Skin On Roast Potatoes because who has time to peel potatoes! This simple and easy oven baked side dish works with almost anything and everything. Keep these roast potatoes in mind for Thanksgiving, Christmas or Sunday suppers. Skin on roasted potatoes are soft on the inside with firm skin and crisp edges on the outside.
Recipes like the Creamy Garlic Potatoes, Potato And Sweet Potato Bake and the Garlic Butter Potatoes are potato recipes that pair well with a variety of mains.
The Roasted Capsicums, Bacon Wrapped Asparagus and the Fried Cabbage and Bacon are non potato side dishes.
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🤍 Recipe Highlights
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:
- No peeling: you can keep the vegetable peeler in the draw as we don't need it for this recipe! Not peeling the skins, saves time and energy. Plus then we get delicious roast potatoes with skin on for a nice change.
- Versatile: sometimes you need a recipe that will work for any occasion and be appealing to a wide variety of people. This roast potato recipe is that one. Suitable to vegetarians and you can use a different type of sauce if wanting a vegan version of the recipe.
- Simple ingredients: each of the ingredients needed to make the recipe can be sort from your local grocery store. They are year round available products that will be easy to get your hands on.
- Easy: whilst this recipe does have a longish (in my opinion) cook time, so I stop at saying it is quick and easy. It really is a simple and easy recipe to bring together. There are no magic tricks, no difficult steps and nothing that is confusing about the process.
- Taste and texture: there is the firm, robust red skins of the potatoes, that burst a little when you bite into them. These then reveal the soft, melt in your mouth yum that is a well cooked potato. You will also find that the edges are crisp which only happens as we cut them to ensure full flavored potatoes to rock your side dish socks off 😉👌.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the recipe calls for:
- Salt: the salt shown above is Himalayan pink salt. You can also use kosher salt (cooking salt).
- Pepper: we use a little bit of black pepper to season the potatoes.
- Rosemary: we use 2 dried herbs for the potatoes. The 1st is dried rosemary. It has a slightly peppery flavor and works especially well with lamb recipes.
- Thyme: dried thyme is the 2nd of the dried herbs that we are using for the recipe. It has both a slightly sweet and savory taste to it.
- Garlic: are we even making potatoes if we don't use garlic in there somewhere 😂. Chunky minced garlic or 2-3 fresh garlic cloves that you finely dice is perfect.
- Red potatoes: with skin on! Not only does it make the recipe so easy, it also gives the potatoes an extra texture with the firm skin contrasting with the soft buttery flesh inside the potatoes.
- Olive oil: we use oil in the recipe as means to help roast the potatoes.
Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making the recipe. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.
🍳 Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the oven baked potatoes recipe. We start by combining the ingredients we will use to season the potatoes.
- Add the oil to the jug (Photo 1)
- Then add the salt (Photo 2)
- Add the pepper (Photo 3)
- Add the rosemary (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Skin On Roast Potatoes
To make the roast potatoes start by bringing together the seasoning. So add the olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary, dried thyme and garlic to a jug and use a mini whisk or fork to consistently combine.
- Add the dried thyme (Photo 5)
- Add the garlic (Photo 6)
- Stir to combine (Photo 7)
- Cut the potatoes in half (Photo 8)
Next use a knife and chopping board to cut the potatoes in half. This is crossways, not lengthways as they take less time to cook cut like this 😉👌.
- Place the cut potatoes into a baking dish (Photo 9)
- Brush with the oil mixture (Photo 10)
- Rotate and brush the other side (Photo 11)
- Roast in the oven (Photo 12)
Next, transfer the cut potatoes into a baking tray, using a sheet or parchment paper to lay them on.
Spread them out so that they are in one flat layer with no stacked potatoes. They can be touching however.
Then use a pastry brush to coat the potato skin sides with the oil mixture. Once done, use kitchen tongs to rotate the potatoes to the flesh side up and again use the pastry brush to coat the remaining season oil mix on these sides too.
Once the potatoes are seasoned you can place them into the oven on the middle shelf to roast.
You will want to let them cook for 20 minutes, then use oven mitts to remove them, place them onto a heatproof surface and rotate them before using the remaining herb oil mix to coat this side of each potatoes also. Then pop them back into the oven for an additional 1 hour.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
I have a list a mile long to share with you of recipes that will pair nicely with these potatoes! Try them alongside the Honey Soy Pork Ribs, BBQ Lamb Ribs, Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs or use them in place of polenta in the Pork Osso Bucco.
Pop them on the plate with the Teriyaki Glazed Salmon, Creamy Garlic Chicken Thighs or the Air Fryer Roast Chicken.
Or pair them alongside the Mince Pasta Bake for a dinner combination the whole family will love.
As you can see from the photos throughout the post, I like to serve with with a sauce. The Mustard Yogurt Sauce is great as you can use hot English yogurt for extra tang. Or for a milder sauce try the Herbed Yogurt Sauce, Parsley Yogurt Sauce or the Basil Yogurt Sauce.
For other sauces with a little flavor about them try the Garlic Yogurt Sauce, the Horseradish Yogurt Sauce or the Spicy Yogurt Sauce.
When it comes to presenting your roast potatoes, you might like to throw some fresh herbs on top of them as I have done in the photo above. This gives them a pretty presentation and offers another textural aspect and flavour to the dish.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Store leftover roasted potatoes in a sealed, airtight container in the fridge. They can be kept for 2-3 days and are best reheated before being consumed.
