Combine four simple ingredients to make crispy, crunchy smashed potatoes! These smashed potatoes are tender on the inside, crispy on the outside and smothered with pesto and cheese for the perfect easy side dish.
Sometimes the best recipes are the easiest! These delightful Pesto Smashed Potatoes are loaded with garlicky, basil flavor and perfectly seasoned with your favorite cheese. Truly, these little wonders will be a family favorite in no time!
In addition to being a great side dish, they also work well for meal prep. Simply boil the potatoes ahead of time and store them in the fridge. Then smash, bake and season for a fresh, flavorful side dish!
Ingredients for Pesto Smashed Potatoes
As always you will find the complete recipe and instructions below, simply keep scrolling. This is a quick overview of the four basic ingredients (plus salt and pepper!) you will need below:
- Small red potatoes
- Olive oil
- Pesto
- Shredded cheese: Mozzarella, cheddar, Colby-Jack, asiago, parmesan or a mixture
How to make Crispy Smashed Potatoes
This is a twist on the smash potato, also called crash potato, that has been floating around Pinterest for a while. The process is pretty simple, you just need to follow these steps:
- Simply boil your potatoes until they’re fork tender before smashing them onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season well. It is important not to skip this step because the oil gives a wonderful crispy texture!
- Roast until you achieve that wonderfully crispy shell and soft middle, then add your pesto and cheese (or whatever your chosen topping may be!)
Tips and Tricks for the Best Smashed Potatoes
- Use small potatoes: To get the perfect smashed potatoes, pick out small potatoes so they can be smashed flat. Essentially, the flatter the potato, the crispier the texture.
- Don’t rush: Don’t rush cooking your potatoes and ensure they’re truly fork tender so they can be smashed with ease.
- Smash! Don’t simply press the potatoes down, really smash the potatoes so they are a nice, thin texture.
Recipe Substitutions
One of the best things about smashed potatoes is hands-down their versatility, and the topping options here really are endless! While I love the combination of pesto and cheese, you can create many other versions of this dish! Some other topping ideas include:
- Cooked chopped bacon
- Chopped ham
- Chives or green onions
- Buffalo sauce
- Cheese: gruyere, asiago, swiss, parmesan, pepper-jack, sharp cheddar
- Melted garlic butter
Other Easy Side Dish Recipes
Pesto Smashed Potatoes
These crispy Pesto Smashed Potatoes are the perfect quick and easy gluten free side dish.
Ingredients
- 8 small red potatoes
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425
- Place potatoes in a medium size pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Let the potatoes boil until they are fork tender, approximately 15 minutes (The more tender they are the easier they are to smash)
- When potatoes are tender drain and rinse with cool water, set aside.
- Lightly spray a cookie sheet with oil.
- Place potatoes on cookie sheet using a potato masher or metal measuring cup carefully smash the potatoes.
- Top each with pesto and mozzarella.
- Bake 15-20 minutes until golden and crisp
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 2 potatoesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 228Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 302mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 5gSugar: 4gProtein: 11g
To avoid any confusion I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it is not known to affect blood glucose levels. To calculate Keto recipes listed on this site carbs - fiber = net carbs. I use Nutrifox as my nutrition calculator. This nutrition information is an estimate based on the information provided by Nutrifox and the specific ingredients I used.
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