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Easiest Crispy Brown Butter Sage Smashed Potatoes. Made simply with small potatoes, butter, sage, thyme, garlic, a bit of cheese, and of course, some flaky sea salt plus black pepper. These crispy potatoes are perfect and so delicious. The secret, cooking the potatoes in apple cider until they are extra soft. Then quickly smashing them down and roasting them up with fresh herbs. As the potatoes bake away, the edges of the potatoes get crispy, while the middle of the potato turns buttery. With hints of sage, thyme, parmesan, and garlic throughout, these easy-to-make potatoes are sure to be a hit. I highly suggest doubling the recipe – one batch is just never enough.
I am so excited to share these potatoes. This recipe is a part of our 2023 Thanksgiving Menu and Guide. And it might just be my very favorite dish on the menu. In our family, the turkey is not the main event, it’s all about the sides. And the potatoes are one of the most important sides.
My brothers, my mom, my dad, everyone. We all love delicious potatoes with any meal, but of course, no Thanksgiving menu would ever be complete without potatoes. Most years I go with classic mashed potatoes, but this year, mashed potatoes felt kind of fussy, and honestly, a little boring. Like we’ve all been there and done that. They’re great, but are they really the yummiest?
Maybe not.
Some of you may recall a few weeks ago I shared my cider braised pot roast. The recipe included potatoes that baked right on top of the roast. They ended up being some of the easiest and most delicious potatoes I’ve ever made.
This inspired me to create a recipe for just the potatoes, and slow roasting them in cider is the secret here. Wow, this is the easiest recipe. Nothing fancy here and no peeling is required! We just love that. I’m anticipating that you ALL will LOVE these potatoes this holiday season.
Hopefully, you’ll make these for Thanksgiving, and then again for your Christmas celebrations!
The details
Step 1: get the potatoes cooked
This is the easiest process. Just place the potatoes in a roasting pan with a lid. Pour over the apple cider and then use either broth or a dry white wine. Cover, then bake for a long while, 45 minutes to an hour. You want to get the potatoes really soft – this is key – they should be easily smashable.
No need to peel or chop these potatoes. Just give them a good rinse, cover them, and bake away. Baking the potatoes in the cider is what keeps them from drying out. But it also cooks them really well and gets them ready for smashing. The cider also adds really great flavor.
Step 2: Mash/smash the potatoes
Pull the potatoes out of the baking dish and place them onto a baking sheet. Smash them down with a potato masher, or use a fork. Add pats of butter on and around the potatoes, then parmesan, garlic powder, thyme, and fresh sage.
Roast the smashed potatoes until they are very crispy. The butter naturally browns around each potato. It’s almost magical and most definitely the yummiest!
Step 3: serve
When the potatoes are crispy, they’re done. Spoon the butter over the potatoes, then season them well with pepper and sea salt.
I love to arrange the potatoes on a serving plate topped with crispy herbs and a pinch of extra flaky sea salt.
As the potatoes bake away in the oven, the kitchen will smell incredible. Buttery, with hints of garlic, sage, and thyme in the air.
And even better than the smell, these potatoes really are so good. It’s the crispy chip-like edges and sweet, soft centers – DELICIOUS! And the sea salt on top just makes them addicting.
I’m excited to serve these up for Thanksgiving this year, the options for these potatoes are endless. They can be paired with so many types of dinners, beef tenderloin would be especially delicious!
My only recommendation is to double the recipe, one pan of potatoes never seems to be enough. They’re always the first thing to disappear on the table.
Looking for other potato dishes? Here are my favorites:
Crispy Parmesan Thyme Sweet Potato Stacks
Crockpot Cheesy Mashed Potatoes with Caramelized Onions
Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole with Sweet ‘n’ Savory Bacon Pecans
Baked Sweet Potato Parmesan Tater Tots
Crispy Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon Maple Butter
Lastly, if you make these Crispy Brown Butter Sage Smashed Potatoes, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crispy Brown Butter Sage Smashed Potatoes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 186 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound small to medium potatoes (yukon or russet potatoes)
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 cup chicken broth or dry white wine
- sea salt and black pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
- 2 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.2. Arrange the potatoes in a casserole dish with a lid. Pour over the apple cider and wine/broth. Cover and roast for 45 minutes, until very soft.3. Crank the heat on the oven to 425° F. Remove the potatoes, placing them on a baking sheet. Using the back of a fork or a potato masher, smash each potato. Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil. Arrange slices of butter on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle each with parmesan, garlic powder, then add the sage and thyme. Roast until the potatoes are crispy, 20-25 minutes. 4. Spoon the butter and sage over the potatoes. Season with sea salt and pepper. Serve immediately, sprinkling the crispy herbs overtop.
