This Crispy Smashed Potato Salad is the perfect side to make when you want to try something new instead of your regular potato salad! It's crispy, creamy, garlicky, and perfect for BBQ season! Serve it with grilled or roasted meats, chicken, or fish! It's gluten-free and you can make it vegan as well.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
A crispy twist on the classic potato salad - Smashing the potatoes instead of dicing them into uniform pieces creates more texture and more surface for them to get crispy. They unavoidably fall apart a little bit and the uneven texture is what makes them so delicious and crunchy.
Delicious side dish - You can serve these practically any time of the year but they're best made with new baby potatoes in the spring and summer, especially during summer BBQs!
Easy and simple - While you do need to boil the potatoes first and there is some work involved with the potato smashing, it's still a fairly easy recipe and the ingredients are really simple and easy to find at any grocery store. It may sound intimidating but I promise you it's not!
Ingredients
- Baby potatoes - You'll need young baby potatoes for this recipe. They have very thin skin and don't need to be peeled. This is important because it's the skin that's holding them together after you smash them. I don't recommend red potatoes here because they're not as soft and might fall apart more easily.
- Avocado oil - I use 100% pure avocado for roasting the potatoes to make them extra crispy. It has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point. I prefer it over olive oil which has a much lower smoke point. You can use any cooking oil you prefer. I like using one in a spray.
- Mayonnaise - I recommend using quality mayonnaise made with either avocado oil or coconut oil. I like Chosen Foods mayonnaise.
- Greek yogurt - I'm adding both full-fat Greek yogurt and mayonnaise to lighten up the dressing of the salad. You can also use sour cream instead of yogurt.
- Pickles - Finely diced dill pickles are a great addition to this salad and I highly recommend adding them for that classic flavor. I also add a little bit of pickle juice for some extra tang. The vinegar in it balances all the other flavors really well. If you don't have pickles, you can add relish instead.
- Dijon mustard - You can barely taste the mustard but it adds a touch of heat and ties all the flavors together.
- Garlic - The dressing calls for 1-2 cloves of garlic. If you don't want it too garlicky, add just one clove. I promise it's not very strong in this recipe but if you don't want to use raw garlic, you can make some Oven Roasted Garlic instead.
- Fresh herbs - I highly recommend fresh herbs here. Dried herbs won't have the same amount of flavor but you can use them in a pinch as well. Fresh dill and fresh parsley are the perfect combo for this salad but fresh chives would be a great addition as well.
- Spices - The potatoes are seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, fine sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. I only add fresh garlic to the dressing because it would burn in the oven and become bitter.
Variations and Substitutions
- Different potatoes - If you can't find mini potatoes, you can make a similar salad with just regular Yukon or Russet potatoes and dice them into bite-sized pieces instead of smashing them. You can use fingerling potatoes in a pinch too.
- Make it vegan - You can use dairy-free yogurt and vegan mayonnaise if you prefer. Keep in mind that mayonnaise doesn't have any milk so if you only need to make it dairy-free, you can still use regular mayonnaise and just substitute vegan yogurt. Just make sure your mayo is certified dairy-free when necessary.
- Relish - If you don't have pickles, you can also add pickle relish to the dressing instead. If you're using relish you don't need to add the pickle juice.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450F and prepare a large, rimmed baking sheet. Prepare a couple of paper towels.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil the potatoes for 10-12 minutes or until fork tender. The cooking time may vary based on their size.
- Drain the potatoes, add them to your prepared baking sheet, and dry them using paper towels.
- Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of avocado oil and move them around to coat (this helps to oil the pan so they don’t stick).
- Use the bottom of a mason jar or a heavy glass to smash the potatoes so they’re about ½-¾ inch thick. Try to keep them from falling apart too much but they naturally will a little bit. You can oil the mason jar a little bit to prevent the potatoes from sticking to it. Use a fork to unstick the potatoes from it after you smashed them.
- In a small bowl, mix together sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Sprinkle the potatoes with about ½ of the seasoning and drizzle with the remaining avocado oil.
- Roast the potatoes for 15 minutes.
- Take them out of the oven, carefully flip them and sprinkle with the rest of the seasoning.
- Roast them for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy (keep an eye on them).
- Take the potatoes out of the oven and allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes.
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- While the potatoes are cooling, make the dressing.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, grated garlic, fresh parsley, fresh dill, diced pickles, and pickle juice until smooth.
