These Crispy Loaded Smashed Potatoes are the ultimate side dish! Yellow potatoes are smashed, baked until golden + crispy and then topped with all of your favorite baked potato toppings! YUM.
Happy November, friends! This is the time of year that I really love to begin to share Thanksgiving side dish recipe ideas. Because if you didn’t know, Thanksgiving is literally 2 weeks away. WHAT! Time to start planning, ha!
Thankfully this recipe is so simple, a crowd pleaser and in my opinion, will be eaten up before the turkey is even sliced!
Why You’ll Love These Potatoes:
Sometimes potato dishes really just have one texture…but this particular recipe combines both crispy golden potato edges with a soft fluffy inside – truly the best of both worlds!
It has all of your favorite “loaded” potato toppings like sour cream, crispy bacon and green onions!
Did I mention it is brushed with a quick BACON BUTTER before and after it’s baked?! Yup. Bacon butter. That should be a new trend!
They are super simple to whip up! A low maintenance recipe that includes boiling the potatoes, smashing and baking. Easy enough, right?!
They are not just delicious to eat but visually stunning! Almost too beautiful to eat….key word there is ALMOST 😉 So let’s get into what you need to make them!
Ingredients You Need:
- Yukon Gold Potatoes – these are my favorite potatoes to use! They are small enough to be smashed but still retain that fluffy inside.
- Bacon – I fried mine to make it extra crispy! You could use bacon bits if you want to go the easier route but I personally LOVED the fresh bacon.
- Salted Butter – because every potato recipe needs butter!
- Salt + Pepper + Garlic Powder – and every potato recipe needs seasoning!
- Sour cream – a must! Makes it so super creamy.
- Green Onions – the crunchy texture on top makes it so extra yummy!
- Cheddar Cheese – a MUST! The melty cheese on top makes it ultra delicious.
How To Make Potatoes in 5 Simple Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. To a large pot, add water and a large pinch of salt. Once it’s boiling, add in 8-10 small potatoes and let boil until fork tender (around 15 minutes).
- While the potatoes are boiling, fry the bacon in a pan until crispy. Once done, place on a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
- Add the cooked potatoes to a large sheet pan and using a potato masher, carefully mash them down until they begin to burst – you don’t want them to be a full on smushy mess – you want them to retain their shape a bit. Here is an example:
- Mix softened butter with a tbsp of rendered bacon grease from the pan and brush them on the smashed potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes and then remove the pan and add cheese on top of each potato. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Once baked, load the toppings! Add a generous pinch of salt and pepper to each potato followed by a dollop of sour cream, crispy bacon pieces and green onions. Enjoy immediately!
Best Tips for Success:
Be sure that you choose potatoes that are all around the same size. This will help them cook more evenly and look nicer in presentation!
Gently but firmly “smash” the potatoes down just until they start cracking/bursting. You don’t want them to be a smushed mess like I mentioned before!
While the potatoes are baking, chop up your crispy bacon and green onions to have them ready to top the potatoes with!
I love taking the extra time to freshly shred the cheese instead of using pre-shredded! I think it makes a world of difference in flavor!
Ingredient Swaps:
You can use plain whole milk Greek yogurt in place of sour cream for a protein boost!
You can use bacon bits to save time…although nothing can replace freshly cooked crispy bacon!
Use any type of cheese you have on hand….I used sharp cheddar but colby jack, pepper jack whatever would work!
Storing/RepurposingLeftovers:
I personally think these are best eaten the day of while warm! However, if you DO have leftovers, I love to crumble them up and eat them with eggs for breakfast!
You could also add more sour cream, bacon and cheese and fry up some potato cakes!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few others you might like:
Rosemary Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes
Roasted Lemon Rosemary Potatoes
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Crispy Loaded Smashed Potatoes
These Crispy Loaded Smashed Potatoes are the ultimate side dish! Yellow potatoes are smashed, baked until golden + crispy and then topped with all of your favorite baked potato toppings! YUM.
Ingredients
- 8-10 small yukon gold potatoes
- 3 tbsp salted butter (softened)
- 1 tbsp rendered bacon grease (optional but DELICIOUS!)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt (and more to taste if needed)
- 1/2 tsp pepper (more to taste if needed)
- 1/2 lb. bacon
- 1-1.5 cups sour cream
- 3-4 stalks green onion, sliced
- 2 cups freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
Boiling Potatoes
-
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Make sure your 8-10 potatoes are small/medium and all around the same size. Boil your potatoes in a large pot with salted water (making sure the water is COVERING the potatoes) for about 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. Once done, drain and place them on a baking sheet.
Potato Toppings
-
While the potatoes are boiling, fry the bacon in a pan until crispy. Place this on a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Once it has cooled down, you may use a knife to chop it into smaller pieces.
-
Thinly slice the green onions. Set aside. Shred the cheddar cheese and set this aside.
-
To a small bowl, add the softened butter, bacon grease, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix together. Set aside.
Smashing the Potatoes
-
Using a potato masher or a fork, gently "smash" down your potatoes until they begin to burst/crack. Don't smash them too hard or else they will just be super smushed and not what you want!
-
Once smashed, add a generous amount of the softened butter to each potato until the butter is gone.
-
Bake the potatoes for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and add a generous handful of cheddar cheese on top of each potato. Place back in the oven for 5 more minutes or until the cheese is melted.
-
If you want them extra crispy and golden brown, place on broil at the end of the set time for an additional 1-2 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure they don't burn.
Topping Potatoes
-
Once they are done, add a dollop of sour cream, crispy bacon pieces and green onions on top. Top with additional salt and pepper if desired. Enjoy immediately while warm!
Nice recipe
Thank you so much, Najmus! 🙂
Thanks for your delicious dish. Hopefully it will be very delicious
Thank you, Anie!