Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Boil the potatoes: Add your baby potatoes to a large pot, cover with cold water, and stir in 1 tablespoon of coarse salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 15–20 minutes, until a fork slides straight through with no resistance. Don't rush this — undercooked potatoes won't smash, they'll crumble. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Preheat the oven: While the potatoes boil, preheat your oven to 500°F. Yes, 500. This is the whole secret to crispy smashed potatoes and it's where most recipes play it too safe.
- Make the garlic parmesan sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayo, chopped green onions, grated garlic, freshly grated Parmesan, and fresh lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and whisk until completely smooth. Pop it in the fridge while the potatoes cook — the flavor gets better as it sits. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Drain and dry: Drain the potatoes and let them sit in the colander for about 5 minutes. This steam-drying step is small but it makes a real difference — wet potatoes steam in the oven instead of crisping.
- Smash them: Transfer the potatoes to a sheet pan, spacing them out so they aren't touching. Place a second sheet pan on top and press down firmly and evenly until they're about ½ inch thick. This is so much faster than smashing them one by one with a cup! (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Season and bake: Spray generously with avocado oil spray and sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons of salt and a good crack of black pepper. Bake at 500°F for 15–20 minutes, until the edges are deep golden and starting to curl up.
- Broil to finish: Switch the oven to broil on high and go for 2–3 minutes. Stay right there and watch them — at this temperature they go from perfect to burnt fast. Pull them when the edges are dark golden and crackly. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Sauce and serve: Transfer the hot potatoes to a big serving bowl and pour that cold, creamy garlic parmesan sauce right over the top. Toss gently or leave it pooled on top — either way, serve immediately while they're still crispy. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
Go hotter than you think. 500°F is the single biggest difference between these and every other smashed potato recipe. 425°F and 450°F both gave me golden potatoes that were still a little soft — 500°F plus the broil is what gets you actual crunch.
Let them steam dry before smashing. Five minutes in the colander lets the surface moisture evaporate. Wet potatoes steam themselves in the oven, and steam is the enemy of crispy.
Salt the boiling water like pasta water. A full tablespoon of coarse salt seasons the potato from the inside out. If you skip it, you'll be chasing the flavor with salt on top later and it won't taste the same.
Nutrition
Notes
Storage
- Fridge: Store the potatoes and sauce separately in airtight containers. Potatoes keep 3–4 days, the sauce keeps up to 5 days. Sauced potatoes go soggy overnight, so don't combine leftovers.
- Reheat (best method): Oven or air fryer at 400°F for 6–8 minutes until they crisp back up. Do not add oil first — they still have plenty.
- Reheat (microwave): Works in a hurry, but you'll lose the crunch completely. If you're microwaving, just accept they'll be soft and delicious rather than crispy.
- Freezer: You can freeze the baked potatoes flat on a tray for up to 2 months and reheat straight from frozen at 425°F for 15 minutes. Do not freeze the sauce — sour cream and mayo split when thawed and the texture never comes back.