Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Michael Eisenwasser

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Baby potatoes boiled until tender, smashed flat, then roasted in garlic-infused oil until the edges shatter.

Prep 10 min

Cook 45 min

Serves 4

Gluten-freeDairy-freeVegan option

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) baby or small potatoes, scrubbed (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches across)
• 1 tablespoon fine salt, for the boiling water
• 4 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to finish
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan (optional, well under the 40 g per serve Monash limit)
• 1 tablespoon chopped scallion greens or chives, to finish
• Flaky salt, to finish

Instructions

Boil

1. Heat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment and set it aside.
2. Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by an inch. Add 1 tablespoon fine salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until a paring knife slides through the largest potato with no resistance. They need to be fully cooked through before smashing, or the centers stay chalky.
3. Drain well and let them steam dry in the colander for 3 to 5 minutes. A drier surface crisps better in the oven.

Smash and roast

1. Arrange the potatoes on the sheet pan with 2 inches of space between each one. Crowding steams them instead of roasting and you lose the crispy edges.
2. Using the bottom of a sturdy glass, a measuring cup, or a small skillet, press down on each potato until it's about 1/2 inch thick. The edges should split and fray. That ragged surface is what turns crunchy in the oven.
3. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of the garlic-infused oil evenly over the smashed potatoes, making sure each one gets some. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, paprika, rosemary, and thyme across the top.
4. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are deep golden brown and the tops look shattered. Don't flip them. The underside crisps against the pan while the top crisps from the oven heat.
5. If using Parmesan, sprinkle it over the potatoes in the last 5 minutes of roasting.

Finish

1. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of garlic-infused oil over the hot potatoes. Scatter the scallion greens across the top, add a generous pinch of flaky salt, and a final grind of black pepper. Serve right away while the edges are still crisp.

Tips & Substitutions

• Use the smallest potatoes you can find. Baby potatoes and small new potatoes smash cleanly into a rough disc. Larger potatoes break apart when you press them and end up as irregular chunks rather than crisp-edged patties. If all you have are larger potatoes, cut them in half before boiling.
• Cook the potatoes all the way through before smashing. Underdone potatoes don't smash, they crack. The knife test matters — slide a paring knife into the biggest one and it should go in with zero resistance.
• Steam-dry before smashing. Water on the surface turns into steam in the oven and blocks browning. A few minutes in the colander makes a real difference.
• Don't use onion or garlic powder. Both are concentrated fructans and become high-FODMAP in very small amounts. Garlic-infused oil plus scallion greens gives you that savory depth without using onion or garlic powder.
• Swap the herbs to match the meal. Oregano, sage, or a pinch of za'atar all work. Add woody herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage) before roasting and tender herbs (parsley, chives, dill) after.
• Skip the Parmesan for dairy-free. The recipe is vegan without it. Nutritional yeast works as a substitute — 1 tablespoon sprinkled on after roasting gives a similar savory note.
• Use duck fat or ghee for more flavor. Both are low-FODMAP and give a richer roasted taste than oil. Swap tablespoon for tablespoon. Stick with olive oil if higher-fat meals trigger symptoms for you.

Why This Works

Potatoes don't have a strict serve-size cap. Monash tests baby, Yukon Gold, russet, and red potatoes as low-FODMAP at every serving size measured, so there isn't a strict upper limit in the app. That makes them one of the safest starches on a low-FODMAP plate. Individual tolerance still varies at very large portions.

Garlic-infused oil gives a garlic flavor. Fructans (the carbs that make garlic high-FODMAP) don't dissolve in oil, so the flavor compounds move into the oil while the fructans stay in the garlic solids. Straining the solids out is what keeps the oil low-FODMAP. Full method in the garlic-infused olive oil recipe.

Boil, then smash, then roast. Boiling fully gelatinizes the starch so the centers turn creamy. Smashing exposes that starchy interior and creates a large, ragged surface area. When that rough, starchy surface meets a very hot sheet pan with oil, it crisps into a shattered crust that a standard roast potato can't match.

Scallion greens replace the onion. The green tops of scallions are low-FODMAP, while the white bulbs are high-FODMAP. Chopped green tops give you the onion-family flavor without the fructans. Chives work the same way if you'd rather use those.

A hot oven matters. 450°F is the temperature where the moisture in the potato surface flashes off fast enough to crisp rather than steam. Below 425°F the edges go leathery instead of shattered.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days at 40°F (4°C) or below. Reheat in a 425°F oven or an air fryer for 5 to 8 minutes to bring back the crispy edges; the microwave softens them but works if you're in a hurry. Smashed potatoes don't freeze well — the texture turns grainy — so eat them fresh or from the fridge.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.