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One of the best sides to serve with any meal are these Crispy Smashed Potatoes, golden and crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. They’re everything you love about roasted potatoes and fries rolled into one irresistible bite.
The beauty of this crispy smashed potatoes recipe is in its texture. You get those buttery, crisp edges with a fluffy center that never dries out. And no matter how crispy you like them, one thing’s for sure: they’ll disappear from the table in seconds.
What Makes This Recipe So Good
These Crispy Smashed Potatoes have everything you could want in a side dish. Each bite delivers golden, crunchy edges with a soft and fluffy center that melts in your mouth. They’re the kind of potatoes that make any meal feel a little more special, whether you’re serving steak, roast chicken, or grilled fish.
What makes this crispy smashed potatoes recipe stand out is how easy it is to master. With just a few simple ingredients, you get the best balance of texture and flavor: crispy on the outside, buttery and tender inside. Once you try these smashed crispy potatoes, you’ll never look at regular roasted potatoes the same way again.
What Goes Into Crispy Smashed Potatoes
These Crispy Smashed Potatoes come together with simple pantry staples and a few fresh touches that bring out the best flavor.
- Potatoes: Yukon Gold or Carisma varieties are ideal for their creamy texture and ability to crisp up beautifully when smashed and roasted.
- Butter or Olive Oil: Melted butter gives a rich, golden flavor, while olive oil adds a lighter, slightly fruity taste that enhances the crispiness.
- Garlic and Lemon Juice: Crushed garlic adds depth and aroma, while a squeeze of lemon juice brightens everything with fresh, tangy notes.
- Dried Oregano and Semolina: Oregano adds a hint of earthy Mediterranean flavor, and a sprinkle of semolina (if you use it) helps create that irresistible extra crunch.
Note: Please see recipe card at the bottom for a full list of ingredients with measurements.
How To Make Smashed Potatoes
- Preheat the Oven: Set your oven to broil or grill on medium-high heat, about 200°C (400°F), so the potatoes turn out perfectly crisp and golden.
- Boil the Potatoes: Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, for 30–35 minutes or until just fork-tender, then drain well.
- Prepare the Tray: Lightly spray a large baking sheet with olive oil and arrange the potatoes on it. Use a potato masher to gently flatten each one without breaking them apart.
- Mix and Season: Stir together butter, lemon juice, and garlic. Pour mixture over potatoes, then sprinkle with half of the oregano, salt, and pepper. Spray lightly with olive oil and add semolina if using.
- Broil Until Crispy: Broil or grill the potatoes for about 15 minutes until they’re golden and crisp around the edges.
- Serve and Enjoy: Sprinkle with the remaining oregano, add extra salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately while hot and crispy.
These Crispy Smashed Potatoes are incredibly versatile and pair perfectly with bold, flavorful mains. Try them alongside Chili Lime Steak Fajitas for a zesty, sizzling combo that balances spice with buttery crunch. They’re also amazing with Easy Creamy Chicken Marsala, where the rich mushroom sauce soaks beautifully into the crisp potato edges.
For something a little indulgent, serve these potatoes with Garlic Butter Grilled Steak and Shrimp. The juicy steak, tender shrimp, and garlicky butter sauce make the perfect match for the crispy, lemony potatoes—turning an ordinary dinner into something truly special.
Tips For Making Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- I used butter in this recipe, because garlic butter is unbeatable in flavour. However, you can substitute with olive oil if you wish!
- I’ve added a lot more garlic in these than traditional Greek potatoes. Feel free to reduce the garlic down to 2 cloves instead of 4.
- Semolina is optional. If using, sprinkle a light coating over your potatoes before baking.
- For even crispier potatoes, remove potatoes form the oven half way through baking, spray with a little extra cooking oil, and continue broiling (or grilling) in the oven until nice and golden brown.
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes! While Yukon Gold and Carisma work best, you can also use baby potatoes or red potatoes. Just make sure they’re all similar in size so they cook evenly.
