This Crispy Smashed Potato Salad gives classic potato salad a crispy, golden twist. Instead of cubing the potatoes, we roast smashed baby gold potatoes until the edges are crunchy. Then, we toss them in a tangy sour cream and mayonnaise dressing with dried herbs. Our secret ingredient is pickle juice, which adds an extra burst of flavor. Serve this potato salad warm from the sheet pan or enjoy it chilled the next day.
What Is Smashed Potato Salad?
Smashed potato salad is a modern twist on classic potato salad. Instead of boiling and cubing the potatoes, small potatoes are boiled whole, flattened on a baking sheet, and then roasted until the edges are crispy and golden brown.
The roasted potatoes are then tossed with a creamy dressing, giving you a dish with the tangy, creamy flavor of traditional potato salad plus the crunchy texture of roasted potatoes. This type of potato salad came about as a spin on the tiktok viral smashed potatoes, and it’s now a go-to for backyard barbecues and potlucks.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Crispy AND creamy: Roasting the smashed potatoes gives you golden, crunchy edges that not only give texture, but a different flavor profile to potato salad as well.
- Pantry-friendly dressing: We created this recipe using shelf stable foods. The main ingredients to season the dressing are dried herbs and pickle juice.
- Great make-ahead side: This recipe tastes great served warm right off the sheet pan or after it’s been chilled for a few hours.
- Crowd-pleasing potluck dish: It’s a fun alternative to your classic potato salad, but it still feels familiar to everyone at the table.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what goes into this crispy smashed potato salad. Exact amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Baby gold potatoes: because they are small and thin-skinned, these with boil quickly, smash easily, and crisp up well. You can use regular size gold potatoes in a pinch, just cut them into cubes (but they won’t have quite the same effect as the baby golds when they’re smashed).
- Olive oil: This helps the potatoes crisp up and turn that golden-y brown color we’re looking for in the oven. You can sub this out for avocado oil if you’d like.
- Seasoning: We use garlic powder, salt, and pepper over the potatoes. Using garlic powder instead of fresh garlic will keep it from burning as the potatoes cook while still giving it a tasty flavor.
- Sour cream and mayonnaise: This is the base of the creamy, slightly tangy dressing that you toss the roasted potatoes into. You can swap out the sour cream for plain Greek yogurt for a tangier, higher-protein dressing.
- Dijon mustard: Added to the dressing, it gives it a little extra tang. You can sub this out for yellow mustard if you don’t have Dijon on hand.
- Pickle juice: This is our secret ingredient. In all of the recipe testing for this particular potato salad, every time we used pickle juice in the dressing, people pointed out how much they liked the flavor, but couldn’t put a finger on why. If you don’t like the pickled brine flavor, you can sub it out for an apple cider vinegar or lemon juice for a slightly different flavor profile.
- Dried dill, parsley, and chives: Pantry-friendly herbs that give life to the dressing without needing fresh herbs on hand. If we have fresh herbs, we love to add them to the top as a garnish. If you want to use fresh herbs in the recipe, you will need to double or triple the amount to get the same flavor.
- Cayenne pepper: Adds just a slight kick. You can leave this out if you want a milder dressing (it uses such a small amount, though, it’s still a mild dressing to being with).
How to Make Crispy Smashed Potato Salad
1. Cook the potatoes.
Place the baby gold potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add a teaspoon of salt and cook over high heat until the water starts to boil. Once boiling, cook until the potatoes are fork-tender (this will take anywhere from 10-20 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes), then drain.
2. Smash and season.
Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the pan and use the bottom of a glass or a fork to gently flatten each potato to about ¼ – ½” thick. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
3. Roast until crispy.
Roast for 40-50 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the potatoes are deep golden brown and crispy around the edges. For extra crunch, broil for the last 1 to 2 minutes, watching closely so they don’t burn.
4. Make the dressing.
While the potatoes roast, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, pickle juice, dried dill, dried parsley, cayenne pepper, and dried chives. Set aside until your potatoes are finished.
