Ultra-Crispy Roast Potatoes Recipe (2024)

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Roasted Potatoes

J. Kenji López-Alt

Culinary Consultant

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

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Updated March 10, 2022

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Why It Works

Parboiling the potatoes with a hint of vinegar builds strong pectin bonds and a starchy outer layer of potato.
Tossing the parboiled potatoes in a bowl with a metal spoon creates microscopic nooks and crannies that make for an extra-crunchy exterior.
Roasting in animal fat adds extra crispness and rich flavor.

How often do you get roasted potatoes that look like they're going to be awesomely crisp, only to find that rather than crispness, all you've got is a papery (or, worse, leathery) skin on the exterior? Getting truly crisp potatoes is harder than it seems. Simply tossing them in a bit of oil and roasting them just doesn't work.

The problem is that with simple roasting, they'll crisp up, all right, but the layer of crispness will be very, very thin. Within moments, steam from the interior of the spud will cause the crisp bits to soften.

So what is it that makes a potato crisp?

Well, as I found out when exploring French fries last year, it's a dehydrated layer of gelatinized starch that does it. The thicker the layer of gelatinized starch you can build up, the crisper the potato. You accomplish this by parboiling the cubed potatoes, and, just as with making French fries, adding a touch of acid to the boiling water acts as insurance against accidentally over-boiling them—the pectin that holds potato cells together is strong in slightly acidic environments.

Want to know the secret to even crisper roast potatoes? Increase surface area. The more surface area a potato has for a given volume, the more bits there are to crisp up, and the crunchier it'll become. The potatoes above have been parboiled, then tossed roughly in a bowl with a metal spoon until their surfaces were roughed and scratched up. All those microscopic nooks and crannies will make for an extra-crunchy surface.

Potato Variety

You can use any type of potatoes you like for this, but there's a tradeoff:

Starchy russet potatoes will produce the crispest crust because of their high starch content, with fluffy, powdery interiors.
Yukon gold potatoes (what I've used here) will produce crusts that are still very crisp, but not quite as crisp as that of a russet. They'll also have interiors that are more creamy than fluffy. Some people like this contrast of textures. I'm on the fence, so I usually alternate between the two varieties.
Red waxy potatoes will have the creamiest texture of all, but will lack a very strong, crisp crust. I don't recommend them for this purpose.

Fat

Next question: What's the best fat to use?

Well, if you can get your hands on it, this:

People often tout the awesomeness of duck fat with potatoes, and for good reason: It tastes awesome. Duck fat has a distinct richness and aroma that get absorbed very easily into the surface of a spud. On top of that, it's got plenty of saturated fat and a high smoke point, which makes it an ideal medium for crisping up fried or roasted foods. (In general, the higher the saturated fat content of an oil, the more efficiently it'll crisp foods.) Can't get duck fat? Well, turkey fat or chicken fat collected from roasted birds will do just fine.

Bacon fat and rendered lard are also fine choices, as is just about any sort of animal-derived fat.

If you must use it, extra-virgin olive oil will certainly do admirably well, though you won't get quite the same level of crispness you'd get out of an animal fat.

Once your potatoes are tossed in fat and seasoned well, all you've got to do is roast them in an extremely hot oven until they crisp up. (I do this while my turkey is resting.)

I roast mine directly on a heavy rimmed baking sheet—they have a tendency to stick to foil. The key is to make sure you let the underside crisp up completely before you even attempt to lift or flip them. If the potatoes don't come off relatively easily, you run the risk of breaking off the tops, leaving the crisp bottom cemented to the bottom of the pan. This is not an ideal situation.

Moral: Your potatoes will release themselves from the pan when they're good and ready. Don't force them.

Finally, make way more than you think you'll need. Not only do these potatoes lose a great deal of volume as they roast, it also appears that dinner guests suddenly gain a great deal of volume in their stomachs when the potatoes hit the table.

November 04, 2011

Recipe Details

Ultra-Crispy Roast Potatoes Recipe

Prep5 mins

Cook50 mins

Active30 mins

Total55 mins

Serves8to 10 servings

Ingredients

4 1/2 pounds (2kg) russet potatoes (see note), rinsed, peeled if desired, and cut into 2-inch chunks
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon (15ml) white vinegar
1/4 cup (60ml) duck fat (see note)
Freshly ground black pepper
12 sprigs thyme

Directions

Adjust oven racks to lower and upper positions and preheat oven to 500°F (260°C). Place potatoes in a large saucepot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Add 2 tablespoons (28g) salt and vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook until exteriors are tender, about 5 minutes. Potatoes should show slight resistance when poked with a paring knife or a cake tester. Drain potatoes and transfer to a large bowl.
Add fat to bowl with potatoes. Season with pepper and more salt to taste, then toss with a large metal spoon until exteriors are slightly bashed up and coated in a thin layer of potato/fat paste. Divide potatoes evenly between 2 heavy rimmed baking sheets. Spread thyme sprigs over potatoes.
Transfer baking sheets to oven and roast until bottoms of potatoes are crisp and golden brown, about 20 minutes total, swapping trays top for bottom and rotating them once halfway through roasting. Using a thin metal spatula, flip potatoes and roast until second side is golden brown, another 15 to 20 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs and serve.

