The best crispy roast potatoes – an essential component of any roast dinner! Plus tips on making ahead!
“Made roast potatoes using your simple easy to follow recipe and the results were sensational. This recipe will be saved and used time and time again in my house.”
– Judy
Nicky’s Notes
There’s nothing more disappointing at a Sunday roast than soggy or only-partly crisp roast potatoes. The goal is a satisfyingly crunchy exterior with a light, fluffy interior. Achieving that contrast requires soft edges that can be roughed up and then allowed to crisp in hot fat.
I love those extra crunchy bits that stick to the bottom of the roasting pan — a sprinkle of flaky salt turns them into irresistible morsels. Simple ingredients — potatoes, fat and salt — deliver so much flavour when treated right.
Table of Contents
- Nicky’s Notes
- Best type of potatoes for roast potatoes
- Abbreviated Recipe
- Recipe Tips
- 🍽️ What goes with roast potatoes?
- Make ahead Guide
- 📺 Watch how to make it
- Crispy Roast Potatoes Recipe Recipe
- *Tip 1
- *Tip 2
- Making mashed potatoes too?
- Make ahead Roast potatoes:
- 🍲 More fantastic potato side dishes
Best type of potatoes for roast potatoes
For crisp, fluffy roast potatoes choose a floury variety rather than waxy. Floury potatoes form a light interior and crunchy edges when roasted. Good choices include:
- UK: Maris Piper, Rooster or King Edward
- US: Russet/Idaho or Yukon Gold
Abbreviated Recipe
Full recipe and quantities are in the recipe card below.
Start by par-boiling the potatoes for about 8–9 minutes so the edges soften. This creates the fluffy bits that crisp beautifully in the oven.
Drain and shake the potatoes in a colander to roughen the edges — they should look almost falling apart. Hot oil or fat in the roasting tin should be shimmering when you add the potatoes.
Roast in hot fat at a high temperature for 30–35 minutes, turning once or twice, until deep golden and crisp all over.
Finish with flaky salt and fresh thyme for aroma and flavour.
Recipe Tips
- Boil until a knife slips through the potato edge easily. Soft edges let you roughen the surface in the colander — the rougher they are, the more crispy edges you’ll get.
- Don’t overcrowd the roasting tin. Too many potatoes cool the fat and slow browning. For large batches use two tins for par-roasting, then combine for the final crisp if needed.
Serve with your favourite roast, extra sides and gravy.
🍽️ What goes with roast potatoes?
- Classic roast dinners — roast beef, roast pork, roast chicken or turkey, or slow-cooked lamb shoulder.
- Other great sides: Yorkshire puddings, cauliflower cheese, buttered carrots and a rich gravy.
Make ahead Guide
Par-roasting and finishing later is useful when you’re preparing ahead or cooking for a crowd. Par-roasting speeds up the final crisping and prevents the oven from becoming overloaded.
- Follow the recipe and par-roast the potatoes for about 20 minutes, until lightly golden. This creates a skin and helps prevent greying.
- Remove potatoes from the fat, cool in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Cover the fat too.
- To finish, heat the fat in the oven at 220C/425F for 10 minutes, then add the chilled potatoes and roast 20–30 minutes, turning once, until golden and crisp.
- If you par-roasted across two tins, you can transfer them to a single tin for the final roast to save oven space.
📺 Watch how to make it
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Crispy Roast Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.25 lbs) floury potatoes – such as Maris Piper or red-skinned Rooster potatoes
- 120 g (1/2 cup) lard or duck fat (use vegetable oil instead for a vegetarian version)
- 1 tsp Maldon salt
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 220C/425F (fan).
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Peel and chop the potatoes into chunky pieces about 2 inches (5cm) across.
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Place in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 8–9 minutes until the edges are softened.
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Put the lard or fat in a large roasting tin and place in the oven for 10 minutes until sizzling and shimmering hot.
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Drain the potatoes in a colander and give them a good shake to roughen the edges — a few broken pieces are fine and help with crisping.
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Carefully add the potatoes to the hot fat using tongs, turn to coat and place in the oven.
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Cook 30–35 minutes, turning once or twice in the last 15 minutes, until golden and crisp.
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Remove and serve with a sprinkling of Maldon salt and fresh thyme leaves.
Notes
*Tip 1
Par-boiling for 8–9 minutes ensures the edges are tender enough to fluff up in the colander; those fluffy edges become the extra-crispy bits in the oven.
*Tip 2
Save the potato cooking water to extend and flavour your gravy. Add stock and a little of this water, then thicken with a cornflour/cornstarch slurry for a richer sauce.
Making mashed potatoes too?
You can boil potatoes for both roasties and mash in the same pan. After 8–9 minutes scoop out the pieces for roast potatoes and cook the remaining potatoes a few minutes longer to mash with butter and cream.
Make ahead Roast potatoes:
Par-roast for about 20 minutes until lightly golden, cool and refrigerate for up to a day. Reheat the fat and finish roasting at 220C/425F for 20–30 minutes until crisp.
Nutritional information is per serving and approximate.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
This recipe for roast potatoes was first posted in May 2019 and has been updated with improvements, photos and video.
🍲 More fantastic potato side dishes
Sides
Dauphinoise Potatoes
Sides
The Best Mashed Potatoes
Sides
Hasselback Potatoes
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Fondant Potatoes
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Easy Duchess Potatoes
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Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Some links in this post may be affiliate links which earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Nutritional information is approximate.