Chunky Rosemary-Garlic Roasted Potatoes
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This is my house recipe for crusty, crispy roasted potatoes, a simple dish that gets everyone excited whenever it’s on the table. I’ve perfected the steps for making them to a “T.” Slice yellow potatoes into chunks and roast them on a sheet pan with plenty of extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. With fresh rosemary and garlic, these potatoes smell amazing in the oven — I’ll bet you can’t eat just one!
Chunky-cut roasted potatoes are undeniably delectable — with their crisp, slightly caramelized edges and creamy-soft insides, it’s honestly hard to stop eating them. When dinner doesn’t call for a side of rustic olive-oil mashed potatoes, these bite-sized beauties are what’s on the menu.
This is one of my vegetable recipes you want in your back pocket. They round out so many dinners — think of perfectly roasted chicken, or juicy brown-sugar seasoned pork chops with a pile of roasted potatoes alongside.
After years of prepping these on rotation in my house, I’ve nailed down the method to share with you.
Notes on the ingredients
- Potatoes: Waxy yellow or gold “boiling potatoes” have a tempting buttery-gold color, inside and out, along with with a pleasing creamy texture. They’re my top choice for an all-purpose potato, especially for making perfectly-crisp roasted potatoes. Yukon Gold is the most readily available variety. Use any type of yellow or gold potato, including golf-ball size baby potatoes or fingerlings.
- Garlic: I use fresh garlic (not garlic powder) because I am crazy about authentic Italian-style roasted potatoes — plus, it simply smells AMAZING. It’s important to stir the garlic into the potatoes during the last few minutes of roasting — otherwise it will burn.
- Rosemary: The scent of fresh rosemary cannot be compared, and its minty, resinous flavor matches beautifully with the neutral taste of potatoes. A small amount of rosemary instantly elevates roasted potatoes to something really savory. Stir in chopped rosemary after the potatoes are finished roasting — otherwise its fresh flavor and aroma will burn and dissipate in the oven. Rosemary is one dried herb I don’t recommend keeping in the pantry. It’s often lacking in freshness, which means it doesn’t smell or taste great. If you don’t have fresh rosemary, you can substitute fresh or dried thyme leaves.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: I always recommend choosing a good-tasting, everyday extra-virgin olive oil — you’ll definitely appreciate how good it tastes with roasted potatoes!
- Note: I don’t recommend Russet baking potatoes for this recipe. They won’t work as well because they have a much starchier texture and don’t retain a chunky shape after roasting. I also don’t use red potatoes for roasting with this method. Because they have a minimal amount of starch and are denser than yellow potatoes, they tend to take longer to roast unless they’re par-boiled first.
Step 1: Prepping and cutting potatoes for roasting
- Yellow potatoes can be round or oblong-shaped. The thin skin doesn’t need to be peeled, unless there are bad spots. Cutting the potatoes into chunky, bite-size wedges (not cubes) gives them more surface area for browning, with the skin helping to hold their shape.
There’s no need to peel yellow potatoes. The smooth skin is usually clean, but you can wipe off any dirt with a towel. Trim off any bad spots or sprouting eyes. Cut the potatoes in half on a cutting board.
Cut each in half lengthwise to make 4 long wedges. Slice each wedge into 1 1/2-inch chunks, crosswise. Small round potatoes can simply be halved or quartered. You should have about 8 cups of raw potato chunks, to serve 4 as a side dish.
Step 2: Roasting potatoes on a sheet pan
- Pro Tip: Before preheating the oven, arrange a rack in the bottom third. This is the best spot in the oven for roasting because it’s closer to the heat source, which helps to brown the surface of the potatoes.
- To keep clean up minimal, I prefer to toss the sliced potatoes with seasonings and olive oil directly on the baking sheet, rather than use a bowl. Here’s how to do it:
Pour olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment paper if you like) that’s large enough to hold the potatoes in one layer. A standard half-size sheet pan is a good choice. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the olive oil.
Add the potatoes and toss to coat. Arrange each of the potatoes so that a cut side lies flat on the baking sheet. Season with a little more salt and pepper.
Pick rosemary leaves off the stems and chop. Finely chop a clove of peeled garlic (or use a rasp grater). Roast the potatoes about 20 minutes at 425 F. Sprinkle the garlic and rosemary over the potatoes and stir them around. Put the pan back in the oven for 5 minutes.
- If you have a convection oven, set the oven temperature to 400 degrees instead of 425F.
Chunky Rosemary-Garlic Roasted Potatoes
My house recipe for crisp, crusty roasted potatoes with delectable brown edges and creamy insides. Roast yellow or gold potatoes on a sheet pan in the oven with plenty of extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, along with fresh rosemary and garlic. I'll bet you can't eat just one!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 2 pounds yellow potatoes, cut into 1-½-inch chunks (see the how-to)
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 (220 C) degrees on a regular oven, or 400 (200 C) degrees on a fan-assisted convection oven, with the oven rack arranged in the bottom third of the oven.
- Pour the olive oil onto a large, rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of the salt and about ¼ teaspoon of black pepper over the oil. Tumble the potatoes onto the pan and toss with your hands to coat evenly.
- Arrange each of the potatoes so that one of their cut sides is face down on the pan — this is key to a crisp, brown edge. Sprinkle the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and pepper over the top of the potatoes.
- Roast 20-25 minutes, until the edges of the potatoes are nicely golden brown. They should be sizzling in the oil. You might hear a whistling sound that indicates moisture is evaporating, which is a sign they're almost done.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle the garlic and rosemary over the potatoes. Use a spatula to scrape and stir them around — do this somewhat gently so you don't crush them.
- Return to the oven for 5 more minutes. Serve the potatoes hot out of the oven for maximum crispiness.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Put the oven rack in the bottom third of your oven — this is where the heat is concentrated, which helps to brown the underside of the potatoes.
- If you’re using small, round potatoes you can slice them in half. Otherwise slice medium or large potatoes into chunks following my instructions above.
- Russet baking potatoes won’t work as well for this recipe. Because of their starchier texture they tend to fall apart after roasting.
- The roasted potatoes keep refrigerated up to 5 days.
- To reheat, spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and heat in 350F oven 10-15 minutes. They can also be crisped with a little olive oil using a hot skillet on the stovetop.
Nutrition
Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 595mg | Potassium: 966mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 9IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
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Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.