Baby red potatoes are boiled until fork tender, coated in cajun spices, then smashed and baked until extra crispy. Finished off with a drizzle of creamy creole sauce, these potatoes make one irresistible side dish that your family will ask for again and again!
Smashed potatoes are fun to make (who doesn't like smashing things from time to time?!), go great with just about anything, and are simple enough to make any time.
If you know me or are a fan of the blog, you know I love to add a bit of cajun flavor to my recipes when I can. These potatoes are no exception, with a spicy seasoning blend and a delicious creamy creole sauce added that give them the perfect amount of spice! My family is crazy about these crispy potatoes and I bet yours will be too!
Table of Contents
Ingredients You Need to Make This Recipe
Creole Sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Creole mustard
- One clove of fresh garlic
- Fresh lemon juice
- Worcestershire sauce
- Hot sauce, like Frank's Red Hot
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Paprika
- Italian seasoning
- Cayenne pepper
Potatoes
- Baby red potatoes. This recipe calls for one pound of baby red potatoes. Make sure you use baby potatoes as regular red potatoes are too large for this recipe.
- Olive oil. You will need two tablespoons of extra virgin or light-tasting olive oil to coat the potatoes in.
- Salt and cracked black pepper. The amount of these seasonings used depends on your personal preference. Adjust to taste.
- Garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, paprika, and cayenne pepper. These spices create a flavorful cajun spice blend for the potatoes.
- Chopped fresh chives. The chives are sprinkled over top of the finished potatoes for added freshness and flavor.
How to Make These Potatoes
Creole Sauce
- To a medium mixing bowl, add mayo, creole mustard, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, paprika, Italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper.
- Use a small whisk or fork to mix all the ingredients until combined. Refrigerate the sauce while you prepare the potatoes.
Potatoes
- Boil potatoes in water until easily pierced with a fork. Drain potatoes and allow them to dry out for about for about 10 minutes. Allowing the potatoes to dry helps them bake up extra crispy.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 °C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
- Transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl, add olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Toss everything together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until all potatoes are coated with the oil and spices.
- Transfer potatoes to the prepared baking sheet. Do not discard the oil and spices leftover in the bowl. Use the back of a ½ cup measuring cup to smash each potato, being careful not to break them apart. If a few break apart it is fine, just try to keep them intact.
- Brush the tops of the potatoes with the remaining oil and spices leftover in the bowl used to coat the potatoes. Bake potatoes in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, until crispy and dark golden brown.
- Drizzle potatoes with creole sauce and sprinkle chopped chives over top. Enjoy!
What Potatoes Work Best for This Recipe?
Any waxy potato, such as red-skinned potatoes, blue, purple, and fingerling potatoes, work great for this recipe. The reason waxy potatoes work well is that we first boil the potatoes before baking them, and waxy potatoes hold their shape better than starchy potatoes when boiled.
The trick is getting cute little smashed potato rounds. To do this I highly recommend baby potatoes for this recipe. You can typically find a variety of baby potatoes bagged up near the loose potatoes in the produce section of your grocer. They may be labeled petite potatoes.
How to Get Extra Crispy Potatoes
To get the crispiest potatoes they need to be baked at a high temperature until they are extra crispy and browned. I have found that baking them at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-45 minutes yields the crispiest potato.
Another trick to crispy smashed potatoes is allowing the potatoes to dry out after removing them from the boiling water. This allows some of the moisture to evaporate, helping them bake up super crispy!
Variations of This Recipe
The great thing about smashed potatoes is that they can be transformed into something completely different by adding different toppings and sauces! Try adding some of these toppings to your smashed potatoes:
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Bacon
- Chorizo
- Pesto
- Aioli
Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions
The potatoes can be boiled and drained up to two days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to bake. When ready to bake, just coat the potatoes in the oil and spices, smash, and bake as directed.
The creole sauce can be also be prepared a day or two ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Leftover smashed potatoes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. I recommend reheating the potatoes in the oven so that they remain crispy.
Recommended Tools for This Recipe
More Cajun Recipes You Will Love!
Cheesy Cajun Chicken and Sausage Dip
Authentic Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
📖 Recipe
Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Creole Sauce
Ingredients
Creole Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon creole mustard - or whole grain mustard
- 1 garlic clove - minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce - such as Frank's Red Hot
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Potatoes
- 1 pound baby red potatoes - rinsed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil - extra virgin or light tasting
- Salt and cracked black pepper - to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Chopped chives and flaked salt - for topping
Instructions
Creole Sauce
- To a medium mixing bowl, add mayo, creole mustard, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, paprika, Italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper.
- Use a small whisk or fork to mix all the ingredients until combined. Refrigerate the sauce while you prepare the potatoes.
Potatoes
- Boil potatoes in water until easily pierced with a fork. Drain potatoes and allow them to dry out for about for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (232 °C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
- Transfer potatoes to a large mixing bowl, add olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Toss everything together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until all potatoes are coated with the oil and spices.
- Transfer potatoes to the prepared baking sheet. Do not discard the oil and spices leftover in the bowl. Use the back of a ½ cup measuring cup to smash each potato, being careful not to break them apart. If a few break apart it is fine, just try to keep them intact.
- Brush the tops of the potatoes with the remaining oil and spices leftover in the bowl used to coat the potatoes. Bake potatoes in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes, until crispy and dark golden brown.
- Drizzle potatoes with creole sauce and sprinkle chopped chives over top. Enjoy!
Notes
- Leftover smashed potatoes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. I recommend reheating the potatoes in the oven so that they remain crispy.
- See blog post for other important tips and suggestions.
Aimee Shugarman
My family freaking LOVES these! making again tonight (for probably the 10th time just this year! So good.
Ashley Boyd
These are the comments I live for Aimee! I'm so happy your family loves the smashed potatoes. Thank you for your continued support!
Marlon Boyd
My little one love these and they are hard to stop eating! Quick and easy recipe
Ashley Boyd
Hi Marlon,
This comment makes me so happy! Thank you for trying the recipe!