Smashed New Potatoes with Garlic and Chives

Smashed new potatoes! Oven-roasted in butter, smashed with garlic and minced chives.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated April 07, 2024
Elise Bauer
Smashed New Potatoes with Garlic and Chives
Elise Bauer

Okay, so "smashed" potatoes are sometimes considered just a lazy way of making mashed potatoes. And indeed, they take a lot less effort.

But smashing potatoes is also an excellent way to get butter and herbs into all of the nooks and crannies of the potato, while still retaining the potato's texture. Spring new potatoes smash up great, as do buttery Yukon Golds.

Most recipes for smashed potatoes (there are links to a couple other food bloggers at the bottom of the recipe) call for boiling the potatoes to cook them.

How to Make Smashed Potatoes
Elise Bauer

In this recipe, you essentially bake them in a pot in the oven. The potatoes cook in their own moisture while they are bathed in butter. Baking them in a pot prevents them from drying out too much to smash easily, yet keeps them dry enough to fluff up well.

Do you have a favorite way to make smashed potatoes? Please let us know about it in the comments.

Smashed New Potatoes with Garlic and Chives

Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 70 mins
Total Time 75 mins
Servings 3 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 to 2 pounds new potatoes or Yukon Golds

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • Salt

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons chives or green onion greens, minced

Method

  1. Bake the potatoes:

    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put the potatoes in a medium oven-proof pot (with a cover) and add about 1 tablespoon of the butter, cut into pieces. Cover and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

  2. Coat the potatoes with butter, sprinkle with salt, return to oven:

    Take the potatoes out and mix them so they’re coated with butter. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt. Return to the oven, cover, and cook for another 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how large the potatoes are.

  3. Test for doneness:

    To test for doneness, poke a potato with a fork. If the fork penetrates easily, they're done.

  4. Crush with potato masher, toss with garlic and butter:

    When the potatoes are nice and soft, remove the pot from the oven and, using a potato masher, crush each potato. Don’t pound them into oblivion, just crush them. Toss with the garlic and remaining butter. Add more salt to taste.

    Sprinkle chives on the potatoes to serve.

Links:

Lori's skillet smashed potatoes - from Heidi of 101 Cookbooks

Smashed potatoes with chives and cream cheese from Ezra Pound Cake

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
122 Calories
6g Fat
16g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 122
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 8%
Saturated Fat 4g 18%
Cholesterol 15mg 5%
Sodium 105mg 5%
Total Carbohydrate 16g 6%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 8mg 39%
Calcium 14mg 1%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 410mg 9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.