- Taste and season with salt if desired. I usually don't add salt here because the potatoes are already salted enough.
- Add the smashed potatoes to a large mixing bowl and toss them gently with the dressing until they’re all well coated.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks!
- Mix the potatoes with the dressing right before serving to prevent the potatoes from losing their crispiness.
- Salt your potatoes well to avoid them being bitter. I find when I don't salt my potatoes enough before cooking, they can be slightly bitter, especially if I leave the skin on. Because the recipe calls for quite a lot of salt for the potatoes, I don't add any salt to the dressing.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve the salad as it is or you can garnish it with some green onion, more fresh dill and parsley, or some chopped fresh chives to add even more flavor.
This is a great recipe to make as a side dish for grilling season or just as a side for a weeknight dinner! It's delicious with grilled or roasted chicken, fish, steak, or any other type of meat, or roasted veggies. It would be delicious with fried chicken cutlers as well.
Besides protein, you can also serve it with other salads buffet style! I recommend adding this Kale Crunch Salad, this Greek Beet Salad with Yogurt, or this Cucumber Radish Salad if you want to add something extra fresh and simple. The first two are great for fall and winter, while the radish salad is perfect served in spring and summer along with grilled salmon or chicken.
Make Ahead Options
If you want to prep some of the recipe ahead of time, I recommend making the dressing either a few hours ahead or the night before. I don't recommend cooking the potatoes and mixing everything ahead of time because the potatoes lose their crispiness as they sit in the dressing which is unavoidable. The dressing will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. I don't recommend storing it any longer than that because of the mayo and the yogurt. Keep in mind if you made the dressing ahead of time, this will reduce the life of the salad as well.
The potatoes taste the best the first 1-2 days. Keep in mind they do lose their crispiness within a few hours of sitting in the dressing.
FAQs
Unfortunately no, once you mix them with the dressing, they lose their crispiness after a couple of hours.
No, I recommend only storing them in the fridge, they would be too mushy from the freezer and the dressing might separate after defrosting.
Yes! You can use vegan mayonnaise and dairy-free yogurt to make it vegan friendly.
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Print📖 Recipe
Crispy Smashed Potato Salad
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Crispy Smashed Potato Salad is the perfect side for BBQ season! It's crispy, creamy, and garlicky. Serve it with grilled or roasted meats, chicken, or fish! It's gluten-free and you can make it vegan as well.
Ingredients
- 1 lb yellow baby potatoes, cleaned and washed
- 2 tbsp avocado oil, divided (or other cooking oil)
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise or sour cream
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1-2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill
- ¼ cup diced pickles
- 1 tbsp pickle juice
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 450F and prepare a large rimmed baking sheet. Prepare a couple of paper towels.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and boil the potatoes for 10-12 minutes or until fork tender. The cooking time may vary based on their size.
- Drain the potatoes, add them to your prepared baking sheet, and dry them using paper towels.
- Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of avocado oil and move them around to coat (this helps to oil the pan so they don’t stick).
- Use the bottom of a mason jar or a heavy glass to smash the potatoes so they’re about ½-¾ inch thick. Try to keep them from falling apart too much but they naturally will a little bit. You can oil the mason jar a little bit to prevent the potatoes from sticking to it. Use a fork to unstick the potatoes from it after you smashed them.
- In a small bowl, mix together sea sat, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Sprinkle the potatoes with about ½ of the seasoning and drizzle with the remaining avocado oil.
- Roast the potatoes for 15 minutes.
- Take them out of the oven, carefully flip them and sprinkle with the rest of the seasoning.
- Roast them for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy (keep an eye on them).
- Take the potatoes out of the oven and allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- While the potatoes are cooling, make the dressing.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, grated garlic, fresh parsley, fresh dill, diced pickles, and pickle juice until smooth. Taste and season with salt if desired.
- Add the smashed potatoes to a large bowl and toss with the dressing until they’re all well coated.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
I like using spray cooking oil for this recipe. It helps to make sure all of the potatoes have oil on them so they crisp up extra well.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. You can make the dressing 1-2 days ahead and store it in the fridge until you're ready to use it to save time.
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Veronika Sykorova says
This will be my go to potato salad all summer long! The crispy potatoes, pickles, and creamy dressing go so well with anything from the grill!