Here’s your new go-to recipe for crunchy, chewy, cheesy roasted mini potatoes. They’re irresistible.
As far as starchy side-dishes are concerned, it’s pretty hard to beat the humble potato. Potatoes are filling and delicious, sure… but they’re also generally lower in calories and higher in fiber and nutrients than sides like white rice, noodles or pasta.
So how do you make a potato even better? Crust it with cheese! These little morsels are addictively delicious and so easy to put together. Try them as a snack or appetizer with a side of sour cream dip, or pair them with your protein of choice – we love them with this perfect, simple steak.
The seasoned parmesan cheese adds a chewy-crunchy saltiness to these potatoes that’ll make you come back to this recipe again and again. We think you’ll leave your other roasted potato recipe cards in the box once you try this one.
Which Potato?
Like apples, potatoes come in a range of varieties. We’re using little new potatoes here, of which there are typically four kinds. Red potatoes, which are a bit waxy in texture and are great for potato salad but are not our first choice for roasting. Blue potatoes are, obviously, blue in color, but the color tends to cook out of them so they’re not our first choice either. White and yellow potatoes both have very similar texture and flavor, but the yellow ones have a deeper, richer color that we like, so those are the ones we use. Any small potato will work fine, though, so see what looks freshest at your grocer. You’ll often find bags of mixed mini potatoes in stores incorporating all four kinds – if you see them pick them up and try them together to see which you like best. Fingerling potatoes would also work great for this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds baby potatoes halved (about 20-24 potatoes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese look for the finely ground kind
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup sour cream or substitute with plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions plus more for garnish
How to Make Crispy Parmesan Crusted Potatoes
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400°F. While it’s warming up, grab a 9×13-inch baking dish and drizzle it with olive oil, tilting the dish to coat the bottom evenly.
Step 2: Combine the grated Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano or thyme, paprika, salt, and black pepper in a bowl.
Step 3: Sprinkle the Parmesan mixture into the oiled baking dish, spreading it out to form an even layer. Don’t touch it after sprinkling.
Step 4: Place the halved potatoes cut side down onto the Parmesan bed, pressing them down slightly to ensure they’re well-coated. Optional: spray the tops of the potatoes with a bit more olive oil.
Step 5: Slide the dish into the preheated oven and roast for about 35-40 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when the potatoes are tender and the Parmesan crusty.
Step 6: Once out of the oven, let the potatoes rest in the dish for about 5 minutes. Garnish with additional chopped green onions.
FAQs & Tips
the great thing about these potatoes is the combination of the chewiness and crunch from the cheesy crust, so they’re best served as freshly made as possible to really showcase that. You can always prepare the potatoes up to step 4 above and put them aside until it’s time to roast them.
The powdered parmesan on your grocer’s shelf is quite different from real parmesan cheese. It often contains cellulose powder, oils and flavor enhancers. They’re all safe food additives, but you’ll get a bolder, bigger flavor from good quality cheese, even if it isn’t cave-aged Parmigiano Reggiano. These potatoes will be delicious with whichever grade of cheese you choose, as long as it’s finely grated.
You don’t have to, but it’ll enhance the dish by crisping up the skins on the potatoes. Pro tip: Invest in an oil spray bottle – you can choose the type of oil in it and they typically produce a 1/4 teaspoon mist per spray, making it easier to control the amount of fat you’re adding. We always have one on hand with extra-virgin olive oil in it.
Once you take the potatoes out of the pan you’ll find that there are bits of crust left behind or flaking off your potatoes. Don’t throw them out… sprinkle them on top of the serving dish.
Sour cream or Greek yogurt dips both work great. Add a few chives, a little fresh-cracked pepper and some garlic powder and you’re done. Yum!
Serving Suggestions
These potatoes are great as a snack, an appetizer or a side dish with your meat ‘n’ veg. They go particularly well with Chicken Parmesan, in our humble opinion, or a simply grilled steak with compound butter.
Crispy Parmesan Crusted Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds baby potatoes halved (about 20-24 potatoes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese look for the finely ground kind
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup sour cream or substitute with plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. While it’s warming up, grab a 9×13-inch baking dish and drizzle it with olive oil, tilting the dish to coat the bottom evenly.
- Combine the grated Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano or thyme, paprika, salt, and black pepper in a bowl.
- Sprinkle the Parmesan mixture into the oiled baking dish, spreading it out to form an even layer. Don’t touch it after sprinkling.
- Place the halved potatoes cut side down onto the Parmesan bed, pressing them down slightly to ensure they’re well-coated. Optional: spray the tops of the potatoes with a bit more olive oil.
- Slide the dish into the preheated oven and roast for about 35-40 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when the potatoes are tender and the Parmesan crusty.
- Once out of the oven, let the potatoes rest in the dish for about 5 minutes. Garnish with additional chopped green onions.
Nutrition
