Tips on Making PERFECT Garlicky Roasted Potatoes (Easy and Delicious)!

CRISPY on the outside.

CREAMY on the inside.

And GARLICKY all over.

I’ve been making this garlicky roasted potatoes recipe for almost a decade and it’s a family favorite! Now, make them your family’s favorite!

Let’s get into it!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links for products I use and love. If you make a purchase after clicking one of those links, I may earn a small affiliate commission, perhaps enough to buy some extra gochujang or gochugaru 🙂

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Why Roasted Potatoes?

Because I cannot live through the holidays without roasted potatoes…?

Because they’re literally one of my family’s favorite things and they ask for them all the time…?

Because there’s really no way to go wrong with the word “potato” in the recipe?

Whatever reason you accept, I wanted to pull together all the little tips and tricks I’ve used over the years to absolutely perfect my roasted potatoes recipe. This way, you can show up to your holiday meal with a platter that’ll make everyone drool. These roasted potatoes are honestly so good, they’ll likely be the first platter that’ll be emptied. Don’t you want to be that person? The one that can say, “Yeah, sorry, my dish is all gone.” (I love being that person.)

Tips on Making the Garlicky Roasted Potatoes.

Ok, like I said, I’ve been making these roasted potatoes for a long time. Here are all the tricks I’ve used to make them perfect.

Tip #1: Pick Waxier Potatoes.

Use a waxier variety of potato, like golden Yukon or red potatoes. Avoid russet potatoes, as they are very starchy and will have trouble crisping in the oven.

Tip #2: Peel Your Potatoes.

I’ve made this using unpeeled and peeled potatoes and have concluded that peeling your potatoes is best. Why? When you roast the potatoes, the peels tend to fall away from the potato, which means that all the lovely sauce you made also tends to fall away from the potato. What the heck?

Tip #3: Par-Boil Your Potatoes.

Many many recipes call for roasting your potatoes without boiling them first. I’ve done that. And what can I say? They never ever turn out as good as when I par-boil them. In fact, both my mother-in-law and a good friend (hi Deborah!) have noted that the par-boiling makes all the difference with these roasted potatoes. BTW, “par-boil” is just a fancy way of saying “pre-boil.”

Tip #4: Add Baking Soda.

Adding just a bit of baking soda will help break down the potatoes as they cook, making them more prone to getting nice and texture as they roast.

Tip #5: Don’t Wait for the Water to Boil.

Adding your potatoes to not yet boiling water will also help to ensure your potatoes cook evenly and don’t get mealy. This also saves some time, since you can get to cooking your potatoes right from the get-go instead of waiting for the water to boil.

Tip #6: Don’t Overboil Your Potatoes.

Make sure you don’t overcook your potatoes—you want them to be fork tender, but still able to retain their shape!

Tip #7: Preheat Your Baking Sheet.

Place your baking sheet in the oven while it’s preheating, so that you get that nice sizzle when you transfer the potatoes over to the oven.

Tip #8: Don’t Burn the Garlic.

In lieu of adding garlic directly to your potatoes while they cook in the oven (which will almost certainly cause them to burn), infuse a little butter with garlic and herbs and drizzle the butter over the roasted spuds right before serving!

Key Ingredients and Notes on Substitutions for Garlicky Roasted Potatoes.

These garlicky roasted potatoes are very straightforward to make. However, they do include a few surprising ingredients. Let’s take a look:

Waxy Potatoes.

As I mentioned in Tip #1, unlike mashed potatoes, you want waxier, less starchy spuds for this roasted potatoes recipe. Why? They’ll crisp up more in the oven. I find Yukon golds to be perfect for this recipe and they are my spud of choice. However, red potatoes can also great (I personally find them too waxy). Whatever you do, don’t get the russets for this recipe. They won’t turn out that great (I’ve tried it and they really were not as good as I knew they could be).

Baking Soda.

