How To Roast Potatoes in the Oven

These crispy roast potatoes are as satisfying as any french fries. Learn my easy technique for roasting up baby potatoes for an easy side dish. These extra crispy potatoes are the sheet pan side dish you need in your life.

There are many recipes that end up making our weekly rotation that have never been on the site before. In our family, this is one of those kinds of recipes that is repeated over and over again.

My kids refer to these as,”Mom’s French Fries,” because the texture is so similar. Thankfully, these are a bit healthier than those fried potatoes so I have a lot less guilt serving this to my family.

I thought this one deserved a place on the site after being such a great tried-and-true side dish.

These golden brown potatoes are a perfect pairing with your favorite fish, steak, beef, or chicken weeknight meal.

Did I mention that preparing them on a lined baking sheet makes clean-up a cinch too?

Here are a few of my tips for making these potatoes taste like your favorite fry recipe.

How To Roast Potatoes in the Oven

Use Baby Potatoes to Save Time

Baby potatoes make this an almost effortless dish.

As a big ALDI shopper (check out this ALDI shopping guide with some surprising ways to save), I love the tri-color baby potatoes for this dish.

These mixed bags of potatoes contain a blend of red potatoes, white potatoes, and Peruvian purple potatoes. If you can’t get these though, any small potato should work.

Baby potatoes, despite their name, sometimes are too big and do require being cut in half for roasting.

If you are preparing them cut, place them cut side down on your greased and lined baking sheet.

Positioning them like this allows them to really roast up beautifully.

If your potatoes are smaller, there is no need to cut them.

Get in the Habit of Roasting Root Vegetables at High Temperatures

My biggest takeaway from doing a summer with those Blue Apron meal kits was that 450 degrees is the optimal temperature for vegetables.

Roasting at high temperatures always yields a gorgeous exterior.

Not to mention, NOBODY likes soggy potatoes!

Anyone who has been served mushy steamed potatoes, at a restaurant,  can relate to this disappointment.

Give me potatoes with all the crunch.

Get to Know Your Oven

Have you checked the temperature of your oven with an oven thermometer?

Ovens can be 25-50 degrees off and this temperature difference can quickly burn your dishes if its not gauged correctly. 

Don’t skip this step or be sure to keep an eye on them until you have mastered the temperature for a perfect roast in your stove.

Once you start roasting your veggies at high heat, you will never go back to the old way again.

Give Them Space

Crowding your potatoes will not yield the crispy flavor you are after. They often cook unevenly and steam rather than crisp up.

With this in mind, I try to limit each baking pan to no more than 1.5 pounds of potatoes.

For ALDI shoppers, that means one bag of those baby potatoes per pan!

Switch Up Your Seasoning

Personally, I prefer seasoning my baby potatoes with dried thyme, but the possibilities are endless.

Consider adding some spice variety to your potatoes. I love adding sea salt, garlic powder, italian seasoning, smoked paprika, or Old Bay seasoning to change the flavor profile.

Anything in the spice cabinet is game.

Need to get your cabinet organized? Use my free printable labels to get your spices organized again.

You could also add a gourmet restaurant addition like the fat from another dish.

Bacon fat, duck fat, or a little fat from a roast can add so much flavor to these potatoes.

Salt, Salt, and More Salt

Whenever people ask what my secret is to my cooking, I ALWAYS say that it is salt.

Salt these more than you think you need and then salt them again after roasting.

It makes an enormous difference in flavor and is the secret in all good cooking.

Give Them a Good Jiggle

While these cook, be sure to give the roasting pan a shake once in awhile.

This helps to make sure that they don’t burn or get overly brown in just one spot.

Add More Than One Vegetable To Your Sheet Pan

If you are roasting potatoes, you might as well add a couple of other roasted vegetables to your sheet pan.

Personally, I love to add roasted carrots, brussels sprouts, or sweet potatoes.

Make These Potatoes (or Leftover Potatoes) for Your Next Brunch

Don’t limit these potatoes to just your dinners.

This is a super simple side to prepare alongside your eggs for a brunch with family or friends.

Although we rarely have any potatoes left, I love to add these cooked potatoes to our lazy Saturday morning breakfast routine.

Simply add a little olive oil to a fry pan and warm the potatoes back up. 

For mornings, I love to add a little Everything But the Bagel Seasoning to my reheated potatoes and eggs.

It is crazy how much that changes the flavors of your dishes.

Surprisingly, if you are pressed for time, they also microwave up deliciously crispy too.

I can’t wait to hear what you think of today’s recipe!