How To Roast Mini Potatoes

Mini potatoes are extremely fun to use in recipes. Not only that, but using them provides you with a ton of benefits. They don’t require as much prep time, they are packed with flavor, and they take less time to cook.

One of the best ways people love to prepare potatoes, especially mini ones, is by roasting them. This should give you crispy exteriors with soft juicy flesh. But, that’s easier said than done!

So, how do you properly roast mini potatoes? The secret to crispy roasted potatoes is that they have to be partially boiled and cooled before being roasted. Then they just have to be roasted at 400°F for 20-25 minutes!

Today, we will look at the amazing characteristics of mini potatoes and exactly why so many people have fell in love with them!

We will naturally also take a look at exactly how to roast them, and we’ve included some fantastic tips to get the best results!

Why We Love Mini Potatoes

Mini potatoes, also known as baby potatoes, new potatoes, or creamers, are simply young potatoes that have been harvested before they have fully grown and matured.

Despite this, they are still incredibly sweet, packed with moisture, and completely delicious. All of this contributes to their creamy texture once they have been cooked.

The biggest reason we love these potatoes is because of their versatility. We all know that potatoes are easy to flavor with spices, herbs, dressings, and oils. But, not all potatoes are as versatile.

For example, Russet potatoes work best for deep-frying but are not as good for boiling. Yukon potatoes on the other hand make excellent boiled potatoes, but don’t get as crispy when fried or roasted.

Now, mini potatoes (or baby potatoes) work well for virtually any cooking method! They can be steamed, boiled, deep-fried, roasted—you name it! It has an incredibly delicate texture that is soft and almost flaky.

Another reason we prefer using baby potatoes is that they require less preparation time and even cooking time. You don’t need to peel them or even cut them into smaller portions. All you can do is wash them! 

So, are you ready to learn exactly how to roast mini potatoes?

How To Roast Mini Potatoes

Our technique for roasting these mini potatoes is fantastic! You will have the crispiest skin on the outside while still having a soft and creamy inside. And, they have a delicious salty flavor that is easily adjustable too! Let’s jump right in!

Ingredients

• 1 pound of mini potatoes, washed
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Place the washed baby potatoes in a large pot. Then, cover them with cold water and bring them to a boil. Allow them to partially cook for only 8-10 minutes. Once the time has elapsed, drain the mini potatoes immediately and allow them to cool at room temperature.
2. While your mini potatoes are cooling, start preparing the spice mix. Combine all of the spices inside of a spice jar. Give it a good shake to ensure that they are well combined and evenly distributed. 
3. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
4. Once your mini potatoes have cooled, you can either use them whole or cut them into halves or quarters. Add these to a bowl and season them with your spice mix. Also, drizzle some olive oil over them to help the spices stick well.
5. Finally, add your seasoned mini potatoes to an oven-proof roasting tray.  If you used potato halves, make sure that the cut side faces down onto the tray. Then, roast your potatoes for 20-25 minutes, or until they are uber crispy and golden in color!

Tips For Roasting Mini Potatoes

• You can also simply use salt and pepper to season these potatoes, or you can add your very own potato spice mix. The goal is to get crispy potatoes—the seasoning part is easy!
• The key to getting crispy potatoes (of any kind) is to first par-boil them. This technique allows the potato to first cook before the rest of the heat is used to crisp the skin. It is nearly impossible to get crispy potatoes any other way.
• The reason that you don’t have to first peel mini potatoes is that their skin is already super thin and delicate. Not only does this make it more difficult to peel, but it makes it a lot easier to crisp up!
• You should also allow the boiled potatoes to cool before they are roasted. This also gives them time to dry off enough so that the roasting time isn’t spent evaporating extra moisture. Remember, for crispy textures you should have as little moisture on the surface as possible.
• Once your potatoes are par-boiled, you can roast them whole or in slices. We don’t really like whole potatoes because they have less crispy surfaces and they’re bigger than bite-sized. And, cutting these mini potatoes in quarters will leave you with too small a bite! So, cutting them in half is just perfect!
• If you want less crispy mini potatoes to make something like a potato salad, you can simply lower the roasting temperature. It will still cook the potatoes and give them that caramelized flavor, but it won’t make a crispy texture.

Roasting At Different Times And Temperatures

Now, one question we are frequently asked is how different roasting temperatures will affect the cooking times of the potatoes.

First, we need to clearly state that for crispy potatoes you will need higher temperatures. You cannot work with low temperatures because they will never crisp up the food.

Secondly, we won’t even be discussing temperatures that will take hours on end. It’s unrealistic and no one wants to wait 4 hours for roasted baby potatoes. So, there is only a specific range of temperatures that will work for roasting potatoes.

The table below will act as an in-depth guide for the best times and temperatures for the roasted potatoes. These temperatures will give you various crispy textures and flesh tenderness.

Roasting Temperature	Roasting Time	Results
325ºF	35-50 minutes	Will take forever to get crispy potatoes, but you will have extremely creamy soft flesh.
350ºF	25-35 minutes	Potatoes are less crispy but still have some texture. The flesh is super soft and flaky.
375ºF	25-30 minutes	Well-balanced crispiness with soft tender flesh.
400ºF	20-25 minutes	Super crispy potatoes with soft tender juicy flesh. In our opinion, this is the best temperature and time to follow!
425ºF	15-20 minutes	A ton of crispy texture but less flesh because of how much moisture dries out. So, either use larger potatoes (or cuts) or shorter boiling times.

What To Serve With Roasted Mini Potatoes

Roasted mini potatoes are extremely versatile and can be used in many different ways. They also make a fantastic accompaniment to virtually any dish.

We love serving these crispy roasted mini potatoes with steak, fillet, T-bone, fish, and chicken schnitzels. These are only a few of thousands of other main dishes you can serve them with.

And, as an accompaniment to the potatoes, you can make a wide variety of dipping sauces. Something as simple as homemade mayonnaise, tomato sauce, or sweet and sour dipping sauce.

You can also use less-crispy roasted potatoes to make a potato salad, deviled mini potatoes, or a roasted mini potato and leek soup.

You can even use them (crispy or otherwise) to make cheesy bacon potatoes. Or some other form of loaded crispy potatoes.

Related Questions

We compiled a list of some other frequently asked questions we get a lot surrounding crispy potatoes. We hope that if we haven’t already clarified everything, these questions will!

How do you know when potatoes are finished cooking?

When you insert a fork into the potato, it will easily pierce through. It is also important to make sure the potatoes slide off of the fork. Crispy potatoes will not slide off as easily, but they will be uber soft.

Can regular potatoes be made in the same way?

You can use this technique on any type of potato! It doesn’t even matter which variety it is! Just don’t use too big potato pieces as these won’t be comfortable to eat.

Which variety of baby potatoes is best for roasting?

None of the mini potato varieties make for a better-roasted potato. That being said, they do have different nutritional compositions, which may be more or less appealing to specific people.

As a simple example, a red baby potato contains fewer calories than a yellow baby potato. However, the yellow mini potatoes contain more iron and calcium.

Do you have to par-boil baby potatoes when deep-frying them?

The rule stays the same: if you want to get extremely crispy yet soft potatoes, you have to par-boil them! While you are boiling them, they are allowed to almost completely cook.

So, when using dry cooking methods (like deep-frying and roasting) all that the heat does is dry out the skin to make each bite crispy!

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