Rosemary Roasted Potatoes – Crispy and Rich!

Fragrant, flavorful rosemary roasted potatoes are the reliable side dish for nearly any meal. They’re great at breakfast too!

At a glance

What stands out: Roasted potatoes are straightforward to mix and the results are memorable.

How long it takes: 50 minutes, mostly hands off
Equipment you’ll need: large roasting pan (sheet pan)
Servings: 6

Golden brown and deliciously crispy, fragrant rosemary roasted potatoes are pretty irresistible. These succulent spuds are sweet and buttery-tasting and they pretty much melt in your mouth. They look fancy enough to serve to guests but are straightforward enough to make every day.

Last week, we retested the recipe for our candy cane kiss cookies because we had some comments that the dough didn’t come together well or that they spread too much in the oven.

We're happy to say that the cookie recipe works out great the way it is written! We're always so bummed when you guys comment and say that our recipes don’t work for some reason or another. Thankfully it doesn’t happen often. While most recipes can be tweaked to your heart’s content, baking is a little different. If you stray too much from the recipe, results could be less than stellar.

But here’s the thing. We snitched some of dough while we were re-testing the cookies and then, of course, we couldn’t stop eating the finished product. We had this genius idea to stick them all in the freezer so we could pull them back out for Christmas parties.

Well, we'll just say this, they taste good frozen, too.

Obviously, we need to have lighter food in our fridge and freezer and not cookies. Stuff like these delish potatoes!

About these Roasted Potatoes

We make roasted potatoes nearly once a week and these rosemary ones might just be our new favorites. There’s something about rosemary and potatoes that is just so reliable.

If you haven’t tried roasting vegetables, you need to get rolling on it. Roasting elevates ordinary potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower (or anything) into a special treat. Even veggie haters may change their minds once they try roasted carrots with nutmeg or lemon roasted broccoli with Parmesan.

Once you learn how, it’s straightforward to do. You probably won’t even need to refer to a recipe once you’ve done it a few times.

We'll run you through the how-tos here and give you a few extra tips.

What You’ll Need

• Potatoes: You’ll need about a pound and a half although more or less is fine as long as there’s room on the pan. Choose tender-skinned varieties or baby potatoes. We just love those tiny ones.
• Olive Oil: Oil is a roasting essential. You don’t need a lot but choose an oil that is flavorful and good for you such as olive oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil.
• Fresh Rosemary: While fresh herbs are the most fragrant, dried herbs are evenly acceptable. Use less, about 1 teaspoon instead of a tablespoon.
• Garlic Powder: This adds a subtle garlic flavor to the potatoes. If you enjoy garlic, feel free to increase it or even add whole cloves to roast alongside the potatoes.
• Kosher Salt and Coarse Ground Black Pepper: The larger crystals and coarse bits of pepper add nice little bursts of flavor.

How it comes together

Begin by preheating your oven to 400°F. It’s important to start the potatoes in a nice hot oven.

Speaking of pans, you’ll need a sturdy large rimmed baking pan, i.e. sheet pan. If you don’t own a sheet pan, 18×13 inches, think about investing in one. We use our sheet pans nearly every day. We love sheet pan meals and of course, roasted vegetables.

Okay, let’s move on to the potatoes. Cut them as large or as small as you’d like but keep in mind that the smaller the pieces, the more potential there is for crispness. Larger pieces will take a bit longer to roast than small chunks.

Make sure your potatoes are dry. We like to fold them up into a clean lint-free dish towel to remove any extra moisture. Water is the enemy of crispiness because it produces steam in the oven.

Add the potatoes to your sheet pan along with the rest of the ingredients. Toss them around until they are coated with oil.

Cooking Tip

Start all the potatoes cut-side down for that beautiful, crispy, golden brown edge. It will take you an extra minute to place them all on the pan that way but the payoff is huge. That is, if you like crispy potatoes, and if you ask us, the crispier, the better.

Pop them into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Take them out, give them a stir, and bake them for 20 minutes more, or until they are brown and crispy. Serve them with chicken, beef, pork, or salmon, or whatever you like. So versatile, and so tasty! Try them for breakfast too!

Before you start

Make It Your Own

• Use whatever type of potato you like. Sweet potatoes are great, too.
• Try other woody herbs such as thyme or oregano to switch it up. Dried herbs such as basil or Italian seasoning work well.
• Season the potatoes with chili powder, paprika, or smoked paprika.
• Keep reading for lots more potato ideas!

Keeping leftovers

Roasted potatoes will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They can be frozen for up to four months.

To reheat, pop them into the oven, toaster oven, or air fryer for 5-10 minutes or until they are heated through. The length of time will depend on how large the potato pieces are and if they are frozen or refrigerated.

• Yield: 6 servings
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 45 minutes
• Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds potatoes, scrubbed and cut in bite-sized pieces (be sure to dry the potatoes as much as possible)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves)
• ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt (more to taste)
• ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper (more to taste)
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder (more to taste)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss potatoes with olive oil, rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic powder (see note).
2. Roast for 25 minutes, stir, and continue to cook for 20 more minutes or until potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
3. Serve immediately.

Notes

For extra-crispy potatoes, read our post on how to make crispy roasted potatoes.

For even more crispiness, start all the potatoes cut-side down. It’s a couple extra minutes of effort, but it pays off!

Potatoes can be roasted anywhere from 35 0°F to 450°F but adjust baking time accordingly. Roasting them at 400°F will yield a standby results.