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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.
Totally delicious… I could eat half of it all by myself.!! But, I am guessing that the amount of potato is incorrect. 1 pound for 6 people doesn’t seem correct. I used your recipe as a guideline and it was great. Would be interested in the amount of potato you suggest.
Thank you so much! xT
Like a few others I used apple cider vinegar. No problem for my fam. We liked the extra flavor.
They didn’t crisp up after 45 min and I had to use the boiler. Maybe bake instead of convection.
Will definitely make again!!!
Thanks for the feedback Jennifer! xT
Didn’t read the Apple cider very well. Used apple cider vinegar and it was awesome.
I had to turn on the broiler to get the crispy effect but there was nothing left!!!
Hey Jennifer,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and your feedback! Glad the acv worked for you:) xT
Hi! I am planning on making this, but with baby potatoes (thats what we have). Given such, is there any modifications you would recommend (cook time etc)
Thanks! Can’t wait to try
Hi Laura,
You will need to significantly reduce the roast time for baby potatoes, but I haven’t tested this so I don’t know the exact timing. I hope they turn out well for you! xx
Wow, these potatoes were amazing! Great flavor and loved the crispness.
Love to hear this, Wendi!! So glad the recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xT
Loved these. Our guests loved the Sage. Thanks for sharing!
These are, by far, the best potatoes we have ever had. Will chisel this recipe in stone and save it for the ages.
Love to hear this! Thanks so much, Linda! xT
Hi Kate,
Thanks for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
DELICIOUS! Just made and devoured these for Thanksgiving!
Hi Rachelle,
Thanks for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! xx
Can anyone recommend a substitute for apple cider?
You could totally use apple juice! xT
The potatoes ended up being really sour. I used the raw apple cider, do you know what could have gone wrong?
Hi there,
So sorry to hear the potatoes were sour. You used apple cider and not vinegar correct?
So sad to say we made the same mistake and use apple cider vinegar. These potatoes were so sour we couldn’t figure out why until I just reread the recipe and then looked at the comments. Maybe in bold it needs to say NOT apple cider VINEGAR. Our potatoes for Thanksgiving were ruined. I guess I should learn to read…
help! I only have red wine vinegar. in most recipes I would just substitute but I don’t want the RWV to be too overpowering. Do you think it would be ok?
Hi Kathi,
There is no vinegar in this recipe, so I would not recommend using red wine vinegar. Please let me know how I can help! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
Hello! Happy Thanksgiving! Can I cook the potatoes in cider the day before and just finish on the oven on Thanksgiving?
Hi Kelly,
Yes, that will work well for you! Happy Thanksgiving! x
Hi,
I am going to cook these for my holiday party. I am having about 36 people. The recipe only goes up to 20. Thoughts?
Also, I want to cook in cider the day before as well. Do you let them remain in the pot and just put in fridge with the cider and broth or do you discard the liquid and then put in fridge?
Hi,
What ended up working for you? Interested in learning from your results :). Thanks!
Any tips specifically for cooking underneath the turkey? I liked your suggestion in the TG menu post. I already plan on roasting my turkey atop rough cut carrots, celery, and onion, but I could for sure fill in with more small potatoes and this would save me lots of time and a dish. Just not sure if I’d add any liquid or just let the turkey drippings do their thing…also, would they be okay to cook for as long as my 13lb turkey will take? Thanks! (These sound divine as written tho!)
Hi Allison,
It depends what turkey recipe you plan to use, mine has broth under the turkey which will roast the potatoes, so you are going to need some type of liquid. I hope this makes more sense! xx
Is 1 lb of potatoes correct? That is only 2 yukon gold potatoes! Unless I have something wrong….
Hi Michelle,
Sorry for any confusion, it should be about 10 small Yukon gold potatoes:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Ok so doubled would be 20 potatoes not 2 lbs of potatoes?
Yes, I would use 20 small potatoes for doubling!
These. We’re. Amazing!!!!
Hi Traci,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I appreciate you making it and your feedback! x
Loved the recipe but thought the first cooking of the potatoes took a lot of time. Flavors were still great. Tried a second time but par boiled the potatoes. Potatoes then sat for 1 hour so we could do happy hour, then I put them in the oven to roast.
Hi Tony,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I appreciate you making it and your feedback! x
Hi Tieghan! I love your recipes, this is the first place I go when I have to make a meal to share! We are traveling about 4 hours Thanksgiving morning – I see below that you said to make it up to the end of step 3 to travel with – would that work overnight? Could I make up to step 3 and refrigerate it, then travel with it and put it in the oven to roast once there? Thank you so much for being so present with all of us on our journeys with your recipes!!
Hi Michelle,
Thanks so much for your kind message and making so many recipes!! Yes, that would totally work for you! Let me know how these turn out:) xT
That’s very helpful. In essence, you could cook the potatoes in advance, then roast closer to the serving time. When having guest, the more that can be made ahead, is critical to the chef…me and my sanity. Lol
Hi Tieghan,
If I bake the potatoes in the apple cider the day before, should I refrigerate them overnight in the liquid or discard the liquid?
Thank you!!!
Rose
Hi Rose,
I would go ahead and discard the liquid. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT