Crispy Ranch Smashed Potatoes
This easy potato side dish makes a great compliment to any meal. With crispy edges, creamy potato centers, and delicious ranch flavor, it’s hard to go wrong!
The simple potato is probably one of the most versatile ingredients. Savory, sweet, roasted, mashed, boiled, baked, grilled, fried, crisp or soft. Anyone can find a way to appreciate the potato. This smashed potato recipe is similar to one of the side dishes at our wedding. It has been tweaked over the past few years, resulting in this recipe!
What You Need
The most important factor in this dish is the potato. The absolute best potatoes to use (in my opinion) are creamer potatoes. They are small and, as the name implies, incredibly creamy. If you cannot get your hands on creamer potatoes, any baby potatoes will do. As a last resort, I have also used regular yellow potatoes and simply cut them into halves or quarters.
Good olive oil is also fairly important, since I tend to use a lot of it in this dish.
Finally, the ranch seasoning. I use powdered Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning that comes pre-made from the store. Feel free to make your own ranch seasoning or try any favorite seasoning blend.
Let’s Make It!
After the first few times I made these potatoes and had to scrub a cookie sheet, I got smart. Cover the sheet with foil, and your clean-up will be a breeze! Slather a good layer of olive oil onto the foil. This is not a “health-conscious” recipe per se, so I have not even tried just using cooking spray…
Boil the potatoes until very tender. You can tell by sticking one with a fork. If the fork goes through the skin and flesh very easily, they are ready to be drained. The timing on this depends on the type and size of potato.
Place the potatoes on the cookie sheet. I usually try to fit as many as possible, since they are delicious. Next is the smashing; I have found that a heavy-bottom glass is the best. Here is my cute helper enjoying the smashing process:
Next, drizzle liberally with olive oil and sprinkle the seasoning over each potato. My mini sous chef got a little vigorous with the ranch seasoning, but they were still delicious!
Finish with one last drizzle of olive oil and pop into the oven! They are best eaten right out of the oven, while warm and crispy!
Our favorite way to reheat these smashed potatoes is by popping them into the air fryer for a few minutes! They come out just as crispy (and not dried out) as the first time!
Ingredients
Instructions
Boil the potatoes until very soft (a fork goes through easily), approximately 25 minutes. Drain.
Line a cookie sheet with foil and spread a layer of olive oil over the foil.
Using a heavy-bottomed glass, gently smash each potato onto the cookie sheet. (I try to fit as many on as possible) Aim to get the potatoes as thin as possible without breaking apart too much.
Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes, then follow with a generous sprinkle/spoonful of ranch seasoning. Finish with one more light drizzle of olive oil.
Bake at 425°F for 30 minutes or until the edges look brown and crispy.
