My mother-in-law Katie was a pretty functional but good cook. She cooked what worked and did it well. Case in point: these crunchy crispy oven roasted potatoes. They can be on the table in under 40 minutes and are the perfect side dish for beef tenderloin sliders, some juicy Foolproof Chicken or your favorite barbecue dish.
So—let’s get to cooking so that these creamy roasted potatoes can get on your table and in your belly.
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Two Ingredient Roasted Potatoes
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I mentioned earlier that you’ll only need two ingredients (not counting salt and pepper, of course) to make these oven roasted potatoes. And neither one of those ingredients is baking soda or oil each of which some people say is the key to the best oven roasted potato.
I completely disagree with both of these choices and use my mother-in-laws decades old method of roasting potatoes in unsalted butter.
Note: My MIL used margarine in a lot of recipes but this one is strictly butter. If margarine is all you have, be careful because it typically contains water and you might not get the even color and crispness that you would from butter.
Best potato varieties for roasting
Some potatoes are better than other for roasting. Some favorites are:
- Idaho Russet potatoes – the cut side browns beautifully to a crispy golden crunch with a fluffy interior.
- New potatoes (large and small) – Typically red, these babies come in different sizes with the smallest (sometimes the size of your thumbnail) being Type C and working their way up to the more traditional, larger Type A’s.
- Yukon gold – the flesh has a slight buttery flavor which no one is evah going to complain about.
- Sweet potatoes – You wouldn’t think it possible but sweet potatoes get even sweeter when roasted.
Step by step process
Gather these tools and ingredients to make crispy oven roasted potatoes:
- a half-sheet pan with sides, approximately 12 x 17
- one stick of butter
- one potato per person you plan to serve
- kosher salt and ground black pepper
Success!
Helpful Tips
Serving Suggestions
As a big blue cheese fan, I highly recommend serving some dipping sauces with these crispy potatoes. Two with so much flavor are:
Creamy Mascarpone Ranch Dressing
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Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 Idaho russet potatoes, washed, dried and halved lengthwise
- 1 stick unsalted butter, I use Land O' Lakes
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Set a rack to the middle position.
- Place the stick (or sticks if using half sticks) on a 12 x 17" sheet pan and place the pan in the oven.
- Allow the butter to melt on the pan for about 5 minutes until foamy.
- Remove the pan from the oven and season liberally with salt and pepper or any other seasonings desired (see below for suggestions).
- Place the potatoes cut side down on top of the seasoned melted butter leaving space between the potatoes (you don't want to crowd them so they crisp up). Brush the tops of the potatoes with some of the butter from the pan and season them as well.
- Roast the potatoes for 30-35 minutes until crispy.
- Serve with your favorite dip like this homemade blue cheese dressing or horseradish sauce.
How much butter would I use if I don’t have stick butter
Hi Samantha! 1 stick of butter is equivalent to 1/2 cup of butter or 113 grams. Hope that helps and thanks for taking the time to ask!
Hi. I’m really looking forward to trying the recipe however my phone has an Amazon ad ( that will not go away) covering step one of the cooking instructions. Can you please tell what temperature, etc are in step one?
Hi Jan! That is really annoying, I must say and I’ll address it with my ad company…I appreciate your reaching out! Here are the steps of the recipe…hope it helps and thanks again!😀
Preheat oven to 400°. Set a rack to the middle position.
Place the stick (or sticks if using half sticks) on a 12 x 17″ sheet pan and place the pan in the oven.
Allow the butter to melt on the pan for about 5 minutes until foamy.
Remove the pan from the oven and season liberally with salt and pepper or any other seasonings desired (see below for suggestions).Place the potatoes cut side down on top of the seasoned melted butter leaving space between the potatoes (you don’t want to crowd them so they crisp up). Brush the tops of the potatoes with some of the butter from the pan and season them as well.
Roast the potatoes for 30-35 minutes until crispy.
Serve with your favorite dip like this homemade blue cheese dressing or horseradish sauce.
Hi Lori,
I came across your recipe and had to try it. I modified it by using bacon grease instead of butter as that is what I rub on my potatoes before baking them. I also added dried basil, garlic salt and a South African smoke seasoning I buy at Trader Joe’s. When they were done being cooked I used a little sour cream that I spread atop and spread a little sun dried tomato atop as well. They were delicious! Thank you for sharing your quick and easy preparation of this marvelous recipe! I will be making these again. Now if I only knew how to include a photo showing the finished product, lol.
Hi Kate! Thanks so much for your kind words! I really appreciate your taking the time to comment 🤗. And your variation with the South African smoke seasoning and sun dried tomatoes sounds amazing – what a flavor bomb! I’ll have to pick up some of that the next time I’m at TJ’s. It sounds like something I definitely should have in my spice drawer. If you’re on Instagram, feel free to tag @josieandnina if you share a photo…I’m sure I’d be drooling! Happy holidays to you and yours!
Excellent!!!! Truly crispy and perfect!! We loved these for dinner. I used red potatoes and they were great. They will definitely be a staple side dish from now on.
Yay Susie! My mother-in-law would love hearing how much you enjoyed them! Thank you!!🤗
Even better with fresh grated parmesan cheese in the pan & then place the cut side of the potato on the cheese. Turns out nice & crispy!
Love that idea! I’m always in favor of more cheese! 🤗