These Smashed Baked Potatoes are the perfect side to your favorite protein, casserole, or vegetables. They're crispy, crunchy, and full of savory and cheesy flavors!
Table of Contents
About these Potatoes
Potatoes are always a go-to side dish in my house because they pair so well with all sorts of recipes! Meat, fish, vegetables, casseroles, you name it—a side of potatoes really helps fill out your meal.
These Smashed Baked Potatoes are a crispy, crunchy, and cheesy way to prep potatoes—and are also super easy to make, eat, and enjoy. All you have to do is boil some petite potatoes, smash them with a glass or jar, sprinkle with seasoning, and bake!
You can even customize them to your liking with your favorite seasonings and toppings. They'll also taste great with your favorite dipping sauce!
Add these Smashed Baked Potatoes to this week's dinner line-up or prep a bunch as part of your meal prep routine. Either way, I really think you're gonna love them! Or try another one of my potato recipes like these Savory Mashed Sweet Potatoes, these French Onion Potatoes, or these Copycat IHOP Crispy Breakfast Potatoes.
Ingredients
- Potatoes: I used a 24 oz bag of petite medley potatoes. Small potatoes work best here. Large ones will be difficult to smash!
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: We will use this to grease our baking sheet and add some flavor to the potatoes. Good, quality oil takes these taters up a notch.
- Cheese: I used both Parmesan and Pepper Jack, which is a soft, meltable cheese with some spice. It tastes so good shredded up on top of the potatoes!
- Seasoning: Salt, pepper, and Trader Joe's Green Goddess Seasoning, which is a combination of garlic, onion, salt, pepper, chives, green onion, spinach powder, and parsley. If you don’t have Trader Joe’s near you, you can use any of the said spices that you’ve got on hand.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make This Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then carefully add in 1 bag of washed petite potatoes. Boil the potatoes for 10-12 minutes, until they can be easily poked with a fork. Shred the cheese if not pre-shredded while waiting for the potatoes to cook.
2. Drain the water from the potatoes and then place them on a greased baking sheet. Ensure no extra water is on the baking sheet. Using a knife, make an ‘X’ on every potato, scoring it slightly. This helps create the perfect smashed potato. Then, using the bottom of a mason jar, press firmly on the potatoes to "smash" them flat. You do, however, want each potato to stay in one piece.
3. Use a silicon brush to generously coat all of the smashed potatoes with olive oil. Sprinkle the seasonings evenly on each potato. Then, top each potato with the PARMESAN cheese only (the Pepper Jack will burn if you add it here). Attempt to sprinkle only on the potatoes and not let too much fall onto the baking pan.
4. Bake potatoes for 15-18 minutes or until cheese is melted and potatoes are crispy. Then add the Pepper Jack Cheese and return to the oven under the broiler for 2-3 minutes at 500°F for some extra crisp and bubbly cheese.
5. Garnish the Smashed Baked Potatoes with sliced green onion and fresh Rosemary. Serve with sauce of choice as an appetizer or tasty side dish. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Store these Smashed Baked Potatoes in an airtight container and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, put them in the microwave for ~60 second and add more cheese if desired. Do note, however, they'll lose some of their crispiness as compared to enjoying right out of the oven. You could instead reheat in the toaster oven or under a broiler to keep a bit of crunch.
If you’re having trouble "smashing" the potatoes, you probably need to let them boil longer. Boiling time will vary depending on their size. If you've dumped the boiling water already, you can also microwave the potatoes for a minute or two to help soften them up.
These would be a lovely side dish to any protein, or even as a starter to share if you pop some toothpicks in the potatoes. If you’re feeling really dangerous, make my Whipped Feta Dip to dip the crispy potatoes in for a more gourmet appetizer. 😉
Your broiler will be your friend with this recipe for the last couple of minutes in the oven. Keep an eye on your potatoes when you’re broiling, though, because there’s a fine line between crispy and flat out burnt. Also, make sure you’re using a large baking sheet and spreading your potatoes out. If they’re overlapping, then you won’t get that nice crunch.
I served my smashed potatoes with a pre-made creamy dill dip I purchased at Meijer. Marzetti has a similar one. Some other sauce suggestions:
- Parmesan or Garlic Aioli (like the kind I made with these Parmesan Carrot Fries)
- Sour Cream
- Balsamic Glaze
- Spicy Mayo
- Ranch
- Bleu Cheese Dressing
- Whipped Feta Dip
More Recipes You'll Love
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Recipe
Smashed Baked Potatoes Recipe
Equipment
- Large sauce pot
- strainer
- Baking sheet
- cheese grater
- Mason jar or drinking glass
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Cutting board (optional)
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs bag petite potatoes, I used ‘Dynamic Duo’ from the Little Potato Company)
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, or cooking spray
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- ½ cup pepper jack cheese
- ½ tbsp green goddess seasoning, Trader Joe's
- ½ tbsp sea salt
- ¼-½ tsp black pepper
For serving
- diced green onion, for garnish
- fresh rosemary, for garnish
- creamy dill dip, for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then carefully add in 1 bag of washed petite potatoes. Boil the potatoes for 10-12 minutes, until they can be easily poked with a fork.
- Shred the cheese while waiting for the potatoes to cook.
- Drain the water from the potatoes and then place them on a greased baking sheet. Ensure no extra water is on the baking sheet. Using a knife, make an ‘X’ on every potato, scoring it slightly. This helps create the perfect smashed potato.
- Then, using the bottom of a mason jar, press firmly on the potatoes to "smash" them flat. You do, however, want each potato to stay in one piece.
- Use a silicon brush to generously coat all of the smashed potatoes with olive oil. Sprinkle the seasonings evenly on each potato. Then, top each potato with the cheese. Attempt to sprinkle only on the potatoes and not let too much fall onto the baking pan.
- Bake potatoes for 15-18 minutes or until cheese is melted and potatoes are crispy. Broil for 2-3 minutes at 500°F for some extra bubbly cheese.
- Garnish the Smashed Baked Potatoes with sliced green onion and serve with sauce of choice as an appetizer or tasty side dish. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you're using MyFitnessPal, search 'A Paige Of Positivity' and find SMASHED POTATOES calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
Sydney Van Acker says
I made these as a side to baked salmon and roasted veggies (we love a sheet pan dinner!) and it was the only part of the meal there weren't any leftovers of because we just couldn't get enough. Putting this on my list as a thanksgiving side for sure
Alyssa says
I made this for my roommates as a side dish but it could have been a main! Sooo delicious. Love making potato’s anyway but this recipe is one of my favs!!
Courtney Paige says
These don't even make it off the pan they're so good. Crispy and cheesy dipped in aioli, AMAZING!
Suzy Hudson says
This recipe is so easy and so good!! I love anything potatoes and this is one of the top on my list!
Chelsea Coretti says
We doubled the recipe and still didn’t have leftovers for just six people! This was the perfect side for Christmas Eve dinner. I couldn’t get mine to smash right, but they still tasted so good.
Marlee Burridge says
If you know me, you know I’m a big potato girl. I am always looking for the best recipes out there and I can confidently say this is the one. I made this recipe as a side dish with whitefish and it was absolutely the star of the show! I cannot recommend it more!!!