Special Equipment

Rimmed baking sheets

Notes

For creamier potatoes with a slightly less crisp crust, substitute Yukon gold potatoes. Duck fat, turkey fat, or chicken fat will give the best results, but bacon fat or olive oil will also work well.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
245	Calories
5g	Fat
44g	Carbs
5g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8to 10
Amount per serving
Calories	245
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g	7%
Saturated Fat 2g	9%
Cholesterol 5mg	2%
Sodium 343mg	15%
Total Carbohydrate 44g	16%
Dietary Fiber 5g	17%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 18mg	92%
Calcium 42mg	3%
Iron 2mg	13%
Potassium 1132mg	24%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Ultra-Crispy Roast Potatoes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do I keep my roast potatoes crispy? ›

Keep potatoes crisp in a warm oven if you're serving them in 1-2 hours. If there is a slight wait before everyone eats, don't cover the crispy potatoes—this traps steam which will make the potatoes soggy. Just keep them in the oven, but turn the temperature to the lowest setting.

Get More Info Here ›

Why can't I get my roast potatoes crispy? ›

Parboiling the potatoes is a good start, but if they're not getting crispy during roasting your temperature isn't high enough or there's too much moisture.

See Details ›

What is the best oil for roasting potatoes? ›

Neutral, low-cost oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc., work well for roasting. These oils have a high smoke point, allowing the potatoes to get very hot to achieve maximum crispiness.

Read On ›

Is it better to boil potatoes before roasting? ›

In most potato recipes, I recommend starting potatoes in cold water and bringing them up to a boil. This helps ensure that the exteriors don't turn to mush before the insides have a chance to cook through.

Keep Reading ›

What makes potatoes crunchy? ›

Parboil the potatoes

Add the potatoes to a large pot of salted water and boil for about 5 minutes. You can also add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the salted water for an extra crispy effect. Be careful not to overcook the potatoes; they should be tender — not soft.

Why won't my potatoes get crispy in oil? ›

A: This sure sounds a lot like potatoes that have been stored too long, in too cold of an environment before cooking. When potatoes are held below 41°F for too long a period, the starches convert to sugar and it changes the cooking chemistry.

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Can you use too much oil for roast potatoes? ›

Also, be mindful of the oil. Potatoes can react like sponges; too much oil can make your potatoes appear to be soggy. Try placing oil in a spray bottle or using an aerosol to apply the oil to the potatoes. Lastly, ensure that the potatoes are dry before you add the oil.

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Why put flour on roast potatoes? ›

Roast for 1hr until golden and crisp, and don't forget to turn them occasionally to ensure they cook evenly. Here's a few tricks to try to make them even more delicious. Sprinkle your parboiled potatoes with flour. This gives potatoes extra crunch.

Get More Info ›

Why do you put cornstarch on 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.

Get More Info Here ›

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.”

Should you coat potatoes in oil before baking? ›

Adding oil to potatoes before baking is perfectly fine, just a personal preference. Without oil the Idaho russet skin bakes up crispy, with oil the skin will carry a lot of the flavor of the oil so some people have a preference for using olive oil or peanut oil.

Learn More Now ›

Is canola oil or olive oil better for roasting potatoes? ›

Regular olive oil is ok but in my opinion, you're much better off using light oils. Oils like vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil, sunflower oil and rice bran oil are very versatile, they don't burn easily and they don't have that strong interfering flavour.

Learn More Now ›

What happens if you don't soak potatoes before roasting? ›

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes.

What happens if you don't boil potatoes before roasting? ›

If the potatoes are raw, when you use a high temperature, the outside of the potatoes will burn before the inside cooks. That's why the parboiling is really important! Now these potatoes are my "basic" ones with my usual go-to seasoning.

Is it OK to parboil potatoes the day before roasting? ›

Boil them the day before or up to five days before, so they completely dry out and absorb the fat better. Once they are cooked, drain them thoroughly, then leave them on a cooling rack so that they can fully dry out on all sides. Refridgerating them overnight is a bonus.

Tell Me More ›

How do you keep roast potatoes from getting mushy? ›

Try placing oil in a spray bottle or using an aerosol to apply the oil to the potatoes. Lastly, ensure that the potatoes are dry before you add the oil. Excess moisture will increase the cooking time of potatoes and may result in soggy spuds.

Find Out More ›

Why are my roasted potatoes not getting soft? ›

To ensure that your potatoes become soft and tender, consider using the right type of potatoes, ensuring even and appropriately sized cuts, providing sufficient liquid, and avoiding overly long cooking times.

Find Out More ›

Why put potatoes in cold water before roasting? ›

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.

Learn More ›

Why does soaking potatoes in water make them crispy? ›

Soaking the sliced potatoes in water helps to draw out some of the starch from the middle of the potato, resulting in a sturdier, crispier French fry.