Red potatoes are boiled, then smashed and roasted on a baking sheet until crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside. It's a savory side made with simple everyday ingredients that will quickly become the highlight of any meal!
Place potatoes in a large pot (6 quart or larger). Cover with cool water until water comes 1-inch above the potatoes.
Bring potatoes to a boil over high heat (it will take about 15 minutes+ to reach a boil). Season with salt (I use 2 Tbsp but note this is not calculated in nutrition estimate).
Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are tender all the way through when pierced with a knife, about 14 - 18 minutes (just test a couple of them).
Preheat oven to 450 degrees near the end of potatoes boiling.
Drain potatoes into a colander in the sink and let cool 5 - 10 minutes.
Dry up any water leftover on potatoes with paper towels. Transfer potatoes to a baking sheet.
Drizzle potatoes with 1/4 cup oil, season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss and spread potatoes and oil across baking sheet.
Smash potatoes to about 2/3-inch thickness with the bottom of a cup.*
Drizzle tops of potatoes with remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
Carefully turn potatoes (see note 2**) then return to oven and bake until potatoes are nice and tender inside, crisp on the outside (but not overly browned), about 15 minutes longer.
Sprinkle parsley over the top and serve warm.
Notes
Some people use a baking sheet to smash all the potatoes which you can try for a quicker option, but I like to see what's going on so I prefer the cup method.
**If some potatoes broke into pieces when smashing don't worry about turning the potatoes or they'll just fall apart. They will still turn out tasty if you don't flip the potatoes but just keep an eye on them that they don't brown too much on bottom.
VARIATIONS
I also love to make these with garlic and parmesan. If doing so sprinkle 1 Tbsp minced garlic and 2/3 cup shredded parmesan over potatoes during the last 5 minutes of baking.
Another variation you can try is using a few teaspoons of other fresh herbs before roasting such as thyme, rosemary or dill.
Or roast potatoes with 1 Tbsp lemon zest then serve the completed potatoes with lemon wedges for spritzing over.