Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes

I also toss them into a salad as it’s adds great texture and flavor the list goes on and on… Potatoes are in season, so I’m taking advantage of it. These roasted potatoes are family approved and loved, and make the perfect side dish, as they pair with just about anything. They also take under 30 minutes to roast up to crispy, browned perfection.  No need to pre-soak or boil these bad boys to get them browned and crispy, the cast iron skillet and broiler create the magic. Oh, don’t skip the red onion, as it adds a bacon-like flavor to the potatoes.

I’m showing you all a lot of simple and easy side dish recipes lately, because this is how I cook. Cooking should be easy and not complicated. I’m personally trying to steer my family (teens especially) away from bread as a side dish, so I’m incorporating more vegetables and complex carbs into our dinner rotation, plus all of these sides, make great leftovers!

I may even do a post that shows you all some great leftover lunch or dinner ideas that you can incorporate into your rotation that literally take 10 minutes or less to whip up. Raise your hand if you want me to do a leftover magic post?

Easy oven roasted potatoes

serves 4 as a side dish

special equipment: 12-inch cast iron skillet – for those of you that don’t have a cast iron skillet, Target has the best selection and the best prices. You don’t need to pay over $25 for a 12-inch skillet. 

• 1 bag (approx. 1.5 lbs – 18-20 potatoes) fingerling, or new potatoes, halved or sliced and quartered if larger
• 1/2 large red onion, medium dice – if you love red onion, then feel free to add more
• 2 tablespoons Italian herb blend
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, or avocado oil
• 2 teaspoons coarse Celtic sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste – I use a pepper grinder, so I give it roughly 8-10 twists

Place an oven rack on the 3rd rack below your broiler, and turn on your broiler. Every oven is different, so get to know your oven and the best place to broil items, as if you place it too close, then items will burn, and if it’s too low then items will take longer to broil. 

Rinse potatoes in a strainer under cold water and use a potato brush or your fingers to brush off any dirt.

Slice the potatoes in half if small, or in quarters if larger. If you use fingerling potatoes, you will want to cut them into 4-5 pieces then halve them, as you want all of the potatoes to be fairly uniform in size and for each side to get crispy.  The below photo shows you an actual fingerling potato, so you can see how I cut them up to be fairly uniform in size.

Add sliced potatoes to the skillet, and toss with red onion, Italian herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper. This is the before picture folks!

Place skillet under broiler and set a timer for 10 minutes, you will actually smell the potatoes roasting at this point. Give them a toss with a large spoon, and then keep checking them and tossing them every 5 minutes or so to ensure even browning.  The potatoes will take roughly 20 – 30 minutes to get tender and brown up to perfection. The cooking time depends on how many potatoes you have, the more you have in the pan, the more time it takes for them to cook.  If you’re using 1 lb of potatoes in a 12-inch skillet, then it roughly takes 20-25 minutes.

Tip: I keep the oven light on when broiling, so I can visually see how they’re browning up. Also, if your potatoes are getting charred, then you placed the rack too close to the broiler, so move it down a row. You will learn over time the best place to position your rack for broiling.

That’s it! Just scoop out the potatoes and place them into a large serving bowl. Store any leftover potatoes in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 -4 days.