Parmesan Smashed Potatoes leave ordinary mashed potatoes in the dust. Everyone will rave.
There is nothing like an amazing side dish on holidays. With Thanksgiving coming up my mind has been preoccupied with side dishes lately.
One of my favourite side dishes of all time are potatoes. Any way you serve them, I’m the first in line for potatoes. Whether boiled, mashed, roasted, smashed or any other form, I’m a fan.
My daughter is a wicked picky eater. She always has been, since birth she’s had a very strange quirk about textures. She didn’t like the texture of meat, but loved vegetables.
Lucky for me she grew out of the meat thing, but she’s never grown out of loving vegetables. I love that about her, among so many other reasons I adore her.
She absolutely loves smashed potatoes. I make a gazillion variations of them but she’s partial to my garlic smashed potatoes. She never grows tired of them.
However the rest of us like a variety in our diet, so I’m always playing around with ways to change the recipe up a little bit. A little this, a little that, and it’s a whole new recipe.
I had a big hunk of fresh parmesan in the fridge while I was making a big Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. So I decided to make good use of it. I’m not one to let parmesan go to waste.
So I made my daughter her garlic smashed potatoes, then whipped up another batch for the rest of us with fresh parmesan over top. They were amazing.
So if you like cheesy potatoes, this recipe is for you. The more cheese you pile on top, the better. They go great with turkey, or roast beef if you’re thinking Christmas, even ham if you’re thinking Easter. They couldn’t be simpler to make, and since they’re so customizable, you can make ’em yours with hardly any effort.
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Parmesan Smashed Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Baby Potatoes Try to get yellow flesh potatoes
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil Use garlic infused olive oil if you have it
- Salt To taste, about 1 teaspoon
- White Pepper To taste, about 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
- 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese Divided
- 2 teaspoons Dried Parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Place baby potatoes in a large stock potand fill with water so it just covers the potatoes. Salt the water generously.
- Place on stove and turn heat on high, bring the water to a boil, turn heat down to medium heat and continue to cook for about 15 minutes. You want the potatoes to be fork tender but not falling apart. Depending on the size of your potatoes it can take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, or so.
- Drain the water from the potatoes, and rinse them. Place the potatoes on the cookie sheet once they’ve cooled slightly.That way theycan be handled without burning your hands.
- Take the underside of a water glass and lightly press it down on each potato until you break the skin and slightly flatten each one. Continue until all the potatoes are "smashed". I’ve tried a bunch of ways to smash them and I find a nice, heavy water glass with a flat bottom works perfectly.
- Pour olive oil over top of the potatoes evenly. Toss salt and pepper over top of the potatoes evenly as well. Then place half of the cheese (1/2 cup) over top of the potatoes carefully so you don’t waste any of that precious cheese.
- Place the cookie sheet in the preheated 400°F oven and cook for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese (1/2 cup) and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. You want the potatoes to start to brown and get a little crispy around the edges. You want the cheese to melt perfectly so it’s heavenly to bite into. Everyone likes their potatoes a little differently, so cook according to how crispy you like yours.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and transfer to a platter. Toss with dried parsley, more or less depending on your taste.
- Serve with a big old cheesy smile!
Notes
- You can also make grilled smashed potatoes if you’re a grill master.
- You can add garlic, shallots or even leeks along with the potatoes. Or make a compound butter to melt over top of them. The options are vast and unlimited for smashed potatoes. Unless you’re my daughter who only likes the garlic smashed potatoes. *sigh*