No need to peel them. The skin gets beautifully crisp and adds great texture and flavor once roasted.
If you don’t have semolina, you can skip it or replace it with a little cornstarch or fine breadcrumbs for added crunch.
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Crispy Greek Lemon Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 potatoes medium-sized, Yukon Gold or Carisma
- 3 tablespoons butter melted, or 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice juice of half a lemon
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano divided
- 1 pinch salt to taste
- 1 pinch pepper to taste
- 1 spray olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon semolina optional – for crispy potatoes
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to broil (or grill) settings to medium-high heat (about 200°C | 400°F).
- Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Bring to the boil; cook, covered for 30-35 minutes or until just fork-tender. Drain well.
- Lightly spray a large baking sheet or tray with cooking oil spray. Arrange potatoes onto the sheet and use a potato masher to LIGHTLY flatten the potatoes in one piece (not too hard or they will end up mashed).
- Mix together the butter, lemon juice and garlic. Pour the mixture over each potato. Sprinkle with half of the oregano, salt and pepper. Lightly spray with olive oil spray, and sprinkle with semolina (If using).
- Broil (or grill) until they are golden and crispy (about 15 minutes). Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining oregano.
- To serve, season with a little extra salt and pepper; serve immediately.
Notes
*For even crispier potatoes, remove potatoes from the oven half way through cooking, spray with a little extra cooking oil, and continue broiling (or grilling) in the oven until nice and golden brown.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent recipe!!!!
I absolutely adore this recipe. I made it for my darling 5 children so they could eat it after soccer practice (you know how kids are). I quite like the lemon, since my father has a terrible memory and keeps buying lemons despite us having cartons full of citrus. One thing though, every time I make it I have to shovel down as much as I physically possibly can because seconds after adding the final touches they disappear! Science is weird 🙂
Well….I pricked 2 yellow potatoes and put them in a dish of water ( for moisture) into the microwave to cook. After removing them,( fork tender) I made a cross in the skin and peeled the tops away easily. I smashed them on a lightly sprayed sheet pan and brushed them with a combo of melted butter, garlic & lemon juice/zest,salt & pepper. I then topped it with real bacon bits, grated Parm & green onions.
These sat there and waited for my Instant pot ribs, which I placed next to them and did them with an amazing mixture of honey, garlic ,lemon juice and zest.
Had oven on at 400 to heat the potatoes thru and then turned on broil for a short time…sorry..didnt time it…just kept an eye on it. 🙂 Yummy….Have made greek lemon potatoes before, but really enjoyed the ” smashed version”.
Loved these, they will become a new favourite. I peeled my pots as they are red but be ok not to if you’ve a thin-skinned spud.
They go really well with the Greek lambs chops.
They look delicious. Are you cutting your potatoes or leaving them whole?
No one has answered the most important question I think of this dish. Are the potatoes peeled or not peeled before boiling?
Please can someone answer this.
I didn’t bother peeling them and they turned out great. Yukon Gold potatoes have very tender skins.
Definitely peeled. It adds to the crispiness!!!
absolutely unpeeled but washed I would think…
Great addition to my meal. I normally make Greek lemon potatoes, these were less time consuming, less cost and better tasting. Served with grilled butterflied lamb, cucumber salad, Greek salad and tzatziki. Just broiled an additional few minutes, since I can’t consume semolina. Thanks Karina.
This potatoes are worth the work. They are so delicious.
Would you be able to boil the potatoes & smash ahead of time? I wanted to make this for a dinner party and do most of the work in the morning?
Yes, of course! That sounds delicious! I hope you enjoy them with all your friends!
I love these & cook them up as a side to a BBQ, I use baby red potatoes YES PEPS with the SKIN ON & some grated cheese then GRILL ( I’m Australian } but am going to try your Greek style for Dinner tonight with your Greek Lamb Chops … YUMMO
Nice! That sounds fantastic! You are a true Australian!! Enjoy! Thanks so much for sharing!