Roasted Red Potatoes Recipe {Oven Baked with Crispy Skin} (2024)

FAQs

Why aren't my oven roasted potatoes crispy? ›

If roasted potatoes lack their crunchy sheen, overcrowding is usually the culprit. Just as overcrowding bacon or mushrooms in a saucepan causes disappointingly mushy results, placing potatoes too close to each other on a baking sheet will prevent them from crisping while they roast.

Keep potatoes crisp in a warm oven if you're serving them in 1-2 hours. If there is a slight wait before everyone eats, don't cover the crispy potatoes—this traps steam which will make the potatoes soggy. Just keep them in the oven, but turn the temperature to the lowest setting.

The key to making a good baked potato is getting really crispy skin. If you wrap the potatoes in foil, the potato skins will shrivel and soften in the oven. For the best results, leave the potatoes unwrapped. Don't skimp on the salt.

Red potatoes tend to be smaller and waxy. Their higher moisture and lower starch content are great for boiling or roasting, and they manage to hold their shape well. These properties tend to make them less desirable for a baked potato, which should be a little larger in size and easy to fluff up on the interior.

The crisp plate heats up extra fast, and it heats the dish from the bottom. You can use this function for a crispy crust on your pizza, but also for a crispy layer on your lasagna, chicken, or a delicious oven dish. You can also use the crisp function to make your oven fries extra crispy.

The broil setting on your oven cooks food quickly with direct heat—typically at 550°F (289°C)—and produces a seared finish that's similar to grilling. Smaller or countertop ovens usually preheat to the broiling temp faster, so you can quickly finish baked or slow-roasted dishes with crisp browned edges.

Also, be mindful of the oil. Potatoes can react like sponges; too much oil can make your potatoes appear to be soggy. Try placing oil in a spray bottle or using an aerosol to apply the oil to the potatoes. Lastly, ensure that the potatoes are dry before you add the oil.

Here's a few tricks to try to make them even more delicious. Sprinkle your parboiled potatoes with flour. This gives potatoes extra crunch. A tablespoon is all you need!

Neutral, low-cost oil such as vegetable oil, canola oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc., work well for roasting. These oils have a high smoke point, allowing the potatoes to get very hot to achieve maximum crispiness.

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.

Should I salt potatoes before baking? ›

If you want baked potatoes with crispy skins, you need to bake them unwrapped. Wrapping potatoes in foil makes the skins soft since the foil traps steam inside. Be generous with the salt. Use a coarse salt, such as flaked sea salt or coarse Kosher salt and generously sprinkle it all over the potatoes before baking.

Potato baking temperatures range from 350˚ to 450˚F. The sweet spot seems to be at 400˚F, a temperature that cooks the potato all the way through and crisps the skin without singeing it. That said, you don't need to strictly adhere to a certain temperature every time you bake a potato.

Red potatoes are less starchy than white, so they're perfect for roasting since they have an easier time crisping up. Since white (russet) potatoes have a higher starch content, they're usually better for mashing or baking.

You don't need to peel red potatoes since the skins are thin and tender, but they should be rinsed to remove dirt. Don't Crowd the Pan. This is the cardinal rule of Oven Roasted Vegetables. If you don't leave enough space around the potatoes for the air to circulate, they will steam instead of crisp.

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.

Roasted potatoes can become soggy if the water content in the potato isn't fully cooked. Different potatoes have different water content percentages. Also, be mindful of the oil. Potatoes can react like sponges; too much oil can make your potatoes appear to be soggy.

In the anomaly, very-high solid potato little water resides within, hence nothing to permeate around or within the solids' cells to cook the potato, no matter how long exposed to surrounding, external heat medium such as baking or boiling - explaining the hard or crunchy potatoes texture described.

Top Tip: Give each potato enough space to ensure it cooks evenly. Overcrowding the tray can cause the potatoes to steam rather than roast, resulting in a soft and soggy texture rather than crispy. Season your potatoes and put them back in the oven.

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.