As I mentioned in Tip #4, a little baking soda when you par-boil your potatoes will help to break them down. This, in turn, will help to create texture when you coat them with the roasting sauce. However, I’ve made these roasted potatoes with and without the baking soda. While they’re definitely slightly better with, it’s almost an unnoticeable difference. Thus, if you don’t have baking soda, you can totally skip it.

Mayonnaise.

Wait. Whut?

I know. I know. But TRUST ME ON THIS.

The fattiness of mayonnaise will help the sauce adhere to your potatoes far more effectively than oil. Not only that, I love the flavor that mayo imparts. I use Follow Your Heart’s Vegenaise for this recipe, but you can use whatever mayo you like.

That said, if you can’t bring yourself to try mayo, you can definitely substitute with vegetable oil. I know, I know, you want to use extra virgin olive oil, and you definitely can. However, I find the flavor of olive oil to be a little too disruptive to this dish and prefer vegetable oil (if I’m not using mayo). But you do you!

Seasoning.

The recipe calls for flavoring your roasting sauce with dried herbs (like dried oregano, dried rosemary, or a blend of dried Italian herbs), as well as garlic powder. Why? I don’t like to add fresh garlic to the potatoes. Garlic can be fairly fragile and will burn at the high temperatures our oven will reach (in order to achieve that crispy exterior). Burnt garlic isn’t exactly pleasant, in my view. Thus, instead of using garlic, I use garlic powder in my sauce to impart “garlickiness” while the potatoes are cooking.

You can, of course, use whatever blend you like. Smoked paprika, cayenne, onion powder, mustard powder–these are all candidates for making these potatoes your own.

Butter.

Adding an infused butter at the end is what’s going to make these more flavorful than any other roasted potatoes recipe you’ve ever tried. Trust me. You’re going to love the buttery garlickiness of these potatoes. I use Earth Balance or Country Crock for my dairy-free butter, but you can also use extra virgin olive oil if you want to avoid butter.

Garlic.

Ok, I really can’t, in good conscience, call these roasted potato “garlicky” without including some actual garlic, right? But no, we don’t need 10 cloves of garlic–just two. Why? Because we’re going to infuse the aforementioned butter with all the garlic flavor of those two cloves and then drizzle the taters with the butter sauce right before serving.

Fresh Rosemary.

In addition to infusing the butter with garlic, we’re also going to add just a sprig of rosemary. This will add that “elegance” you want in your roasted potatoes. If you don’t have rosemary, drop a sprig of thyme or sage. If you don’t have fresh herbs handy, no worries–you already added dried herbs to the roasting sauce!

Step-by-Step Instructions for Making Garlicky Roasted Potatoes.

As I’ve mentioned, these roasted potatoes are very easy and before you know it, you’ll be able to make ’em in your sleep. So, let’s get to it!

Step 1.

Add your chopped and peeled potatoes, along with baking soda, and salt to a large pot of water. Bring your water to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 450° F. Add vegetable oil to a large baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven while it is preheating.

Step 2.

Make your roasting sauce by whisking together mayonnaise, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and black pepper. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, drain and pat dry. Place them back in the pot they were cooking in and add mayo mixture. Pop the lid back on the pot and shake until the potatoes are evenly coated.

Step 3.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven (remember to use oven mitts!!) and pour your potatoes onto the baking sheet. You should hear a delightful sizzle. Spread the potatoes out so they are all in one layer, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Place in the oven and roast until they are golden brown on the bottom (about 15 minutes).

Step 4.

While your potatoes are roasting, add your butter, garlic, and rosemary to a small sauce pot over low heat. Allow the butter to stay warm while soaking up the flavors of the garlic and rosemary.

Step 5.

Once the bottoms of your potatoes are golden brown, carefully flip the potatoes and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes, until all sides are evenly brown. Remove from the oven and pour the potatoes into a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the infused butter (lose the garlic cloves and rosemary sprig!) and toss until the potatoes are evenly coated.

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