Roasted potatoes are a delicious side dish perfect for just about any meal. These perfect roasted potatoes are easy to make — plus, they take on your desired flavor profile, making them super versatile.
We like trying out different herbs and spices or adding other root veggies and bacon for an even more flavorful dish.
What are the benefits of Roasting Potatoes?
Potatoes are loaded with vitamin C, potassium, and complex carbohydrates (providing plenty of fiber). Roasting potatoes also offers the added benefit of using high-quality fats, like ghee or grass-fed butter. We’ve got tips for making your next batch perfectly crispy and flavorful and a recipe for our favorite roasted potato dish. But first… which potato should you choose?
Best Potatoes for Roasting
Our favorite potatoes for roasting are red potatoes. We like this variety because the thinner skin lets them cook faster; plus, that red skin is nutrient-dense. It provides iron and B vitamins and is packed with more potassium than a banana!
Potatoes good for roasting should have the following characteristics:
- Firm texture
- Higher starch content
- Uniform shape and size (you can achieve this when you cut the potatoes)
- Thinner skin
Frequently Asked Questions
Russet potatoes are starchy and have a lower moisture content, making them better for roasting than white potatoes. White potatoes can be roasted, but with a higher moisture content, they are much better suited for creamy mashed potatoes.
Yellow potatoes, like Yukon Gold potatoes, are considered one of the best types of potatoes for roasting. They land right in the middle when it comes to starchiness and waxiness, allowing them to hold their shape and get crispy on the outside while staying nice and buttery on the inside.
Russet and red potatoes are equally suitable for roasting — it really comes down to your personal preference on taste and texture.
How to Roast Potatoes
The hotter you cook the potatoes, the faster the moisture becomes steam inside. The steam escapes quicker, making the potato pieces crisp to a perfect golden brown.
When should you put the potatoes in the oven? Potatoes should be placed in the oven once it’s preheated to between 400F – 475F.
Through countless hours of testing how to make the best roasted potatoes, we’ve found that a few simple tips will make a huge difference for getting your potatoes super crispy:
- Spend the extra prep time! Cut your potatoes into similar-sized pieces and place them in a single layer to cook evenly.
- Parboiling potatoes helps them cook faster in the oven. Make sure to start with cold water. If you drop potatoes into boiling water, the outside will cook faster than the inside.
- You can soak potatoes in cold water to remove excess starch, making your potatoes super crispy.
- French fry fiend? You can coat your cut potatoes in cornstarch or flour for a crunch without needing a deep fryer.
- Use a pan or baking sheet lined with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
Ingredients To Add To Crispy Roasted Potatoes
The wonderful thing about potatoes is that you can season them with almost anything! You can stick to something simple like garlic powder, sea salt or kosher salt, and black pepper. Or you can get adventurous, adding fresh rosemary, thyme, chives, and maybe a dash of paprika.
Our yummiest go-to is ranch-roasted potatoes. We make crispy roasted red potatoes tossed in a homemade garlic ranch seasoning made of dill, parsley, onion powder, and garlic powder. You can easily save the leftovers – if there are any – to reheat on a grill, pan, or in the air fryer. Reheated oven-roasted potatoes are great to serve in an egg scramble, hash, or egg bake.
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Other Delicious Roasted Recipes
Potatoes aren’t the only food that tastes amazing when roasted! There are so many different vegetables that can be roasted — try out these roasted vegetable recipes:
Looking for more Whole30 potato recipes? Try our Tex-Mex Sweet Potato Hash or Bacon Chive Potato Salad.
The Best Roasted Potato Recipe: Crispy Garlic Ranch Roasted Potatoes
You can’t beat crispy, garlicky potatoes roasted to absolute perfection in a 30-minute cook time. We’ve turned a humble root vegetable into something spectacular with these crispy garlic ranch roasted potatoes.
They’re easy to make and guaranteed to become a family favorite. Remember, these are roasted, not baked potatoes. You want that oven hot before you stick the spuds inside!
They make for the perfect side dish you can enjoy all year round, because potatoes are always in season! For a nicely balanced and tasty meal, serve them up with grilled or baked chicken, steak, salmon, pork, etc., and an in-season veggie of your choice.
The side of ranch is totally optional but sure is tasty. We recommend our Homemade Paleo Ranch or Primal Kitchen Ranch dressing.
What To Serve With Roasted Potatoes
There’s not much that doesn’t fit in perfectly with a side of crispy potatoes. Here are some of our favorite entrees to pair with them:
Crispy Garlic Ranch Roasted Potatoes
The best potatoes for roasting are red potatoes. They have thin, nutrient-dense skin that crisps up beautifully and a firm texture that will hold its integrity during the roasting process. Check out our favorite crispy roasted potatoes recipe with ranch and garlic!
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ – 2 lbs. small baby red potatoes, halved (may sub yukon gold potatoes)
- 3 tablespoon ghee, melted (or butter)
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley or chives
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Optional Ranch for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a small bowl mix together the ghee or butter, dill, parsley or chives, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Pour the seasoned ghee into a 9×13-inch baking dish so that it covers the entire bottom of the dish.
- Place the potato halves in the baking dish.
- Using your hands or a large spoon, toss or brush the potatoes to coat them in the ghee or butter and herb mixture.
- Turn all of the potatoes cut side down then sprinkle with a bit more salt.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the potatoes reach the desired degree of crispiness. The bottoms should be nice and golden brown and crisp and the insides soft.
- Serve with ranch for dipping if desired.
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Notes
For Dairy-Free, replace the ghee or butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
- Calories: 116
- Fat: 5 g
- (Sat Fat: 3 g)
- Sodium: 131 mg
- Carbohydrate: 17 g
- (Fiber: 3 g
- Sugar: 1 g)
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 9 mg
Dietary
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Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter
For ultimate success, we highly recommend reading the tips in the full blog post above. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words. Link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!
My families favorite potatoes!!! So yummy!!!
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So happy to hear these are a favorite Kristie! We sure appreciate your feedback and 5-star review!
I make this for my family all the time! They are a favorite in my house! I usually use butter vs. ghee. Delicious!
★★★★★
Awesome Sue! Thanks for the 5-star review!
These potatoes are some of our absolute favourite. We have them so often! Our kids love them and it’s rare there is a food we all can agree on haha. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
This is amazing! We always love to hear when a recipe is enjoyed by the entire family. Thanks for leaving a 5 star rating!