Melting potatoes recipe with garlic and herbs (2024)

This melting potatoes recipe is one of the easiest, most delicious ways to get a lot of bang for your buck with a quick side dish. The oven does the majority of the work for you, all you have to do is flip them a couple of times. That tiny bit of effort is rewarded with the most perfectly crispy outside, tender and creamy inside, roasted potato dish to ever grace your dinner table.

I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.

You may also be interested in my potato spinach casseroleand mybrown butter fingerling potatoesrecipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my potato recipes in one place.

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Why you should make this recipe

Calling all potato lovers! This recipe is perfect for those who love crispy potatoes that are packed with flavor, garlicky and super easy.

  • Easy – This recipe requires minimal effort. Toss the potatoes and give them a few flips on the baking sheet. It really couldn’t be easier.
  • Scalable – Having a big gathering at your house, like a holiday or celebration? You can scale this melting potatoes recipe up to suit your needs, no matter how many guests you are serving.
  • Gluten-free – Potatoes are naturally gluten-free.

Best melting potatoes recipe

This recipe is easy, mostly hands off, full of nutrients and naturally gluten-free. And, the herbs and garlic give the potatoes a ton of flavor.

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Melting potatoes go with everything. From a fancy holiday dinner to a side for burgers, they are always perfect.

These potatoes melt in your mouth. I prefer Yukon Golds for this recipe because of their creamy texture. When baked, the inside is soft and tender, while the exterior of the potatoes are as crunchy as the caramel on top of a crème brûlée.

Ingredients

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  • Yukon Gold potatoes – This is my go-to potato for this recipe. You can also use Russets, if you prefer.
  • Unsalted butter – Unsalted butter lets you control the amount of salt in the recipe.
  • Oil – I use grapeseed oil as my neutral oil, but canola and vegetable oil are also good options.
  • Chicken or vegetable broth/stock – I like chicken stock, as it has more body, but use whatever you prefer.
  • Garlic – Use as much or as little as you like. I like A LOT.
  • Salt and pepper – Everything needs to be seasoned.
  • Fresh and/or dried herbs – I love fresh herbs, I think they add a freshness to dishes and give them a little “lift”. Use what you like.

Seriously the BEST potatoes I’ve ever had!! They are a weekly staple in our house!

– Reader Liz

How to make

Here’s a quick summary of how to make melting potatoes. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe.

As with every recipe, read all the way through it before you begin. Make sure you have your ingredients and equipment ready to go. This recipe isn’t difficult at all, but you don’t want to discover after having the potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes that you forgot the chicken broth.

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  1. First, whisk together the melted butter, oil, herbs, salt and pepper.
  2. Next, add the sliced and peeled potatoes, and toss to combine.
  3. Place the potatoes on an unlined metal baking sheet.
  4. Roast at high temp, flipping over to crisp both sides before adding stock.
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Melting potatoes recipe FAQ’s

What are melting potatoes?

Melting potatoes are an easier version of a French dish called fondant potatoes. It’s the same basic concept, except all of the cooking is done in the oven – versus stovetop, then oven.

Can I make these in advance?

You can, however, you’ll likely lose the crispy outside. Think about re-heating French fries – they are never quite as crispy as when they were freshly cooked.

How long will they last?

If properly stored in an airtight container in the fridge, the leftover potatoes will last about a week.

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Chef’s Notes

I usually put these at the end, but I really wanted to make sure you saw this. Before we get to the recipe, let me suggest two pieces of equipment for this: A heavy sheet pan and a fish spatula.

Why? I know I’m not the only person who has thatone sheet pan that always warps in a hot oven making a loud pop and scaring all the neighborhood dogs. I highly recommend a heavier, sturdier (commercial) sheet pan for this because the oven is going to be VERY hot.

Next, the fish spatula. But, it’s for fish, right? Well, it is for everything actually. It is one of the best kitchen tools you’ll ever own and you’ll wonder why you never bought one before. What makes this thing so magical? It’s thin and flexible, which means you can get under those potatoes to turn them without leaving the crispy bottom stuck to the sheet pan.

