Crispy Roasted Potatoes (the Best!)

These crispy roasted potatoes are a basic human need. They're parboiled first, then roasted with a delicious seasoning blend, resulting in a crispy outside and a soft and fluffy inside. You'll basically pick them off the sheet pan yourself before realizing you need to leave some for the rest of your family (true story).

Why this recipe works!

So here's the usual dilemma most of us may have... we don't want to deep fry potatoes because we want it to be slightly healthier. So we end up baking them. But baking them (if done the wrong way) can yield soggy potatoes that don't have much of a crisp and lack texture.

Enter these crispy roasted potatoes.... The not-so-secret step that makes these delicious is parboiling. The potatoes cook on the inside when you parboil, so the baking time is basically crisping them up to perfection, which we do at a high oven temperature. 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. If you want to try something new or kick things up a notch, you need to check out these batata harra which follow the same principle but get jazzed up.

Ingredients you'll need

Just your basic ingredients, the trick is all in the technique! Feel free to adjust the seasoning to your liking, but I love this combination and it works well for kids too.

You can use baby potatoes (or new potatoes) like I did here, or you can use larger potatoes like Yukon Gold or white potatoes (these are my favourites). The baby potatoes just need a slice in the middle, but if you're using larger potatoes, you can cube them into even sized chunks.

How to make these crispy roasted potatoes

• Preheat your oven to 450F
• Start by washing your potatoes and slicing them in half. If you're using larger potatoes, cube them into even sized chunks. The size is up to you, but keep them even so they cook evenly. Also - you can keep the peel on or remove it.
• Next, parboil the potatoes by dropping them in already boiling water for 10-15 minutes. This depends on the size of your pieces. You need to be able to pierce them with a fork easily, but they shouldn't be falling apart

• Next, drain the potatoes and leave them to cool for 5 minutes
• Add them to a bowl and mix them with the oil and the seasoning. Mix until all the potatoes are well coated
• Lay them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway

Expert Tips & FAQ's

Now let's talk tips. Here are some things you might want to keep in mind:

• Use parchment paper when baking them to avoid them sticking. Then you'll end up losing that crispy layer when you scrape them off!
• If you want even crispiness all around, make sure your potato pieces are evenly sized

Now let's address some FAQs:

1. Should I boil potatoes before roasting? Yes! I've tested many methods, and the parboiling before roasting method gives the best restaurant-style crispy potatoes.
2. Why won't my roast potatoes go crispy? OR Why are my roast potatoes soggy? That is likely due to not using a high oven temperature. Make sure your oven is set to 450F and use the parboiling technique before you roast them. This ensures the inside of your potatoes cook through and the outside gets crispy.
3. What oil is best to use for roasting potatoes? I use olive oil and it does just fine at 450F (in fact, this is a great article about oil smoke points). But depending on the type you have, it could release some smoke if it is not as refined. I recommend using regular vegetable oil such as corn, canola, and sunflower oil.

What to serve these potatoes with:

I love serving these potatoes with any protein I make. Here some recipes that go great with them!

If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page - I'd love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!