Hi! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Just wondering if I can use foil instead of a lid to cover the potatoes since my casserole pan doesn’t have a lid?
Hi Makena,
Yes, that would be just fine for you to do! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Hi Tieghan, thanks so much! I tried this out with a deepish smaller glass pan covering with foil and cooked the potatoes for an hour, but I don’t think they were quite soft enough when I smashed them…so they turned out to be a little dry…could just be me🙃I may have missed something. Any other recommendations for using something other than a casserole pan with a lid…maybe a Dutch oven?
P.S. The flavor was delicious and I definitely am making these for thanksgiving😊
You could reduce the cook time, but you really do want them to be soft for smashing and then the butter should give them a good amount of moisture!
Hi I’m confused with the last step where you spoon butter over potatoes. Is it the butter that’s already in the pan?
Hi Angela,
Yes, that is correct:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Hello! I love everything you make! Is it possible to make this same recipe using sweet potatoes instead?
Tieghan ! We use your recipes constantly in our home and absolutely love what you create ; thank you for making your delicious mark on the world ! Enjoyed this recipe but not sure what the apple cider was for as we didn’t taste a hint of it ??? Thanks again !
Hey Aimee,
Thanks so much for trying so many recipes!! I think the apple cider adds a depth and sweetness, sorry you didn’t find that with this recipe!! xx
Hey Carolina,
Thanks so much!! Sure, sweet potatoes would work, I would just test them while roasting, they are probably going to get softer faster and will be more delicate. I hope you love this recipe! xx
Can I substitute the apple cider for cloudy apple juice?
Hi Kristine,
That should work! You could also just use additional broth:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Hi,
These look so yummy! If you don’t like cider, could you use broth instead??
Thanks so much Donna! Yes, you can just use additional broth in place of the apple cider:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hi Tieghan,
I am going to make these potatoes for Thanksgiving, but I do not know what happens with the skin? Do you scoop out what you have mashed? Leaving the skin?
Thank you!
Nancy
Hi Nancy,
You are leaving the skin, this will get eaten:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
That pic of you with Martha has to be chapping a lot of hater/hatter hides, and I am SO HERE FOR IT. 👍🏻💪🏻❤️ Go on. You have officially hit the big time and the hate wave is going to keep coming like a tsunami. Ride it out, girl. You have already won.
Thanks Jaria:) It really was such a surreal moment! Have a great day! xx
Where is the olive oil used?
Hey Jen,
Sorry for any confusion! The olive oil is going to be used in step 3. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
These look incredible! If we are making them at home and bringing them to a family gathering, what’s the best way to transport/store & reheat for dinner?
Thanks Marissa! I would make them just up until the end of step 3, cover with foil to transport, and then finish baking for dinner. I hope this helps! xx
Yum…looks delicious! Can you use vegetable broth to replace chicken broth or white wine? TY
Hi Kristina,
Totally, vegetable broth would be just fine for you to use! Let me know if you give this recipe a try:) xx
Could you do the roasting part earlier in the day, smash and set aside? Then later closer to dinner season them and put in the oven to crisp them up?
Can these be made ahead of time?
Hi Polly,
Totally, you could make them just up until the end of step 3, cover them with foil, then finish step 3 baking them when you want to serve. Let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
Hey Jennifer,
Sure, that would also work nicely for you! Let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Can’t wait to try these! They look so delicious!
As I age and my taste buds dull, the look of food is critical for whetting my appetite. Thank you for the time you spend photographing your appealing recipes!
Thanks a bunch for your kind message Jan! I hope you love these potatoes:) xx
Is there a substitute for the apple cider?
Hi Carole,
You could just use additional wine/broth in place of the apple cider. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hi. This recipe sounds terrific! Just curious. You have 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil in the ingredients, but I don’t see where to use it/add it. Maybe spread onto baking sheet before putting potatoes down to be smashed? Thanks.
Thanks so much Susan!! So sorry, the olive oil is going to be used in step 3, I fixed the recipe:) I hope you love it! xT
Can I just cover the potatoes with foil since I don’t have a lid?
Hi Cindy,
Yes, that would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe! xx
The seasoning an and toppings on these potatoes sound good but there are no instructions for the brown butter or how much of the butter should be used for that.
The slices of butter you put on top of the potatoes in Step 3 turn into browned butter as the potatoes bake.
Thanks Mary!!
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try. Silly question.. did you peel potatoes, or keep skin on?
Thanks Jane!! You are going to leave the skin on:) I hope you love this recipe! xx
Hi Celeste,
You are going to use 1 stick of butter and arrange the butter slices over the potatoes in step 3. When you serve, pour the remaining melted butter over the potatoes. I hope this makes sense! xT