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Variations and substitutions

  • Make it vegan – Swap out butter for oil or use a non-dairy butter alternative.
  • Use these potatoes as a base for my vegetarian poutine recipe instead of fries.

Serving suggestions

This melting potatoes recipe is perfect for Sunday dinners, holiday dinners or even weeknights. It is honestly one of my favorite ways to have potatoes and I hope it’ll be one of your favorites, too.

You can pair this with everything from a beef tenderloin or a pork loin roast, to roast chicken or burgers.

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Helpful tools and equipment

  • Sheet pan – Heavy duty sheet pans that don’t warp in the oven.
  • Flexible spatula – This is the one I own. It is a bit pricier than the one I linked to above, but it has lasted me over 20 years in professional kitchens.
  • Medium sized mixing bowl

If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars!

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Melting potatoes recipe

Cheryl Bennett

This melting potatoes recipe is one of the easiest, most delicious ways to prepare potatoes. Perfect for your holiday table, but easy enough for weeknight supper.

4.52 from 50 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Side Dishes

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 305 kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ pounds Yukon Gold Idaho Potatoes peeled
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil canola, vegetable, grapeseed
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary finely chopped (or 1 1/2 tsp. dried)
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon salt I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, if you use Morton’s salt or table salt, reduce amount to 1 1/2 tsp.
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth
  • 6 cloves garlic smashed (or more if you really like garlic!)
  • ¼ cup parsley chopped (optional)
  • ¼ cup scallions thinly sliced (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 500°F (475°F for convection).

  • In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, oil, rosemary, dried thyme, salt and pepper.

  • Slice potatoes into 3/4" – 1" (about 2cm) rounds and toss in butter mixture. Lay potatoes on a metal baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 15 – 20 minutes.

  • Flip over, using a flexible (fish) spatula and return to oven for another 15 minutes.

  • Flip over again, then carefully pour broth onto sheet pan and add smashed garlic, making sure to coat the garlic in the butter/stock mixture.

  • Roast for an additional 10 – 15 minutes to get the tops super crispy. Most of the stock should be absorbed. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, if desired, and drizzle with remaining stock from the pan.

Video

Notes

To make the recipe vegan, use non-dairy butter.

*When adding the stock to the pan, carefully pour away from your body, the pan will be very hot and it will sizzle a bit.

Rosemary is a hearty herb and can withstand high heat, so you can use fresh rosemary or dried. Thyme is a delicate herb and will burn under high high, so dried is best.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 305kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 6gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 1349mgFiber: 5gSugar: 3g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Thanks for stopping by! Have adeliciousday 🙂

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Questions? Send me an email, I’m happy to help. I’d love to send youweekly tips and recipes, so you can get updates about what’s happening in the kitchen!

Hello!All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my photos or recipe (other than for personal use) without prior written permission.Thank you!

Originally published 9/24/19.

Melting potatoes recipe with garlic and herbs (2024)

FAQs

Why put baking soda in boiling water for potatoes? ›

Meanwhile, the alkaline water helps the exteriors of the potatoes break down more, creating much more of the starchy slurry that leads to an extra-crisp exterior. About a half teaspoon of baking soda for two quarts of water was the right amount.

How do you keep garlic from burning when roasting potatoes? ›

How do you not burn garlic when roasting potatoes? By leaving garlic cloves in their skin they don't burn but instead roast and become super soft and buttery.

Why do you put baking powder on potatoes? ›

I first came across this trick from a post on Serious Eats – baking soda creates an alkaline environment for the potatoes to boil in, which maximises the starch so our roast potatoes are extra crispy! Swish the potatoes around your colander after boiling.

Is there a healthy way to cook potatoes? ›

The Bottom Line

So, experts agree that steaming and air frying your potatoes is the best way to cook them for healthy weight loss. They also recommend cooking with minimal oil with unsaturated fats like avocado oil and choosing toppings and herbs that are low-calorie and anti-inflammatory.

