These Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes are the perfect side dish to practically anything. So quick and easy to make, whilst absolutely bursting with flavour!
This is the perfect recipe for when you’re on the hunt for a quick, easy and delicious side dish to add to your meal. Because who doesn’t love crispy herby roasted potatoes!? Follow me…
Roast Baby Potatoes
Baby potatoes are absolutely perfect for roasting due to the fact they require such little prep. Because really, is there anything worse than peeling and dicing large potatoes? For this recipe, all you need to do is halve the baby potatoes. No peeling is required (baby potato skins actually have a delicious flavour to them, especially when roasted).
Is it necessary to boil baby potatoes before roasting?
For a lot of roast potato recipes I do tend to parboil the potatoes before roasting, for a few different reasons:
- To soften the potatoes, so you can rough them up before roasting. This helps create a crispy texture on the outside, however, because we’re not peeling the baby potatoes, this reason becomes redundant.
- To speed up cooking. However, because baby potatoes are small, they roast pretty quickly anyway.
- To remove starch. Removing starch will help your potatoes go nice and fluffy in the centre as they roast. Because this is a quick and easy recipe, I skip this step. However, if you still want to remove starch you can just soak the baby potatoes in cold water (min 30mins), then thoroughly dry before continuing with the recipe.
In conclusion, it is not necessary to boil baby potatoes before you roast them.
Herb Roasted Potatoes
Potatoes lend themselves so beautifully to herbs, and this recipe is no exception. Sure, roast potatoes are great, but without the herbs, they’re just not complete. For this recipe the baby potatoes are roasted in fresh rosemary and thyme, then garnished with parsley.
Crispy Baby Potatoes
Okay, let’s talk crispiness. As soon as the bowl of roast potatoes is served, all eyes are trying to track down the crispiest potato. We all know it. As such, I’ve comprised a few tips for getting these beauties nice and crispy
Tips for getting Crispy Baby Potatoes
- Half them – A general rule of thumb is the smaller the potato is sliced, whether it’s fried, roasted or deep-fried, the crispier it will be. Whole roasted baby potatoes are much harder to get totally crispy. Also, halved baby potatoes work perfectly for the next tip.
- Don’t let them sit – Once you’ve coated the potatoes in the herbs and seasoning, don’t let them sit too long before you add them to the tray. The longer they sit, the more moisture the salt draws out and the more likely they’re going to steam in the oven, as opposed to roasting in the oven.
- Piping hot oven tray – Getting the oven tray nice and toasty in the oven beforehand will give you a head start. Also, when you place the potatoes cut side down on the oven tray they come out gorgeously crispy!
- Spread them out – Potatoes, like most veg, have high water content. If you cram them all on a tray they are simply going to steam instead of roast. Give the potatoes some room, they’re divas.
How to Roast Baby Potatoes (quick summary)
- Slice baby potatoes in half.
- Add olive oil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Mix until evenly combined.
- Space out cut side down on a piping hot oven tray.
- Roast in the oven.
Roasted Baby Potatoes FAQ
If you want to prep them ahead of time I recommend slicing the potatoes and resting them in water overnight. You could also measure out the seasoning/oil, combine it in a small pot then tightly store it in the fridge. Then thoroughly dry potatoes then continue with the recipe.
Roast potatoes are always best made fresh, but certainly don’t waste leftovers. Just let them cool and tightly store in the fridge for up to a few days (or freeze long-term). Then reheat in the oven at 180C/350F until hot and crispy again.
Fresh herbs are definitely more suited for this recipe than dried herbs. I find dried herbs don’t infuse the potatoes quite as well in the short amount of time they’re cooking. It’s not a deal breaker for the rosemary and thyme, but the garnish (parsley) must be fresh.
Feel free to switch up the seasoning if you’re confident in doing so! In terms of herbs, I recommend sticking with woody herbs as they withstand the heat better than leafy herbs.
Serving Roast Baby Potatoes
Once they’re out of the oven they should slide nicely off the pan. From there, sprinkle them with a good helping of fresh parsley. Try not to think of this as just garnish, it adds an extra layer of flavour!
What can I serve roasted baby potatoes with?
- Great as part of a Roast Dinner.
- Awesome as a side for a Steak (Steak & Creamy Mushroom Sauce or Steak & Blue Cheese Sauce).
- As part of a quick & easy Dinner (i.e Pan Fried Cod, Blue Cheese & Apple Pork Chops or Garlic Butter Chicken).
- Serve as finger food with a Homemade Dip!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these roasted baby potatoes shall we?!
How to make Roasted Baby Potatoes (Full Recipe & Video)
Roasted Baby Potatoes
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Mixing Bowl & Spatula
- Large Greaseproof Baking Tray (see notes)
Ingredients
- 1.6lbs / 750g Baby Potatoes
- 1.5 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Fresh Rosemary, very finely diced
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme, very finely diced
- 1 tsp Garlic, very finely diced
- 1/2 tsp Salt, or to taste (can adjust this when serving if needed)
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 tsp finely diced Fresh Parsley, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F/200C and place a suitably sized tray in there to get nice and hot.
- Meanwhile, slice the potatoes in half and combine them in a bowl with olive oil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Don't do this ahead of time, the longer they rest the more moisture the salt draws out, and the more they'll steam in the oven.
- When the tray is piping hot, quickly take it out and add the potatoes cut side down. Pop back in the oven for 20-25mins or until fork tender and nice & crispy. Timings will depend on the size of your potatoes, so just be vigilant.
- Enjoy with fresh parsley!
Video
Notes
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition
Looking for more?
You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Baby Potato Recipes
- Boiled Baby Potatoes
- Hasselback Baby Potatoes
- Mini Loaded Potatoes
- Mini Tornado Fries
- Hunters Smashed Potatoes
These are so easy to make and delicious. I was skeptical about the rosemary, thinking it would be too strong a taste. The rosemary, thyme and garlic was a great combination of flavors. The cut side was crispy but the inside was fluffy. Starting with a very hot baking pan is the key. I served them with a dollop of crème fraîche topped with caviar. A perfect bite. Will be a great addition to my Christmas Eve appetizers.
So happy to hear these went down well! Love the crème fraîche idea too 🙂 C.
Fantastic! I have tried to make crispy baby potatoes for ever, but never got it quite right….Clearly, it’s about the method(s) you provided here. The super hot pan starts cooking the potatoes immediately, and the cold water bath provides that fluffy, soft center.
We didn’t have fresh parsley (and frankly, my hubby and I could take it or leave it), so we used fresh Greek Oregano in its place. A slightly different flavor profile, but great nonetheless.
Next time, I may double the amount of fresh Rosemary and Thyme. We grow all these herbs, and have developed a pretty high threshold for the amount of fresh herb we prefer. Still, the amounts you recommend were very good.
I will tag you with pics. Thanks Again.
Such a lovely review, Carol, thanks so much. Glad to hear they went down well! C.
My dad doesn’t like potatoes at all and he had a full portion of these! Thanks for the recipe!
So great to hear! Thanks for the review, Emma 🙂
Could these be done using Italian salad dressing?
I can’t say i’ve ever tried to be honest!
Absolutely. Just watch it, too much sugar burns. Creamy ones you shoukd do on lower heat. It WILL burn.
Do you use curly parsley, or flat leaf parsley?
So excited to try these!
I use flat leaf parsley, but as it’s for garnish I’m sure curly will work just as well 🙂
Simple and awesome recipe. I used dill instead of parsley and made a yogurt dipp to go by with it. Absolutely amazing. Thnk you!
Oh yum! I’ll have to try dill – sounds delish 🙂