5. Toss and serve.
Add the warm roasted potatoes to the bowl with the dressing and gently toss to coat, taking care to keep some of the potatoes intact for texture. Sprinkle with a little extra dried chives or dill (or fresh herbs) before serving. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Variations to Try
- Make it loaded: Add crumbled bacon and shredded cheddar cheese for a “loaded baked potato” salad twist.
- Add crunch: Try adding in thinly sliced celery or diced dill pickles for extra texture and tang.
- Spice it up: Increase the amount of cayenne pepper or add a dash of hot sauce for a spicier dressing.
- Swap the herbs: Use ranch seasoning mix in place of the dried dill, parsley, and chives for a shortcut ranch-style dressing.
Make-Ahead and Storage Tips
To make ahead: Roast the potatoes and make the dressing separately up to a day in advance. Store them in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. Then toss together right before serving so the potatoes stay as crispy as possible.
To store leftovers: Keep leftover smashed potato salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The potatoes will soften slightly as they sit in the dressing, but the flavor is still great cold. We would not recommend freezing this recipe as the dressing can separate and the potato texture won’t hold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Regular potato salad is made with boiled, cubed potatoes (usually peeled) that stay soft throughout. Smashed potato salad starts with boiled potatoes that are flattened and roasted, so the edges (and peels!) turn crispy and golden before they’re tossed with the dressing.
Baby gold potatoes work best because their small size and thin skin make them easy to smash and quick to crisp up. If you only have larger potatoes, cut them into similarly sized pieces before boiling so they cook evenly. It won’t be quite the same effect (there’s a different skin to potato ratio), but it will still taste good.
Sometimes this can happen if there is still too much steam coming off them before you roast them. You can get extra crispy potatoes by giving them more space to roast in a single layer (you may need to use two baking sheets). Let them steam-dry for a few minutes after draining them from boiling so excess moisture can escape before they go in the oven.
Yes. Roast the potatoes and make the dressing up to a day ahead, storing them separately in the fridge, then toss together right before serving so the potatoes hold onto their crispy texture.
This is totally a preference thing, and you can do both. Try a bite served warm after tossing it with the dressing and see how you like it. While it is delicious served warm, I almost like it better after it’s chilled in the fridge for an hour or two so the flavors really sink into the potatoes.
A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice will give the dressing similar tang if you don’t have pickle juice on hand or don’t like the flavor.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The potatoes will soften the longer they are in the refrigerator and they will continue to soak up the dressing, but sometimes we like it better that way!
Yes. Arrange the smashed potatoes in a single layer in the air fryer basket, working in batches if needed, and air fry at 400°F for about 12 to 15 minutes, until golden and crispy.
What to serve with Crispy Smashed Potato Salad
This recipe is a great addition to any potluck or summer BBQ. It also goes great with grilled chicken or steak or alongside a juicy cheeseburger or simple hot dog.
More salads to bring to your next potluck:
Crispy Smashed Potato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 pounds baby gold potatoes
- 3 teaspoons salt, divided
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pepper, divided
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 Tablespoon pickle juice
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 Tablespoon dried chives, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Cook potatoes. In a large pot, place potatoes and fill with water until they are just covered. Add a teaspoon of salt and cook over high heat until the water starts to boil. Once boiling, cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 10-15 minutes, then drain.
- Preheat oven to 425℉. While the oven is heating, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Dump potatoes onto the sheet, and smash each potato to about ¼” to ½” thick. I used the bottom of a glass cup to do it quickly. It’s okay if all the potatoes run together, just try to keep the thickness the same across the entire pan.
- Drizzle potatoes with olive oil, then sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook in the oven for 40-50 minutes (flipping the potatoes halfway through) until they start to get a little crispy and browned.
- Make the dressing. In a large bowl, mix together sour cream, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, pickle juice, dill, parsley, cayenne pepper, and chives until combined. Set aside until your potatoes are finished.
- Add potatoes to the large bowl with the dressing and toss until coated. Serve with additional chives and other seasonings (including fresh herbs if desired) on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