How to Freeze
If you wish to freeze leftover roast potatoes, you can in a sealed airtight container in the fridge. Which you then remove, thaw and reheat. My only advice in doing so is that you do loose some of the crispness of the potato edges and firm skin. They are more like a mashed potato with skin instead of roast potatoes.
How to Reheat
Place leftover potatoes into a bowl and pull a layer of cling wrap over the top. Then reheat in the microwave on high for 1- 3 minutes until warmed through.
😉 Substitutions and Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- In place of the minced garlic, you can use 1 teaspoon of garlic powder if you wish too.
- You can also add 1 teaspoon of onion powder if you would like.
- If you prefer your potatoes plain with no additional herbs, you can omit the dried rosemary and thyme. Or you can reduce each to 1 teaspoon instead of the ½ tablespoon.
- The mustard yogurt sauce is optional, you can use your favorite roast potato sauce.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- You can slice the potatoes in halves as shown in the photos throughout the post or in quarters to have smaller pieces if you wish too.
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best oil for roast potatoes?
Olive oil is the best oil for roast potatoes. It imparts a lovely aromatic flavor enhancing the flavor of the potatoes.
Should I leave skin on for roast potatoes?
Absolutely! Leaving the skin on roast potatoes allows for a delicious dish that has multiple textures due to the firm skin as well as the soft buttery flesh of the potatoes.
Do you boil potatoes before baking them?
No. It is not necessary to boil potatoes before baking them.
😍 More Easy Side Dishes
If you are the type of person who looks forward to the sides more than the main dish, I hear you! Here are some more ideas to try:
- Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
- Tortilla Garlic Bread
- Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad
- Garlic Ciabatta
- Tomato Bread Salad
- Fresh Herb Salad
- Mashed Peas
It it time to get our potatoes on my friend! You can also find all of my roast potato recipes or side dishes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Skin on Roast Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 kg/2.2 pounds kg red potatoes Note 1
- ½ cup/ 120ml olive oil
- ½ tablespoon garlic minced, Note 2
- ½ tablespoon rosemary dried
- ½ tablespoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon salt Note 3
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Garnish (optional):
- fresh rosemary leaves only, discard the sprigs
Mustard Yoghurt (Hot)
- ⅓ cup greek yoghurt
- 2 teaspoon hot English mustard Note 6
Instructions
- Preheat oven: to 200°c/400°F, gas 6
- Seasoning: combine olive oil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper in a small glass and stir to combine.
- Potatoes: use a knife and chopping board to cut each of the potatoes in half (cross ways, not lengthways).
- Baking dish: line a baking dish with parchment paper and then use tongs to place the potatoes cut side down on the baking tray.
- Season potatoes: use a pastry brush to coat the potatoes in the herb oil mix, being liberal with the oil mixture.
- Oven bake: place the potatoes in the hot oven and let them bake an initial 20 minute period.
- Rotate: after 20 minutes, use oven mitts to remove the baking tray, from the oven and place it onto a heat proof surface. Then use tongs to rotate the potatoes around so the cut side is facing up. Use the brush again to coat each potato with the remaining oil mix.
- Roast: next place the baking tray back into the oven and continue to roast the potatoes for a further 1 hr. You can use a skewer to check them at this point where doing so should see it slide straight in and meet no resistance. If there is firm potato to the skewer touch, bake them until there is not.
- To serve: once the potatoes are cooked, use the oven mitts to again remove the baking tray from the oven and place it onto a heat proof surface. Then sprinkle fresh rosemary over the top. Provide mustard yoghurt in a bowl alongside the potatoes (optional).
Mustard Yoghurt method
- Combine: add both the mustard and yogurt to a small bowl and stir till consistently combined. Serve with a sprinkle of cracked pepper.
Video
Notes
- Note 1 Potatoes: I use baby red potatoes. Versions of them are called Ruby Lou (Australia), Pontiac (United States of America). Most standard types of potatoes work for this recipe in the way that we are roasting them.The white potatoes are generally called russet potatoes. Sweet Potato would be slightly different due to size/shape. You can use white potatoes if you choose also.
- Note 2 Garlic: I am using Australian tablespoons. The ½ tablespoon measure is 10ml.
- Note 3 Salt: the salt shown in the ingredients photo is Himalayan pink salt. You can use kosher salt (cooking salt) also.
- Note 4 Preparing the potatoes: cut the potatoes across the mid section so the 2 halves are shorter than they are long.
- Note 5 Oven baking the potatoes: the size of your baking tray won't matter too much, just make sure each potato half is flat and they are not on top of each other or piled up.
- Note 6 Mustard: another option is to use a milder mustard like Dijon mustard, or American mustard .
Nutrition
Recipe published October 2019, updated with a rewrite in October 2023 with more tasty tips for you! 😉👌.
Paul Stephen says
These skin on roast potatoes look absolutely SCRUMMY! Not yet had skin on roasties but looking forward to cooking them with pork & vegetables. I tend to leave the skins on whenever I cook potatoes so happy to use your delicious recipe today, thank you!
Adrianne says
Hi Paul, no worries. The combination of pork, vegetables and potatoes sound delicious! I hope that you enjoy the recipe and thanks for taking the time to comment.