didn’t have much time so didn’t peel them and I think they were even better than peeling!! The skins crisped up and they were so delish!!! :) Thanks so much for sharing all your yummy recipes :)
Hi Chelsea, I like keeping the skins on potatoes when I cook them. Does this recipe work just as well if the potatoes aren’t peeled? Thanks :-)
I like the flavour of the skins too! Yes, it’ll work :)
Pingback: potatoes.co.nz » Blog Archive » How to celebrate a SPUDTACULAR Selaks Roast Day!
Pingback: ChelseaWinter.co.nz Perfect roast chicken recipe » ChelseaWinter.co.nz
Tasted amazing but i did it in a cast iron roasting dish, The dish got way to hot and only went really crispy on the one side, next time will just use a normal roasting tray, tasted amazing anyway.
Thanks Chelsea…for all your amazing hints and recipies..tried the potatoes they were amazing…Thanks again
Ilam Hardy are New Potatoes!
Sorry I just meant baby potatoes – changed it thanks!
I buy a lot of Nadine potatoes does this recipe work just as well with them? Love your recipes and face book posts! Thanks
Hi Julie, probably not as Nadine potatoes tend to be waxier, more suited to boiling and salads :)
Would any oil work?
Hi Amanda, you could use vegetable oil if you liked instead of rice bran oil.
does this work with the likes of kumara and pumpkin ? or do you have a recommendation for roasting them ? Cheers tash
Hi Natasha,
Kumara and pumpkin have lots more water content so they just don’t crisp up like potatoes – but you can just coat them in a little oil, season and bake in a 200c oven for 30 mins and they will be delish!
Made these tonight to go with my roast beef, yummmm! Way better than the beef, lol
Can I just use Olive oil?
Yes you can!
Can you par-cook the potatoes in the microwave?
Hi Jenny, yes, that would be fine.