A Glug of Oil

Easy and delicious recipes including midweek dinner ideas, English and world cuisine

Crispy Roast Potatoes

How to make Roast Potatoes Crispy

In this recipe, you will learn how to get your roasties crunchy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the in.

Crispy roast potatoes pictured in a roasting dish.
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*Post updated November 2022*

No messing about, no air fryer, no flour, and no fancy goose or duck fat involved!

You'll be pleased to know it's actually really very simple and involves nothing tricky or fancy.

No need to buy any special kitchenware, although you will need a decent non-stick roasting dish.

Yesterday I posted on FaceBook and Instagram this picture was taken on my phone if you please. It got such a good response that I decided to share my secret.

Now, I've had this ScanPan for almost 7 years and use it every Sunday and a few times during the week for one thing or another, and I still love it.

Which oil to use

The best oil to use for crispy roast potatoes is actually 'Cookeen' although sadly that hasn't been available to buy for ages now - at least I haven't seen it.

So, I now use Crisp 'N Dry - the block, NOT the oil version.

Anyway, without further ado, here's my secret to perfectly crispy roast potatoes; every time.

No fuss, nothing tricky at all to this, nobody likes a soggy bland-looking roast potato!

Give this a go and do let me know how it went in the comments below.

To make crispy roast potatoes, the temperature of the oven needs to be hot. 

If the oven is too hot, the potatoes will burn before they crisp up.

If the oven temperature is too cold, your potatoes will not be crispy.

What oven temperature?

You need to preheat your oven to 220°C (200° fan) or 425°F/Gas7

Use Crisp 'n Dry block not the oil.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces large enough for two or three bites; any less and they will be all crust and no spud.

Put them in a large lidded saucepan of cold (not hot) salted water, (the amount of salt is your preference) I use a good tablespoon).

Top Tips!

  • Crispy roasties do not mean you need to use duck or goose fat.
  • Parboil the potatoes first! Parboil means to 'part boil' so it's boiling water but then lowering in heat and cooking the potatoes until they start to fluff on the sides. This will increase the surface area for the oil to stick and therefore crisp the potatoes when roasting. 
  • Partly cover with a lid and bring to a boil, cook for five minutes or so, and drain. Be careful not to cook too long, or you'll just end up with mush.
  • Drain well and with a lid on the pan, take the pan of potatoes in both hands and give it a couple of good, but gentle shakes. The idea is to fluff the edges of the spuds up so that they become crisp and frilly as they roast, that is the key to success.
  • Now leave the lid off and pop back on an unheated part of the stovetop to allow the potatoes to dry out a bit.
  • Add the Crisp 'N Dry as mentioned in the recipe summary above into a good quality non-stick roasting pan and put it into the oven for a couple of minutes to melt.
  • Now carefully put the potatoes into the hot fat and turn them until they're well covered, spooning over the hot fat as you turn them.
  • Baste them again with the hot fat after about 30 minutes, turn them over and baste again. Continue to bake them until they're gold and crispy.
  • They will take about 50 minutes to an hour. If they take longer, then so they do, you can't rush good food!
  • Try to move them only once or twice during cooking, otherwise, the edges won't go crisp and brown.
  • Serve immediately.
Here are some more potato recipes you might like.

Crispy roast potatoes in a roasting dish.

All you need now is Air Fryer Roast Pork with Crispy Crackling!

Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!

How to make crispy roast potatoes, crispy roast potatoes recipe, oven roasted potatoes, good food,
Christmas, Sunday, side
British
Yield: N/A
Author: Jan Bennett
How to Make Crispy Roast Potatoes

How to Make Crispy Roast Potatoes

Use around a 4-5 cm slice from a block of Crisp 'N Dry.
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 50 MinTotal time: 1 H & 5 M

Ingredients

  • A floury variety of potatoes such as Maris Piper potatoes or King Edward - as many as you fancy - personally, I prefer Maris Piper (Yukon gold potatoes)
  • Crisp 'n Dry block version - not the oil

Instructions

Parboil the potatoes
  1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces large enough for two or three bites; any less and they will be all crust and no spud.
  2. Put them in a saucepan of cold (not hot) salted water, (the amount of salt is your preference - I use a good tablespoon).
  3. Now partly cover with a lid and bring to a boil, cook for five minutes or so, and drain. Be careful not to cook too long, or you'll just end up with mush.
  4. Drain well and, with a lid on the pan, take the pan of potatoes in both hands and give it a couple of good but gentle shakes.
  5. The idea is to fluff the edges of the spuds up so that they become crisp and frilly as they roast, this is the key to success.
  6. Now leave the lid off and put it back on an unheated part of the stovetop to dry out a bit.
Preheat the oven to 220°C (200° fan) or 425°F/Gas7
  1. Add the Crisp 'N Dry to your non-stick roasting pan and put it into the oven for a couple of minutes to melt.
  2. Now carefully put the potatoes into the hot fat and turn them until they're well covered, spooning over the hot fat as you turn them.
  3. Baste them again with the hot fat after about 25 minutes, turn them over and continue to bake them until they're gold and crispy. Try to move them only once or twice during cooking, otherwise, the edges won't go crisp and brown.
  4. They will take about 45 minutes to an hour. If they take longer, then so they do, you can't rush good food! Serve immediately.
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