Best Potatoes for Roasting + Crispy Roasted Potatoes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What type of potato is best for roasting? ›

Yukon Golds fall right in the middle of the spectrum.

This is the real beauty of the Yukon Gold, what makes them the best potatoes for roasting. The crisp. The creaminess. The texture.

Once the potatoes have been partially boiled after six minutes, drain them using a colander and shake them while in the colander to fluff the edges up. Next, sprinkle the semolina and shake the potatoes again to make sure they are evenly coated. Then allow the the potatoes to steam dry for five minutes.

You always should preheat the oven and get that fat nice and hot. Crispy on outside and lovely and fluffy on the inside. You don't roast them long enough. You have to get them to evaporate most of the water before they will brown.

Maris Piper potatoes are our favourite for roasting to get that fluffy centre and crispy outer layer, but King Edwards also work well.

Red potatoes are great for roasting, cooking in soups, or boiling or steaming for potato salad. The waxy nature of the flesh means they'll maintain their shape, but it also means they will get gluey when overworked, so you'll want to choose a different potato for mashing.

Wilja are best for chips, masking, roasting, boiling and jacket potatoes. Fianna make great chips, jacket potatoes and are good for roasting and mashing. Golden wonder are ideal for boiling and roasting. Vivaldi make great jacket potatoes, are good for boiling, roasting and mashing and go well in salads.

A: This sure sounds a lot like potatoes that have been stored too long, in too cold of an environment before cooking. When potatoes are held below 41°F for too long a period, the starches convert to sugar and it changes the cooking chemistry.

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.

Heat your oven to 400 degrees, spread potatoes on a sheet pan and cover them in tin foil. Re-roast them until they're warm all the way through, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the cover for another five to add crispiness.

Do I have to boil potatoes before roasting? Not necessary but this can help get the perfect consistency and crispiness. Make sure you boil them but leave them a bit al dente and they will crisp up perfectly in the oven.

Should I dry potatoes before roasting? ›

To have a truly marvellous roast potato, one must simply let the potato dry completely after parboiling, before roasting in extremely hot fat.

Sprinkle your parboiled potatoes with flour. This gives potatoes extra crunch. A tablespoon is all you need!

It's pretty widely agreed that Maris Piper, King Edwards and Desiree red potatoes are the best for roasting in that order. Why? Well, it's because Maris Piper and King Edwards are more of a floury potato instead of being more 'waxy'. Desiree potatoes are a little more waxy but still work ok as an all-rounder.

It's up to you whether or not you peel your potatoes. Potatoes that are completely peeled and then cut into large chunks will crisp up nicely on all sides, whereas unpeeled potatoes that you've cut into wedges, or into halves or quarters, will become really crunchy only on their peeled sides.

The only foodstuff I am aware of that can be either baked or roasted is potatoes, and the distinction is that roast potatoes are cooked in fat/oil while baked are cooked "dry". Meat is always roasted, but that comes with its own fat.

While all sorts of potatoes are delicious when roasted in the oven, Yukon Gold potatoes are arguably the best potatoes for roasting for many reasons. Yukon Gold potatoes have the perfect amount of starch, which means they soften well in the oven, while their partially waxy texture helps them maintain their shape.

Choosing Potatoes

Yukon gold and other yellow potatoes are low- to medium-starch potatoes, and are well suited to roasting, mashing, baked dishes, and soups and chowders. Round red and round white potatoes have less starch and more moisture, making them best for boiling, but they can also be roasted or fried.

You can also use King Edward or Desiree. 'However, standard white potatoes are good if you know what to do with them – par-boil them and give them a shake in the pan when they're drained, which fluffs them up. 'Bin off anything waxy – they won't do in a pinch.