Well, worry not, because while I love scrumptious meals, I definitely don’t love hours of prep and clean up. And, let’s be honest, who has time for that? Definitely not me…mornings are hectic. Usually by the time I actually set down for breakfast, the preschooler is tearing through the toys, the baby is clawing at whatever breakfast the preschooler has been picking at for the last half hour, and the dog is itching to go out.
Every minute counts when I prep and cook, so I want food…not extra work. If I can get extra time for anything, I want it to be for sleep, not for prepping a meal! If you know my struggle, rest easy – you can get in an extra hour of sleep (or an extra hour to run after the kids) and a delicious and easy breakfast. That’s what we call a win-win!
These easy peasy smashed potatoes are crowd pleasing, easy, and require minimal hands on time.
To me, this is always a perfect accompaniment to breakfast – it replaces the traditional hashbrowns with healthy, homemade, from scratch, option that begs to be placed beneath a runny egg. …but this side doesn’t stop at breakfast. This would be great with some grilled salmon, add the necessary crunch of potatoes beside a burger, or be a family-approved side with just about any meal.
The best part about this meal is that the hardest part is a bit of whacking with a pan – you could even enlist the rest of the family to help out. It will be the most fun a meal has ever been!
- 1 sheet pan
- 1 pot (the heaviest pot you have – for me, I use my stock pot)
- 1 large tea towel (dish towel or flour sack towel, or whatever you call these towels where you live)
- 1 large piece of wax paper, parchment paper, or 2 silpats
- 2 lbs mini potatoes (any variety of organic small potatoes will work)
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- Boil potatoes until tender and allow to cool until they’re cool enough to handle.
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Once cool enough to handle, lay out your tea towel and line with wax paper. Line half of the wax paper with potatoes, leaving 1 inch between potatoes. Fold the tea towel in half, so the potatoes are fully covered with wax paper and the tea towel.
- Take your heavy pot and use it to pound down the potatoes – usually one heavy smack of the pot will work. The thinner you make the potatoes at this point, the crispier they’ll be.
- Transfer smashed potatoes to your sheet pan and drizzle both sides with olive oil. Top with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Place in oven for 30 minutes, flipping once after 15 minutes. If you like your potatoes super crispy, feel free to leave them in for a couple of minutes extra.
- Serve hot and top with shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, hot sauce, or any of your other favourite toppings.
Comments 2
These look so delicious. My kids love potatoes but I have never tried smashed potatoes. Thanks for the recipe!
Smashed potatoes sound both delicious and fun to make!