Why do you put a little vinegar in the potato cooking water? ›

03/5Why vinegar is added to boiling potatoes? This hack has been suggested by several home cooks and chefs and the reason behind it is that vinegar can help the potatoes retain their shape. Vinegar causes the potatoes to form a thin crust that further helps in retaining their shape.

Why do you put vinegar in potatoes when boiling them? ›

Vinegar causes potatoes to develop a thin crust on their exterior layer, which is what is required to preserve them from becoming mushy or disintegrating.

Can you keep potatoes and garlic together? ›

Never store potatoes with fruit, onions, or garlic. Fresh fruit can give off ethylene gas, a natural substance that causes the fruit to ripen. The ethylene gas will cause the potato to sprout.

At what temp does garlic burn? ›

A whole head of garlic that's been halved, rubbed with oil, and wrapped in foil then baked in an oven turns sweet, creamy, and spreadable. But keep the temperature no higher than 375˚F, or the outer edges will burn before it has time to soften.

How do you not burn garlic when cooking? ›

Garlic is finicky and will burn quickly. Keep the temperature low and slow. Second, be extra generous with the cooking oil.

How does Gordon Ramsay make the best roast potatoes? ›

In a video online, Gordon explained: “For crispy roast potatoes, you can depend on them, my tip is to parboil them, leave them to steam dry, then sprinkle them with semolina or flour, and then give them a good roughing up.”

Do you put seasoning before or after cooking potatoes? ›

It is best to season the potatoes before or during cooking, rather than after they have finished cooking. When you season the potatoes before or during cooking, the salt and other spices can penetrate the potatoes and enhance their flavor throughout. This can help to create a more even flavor throughout the potatoes.

What does cornstarch do to potatoes? ›

When the corn starch comes into contact with the hot oil, it forms a barrier that traps moisture within the potato while also developing a crunchy crust. This results in fries that are both tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, mimicking the texture of fries you might find in restaurants.

What is the unhealthiest way to cook potatoes? ›

To play it safe, be careful how you cook potatoes. It's the starch inside that reacts to the heat. Baking, grilling, and roasting can cause acrylamide to form, but frying produces the most.

Is it better to boil potatoes peeled or unpeeled? ›

Drop a whole russet into the pot and by the time the outside has cooked through, the inside will still be raw. Larger potatoes should be cubed to ensure they cook evenly (peeled first if desired). Smaller potatoes tend to have thin skins and can be boiled whole, no peeling required.

Is it healthier to boil or microwave potatoes? ›

According to USDA data, microwaving potatoes is the best way to retain its nutritional value, boiling potatoes causes the most nutrient loss, and frying adds fat and extra calories. None of the cooking methods destroy fiber. Still, potatoes are rich in key nutrients regardless of how they are cooked.

Is it better to boil potatoes with vinegar or baking soda? ›

Vinegar allows you to boil the potatoes the longest and keep them firm but I didn't get the soft outer surface I wanted. (I did get very creamy middles though!) Good, but not quite. Baking soda starts softening the outside right away, long before the middles are cooked.

What happens if I put baking soda in boiling water? ›

What happens when you add baking soda to boiled water? When baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is added to boiled water, it will begin to release carbon dioxide gas. The carbon dioxide gas will create bubbles and foam, which may cause the water to overflow if not in a large enough container.

What effect does baking soda have on potatoes? ›

Some potatoes are more prone to becoming mash (like a starchy variety) and some are too waxy to have fluffy innards. The baking soda breaks down the pectin in the potato, which degrades the flesh to form a sort of starch slurry. This starchy slurry will crisp up like a dream in the oven.

Does baking soda take starch out of potatoes? ›

Baking Soda: Read this article for the food science deep dive (which isn't really my bag). But to give you the Cliff's Notes version, the baking soda alkalizes the water. It breaks down the pectin in the potato and brings the natural starches up to the surface.

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