How to Make Melting Potatoes with Garlic
Melting potatoes are one of the easiest, most delicious ways to get a lot of bang for your buck for a quick side dish. The oven does the majority of the work for you, all you have to do is flip them a couple of times. That tiny bit of effort is rewarded with the most perfectly roasted potato dish to ever grace your dinner table. I love serving these with this Beef Tenderloin Roast for special occasions.
This is the best of both worlds as far as potatoes go. Just like my Cajun grilled potato wedges, the outside is golden and incredibly crispy, while the inside remains tender and fluffy.
This recipe for Melting Potatoes is sponsored by my friends at Idaho Potato. I am so pleased to work with them. As always, all opinions, recipe and photos are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Pook’s Pantry.
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Melting potatoes
I grew up in meat and potatoes land, otherwise known as the Midwest. I am a potato lover for life, so when I discovered “melting potatoes” sometime last year, I was obviously interested in eating them immediately.
I’ve also put a spin on this recipe with my duck fat roasted fingerling potato recipe.
My apologies that it took me this long to get the recipe to you. I hope you’ll agree that it was worth the wait.
Melting potatoes with herbs
Awhile ago, I asked the Facebook group what they wanted to see more of on the blog. Many of you requested easy side dish recipes. These potatoes fit the bill perfectly. They are easy, mostly hands off, full of nutrients and they are naturally gluten-free. The herbs really kick up the flavor too.
Fun fact: Did you know that potatoes have more potassium per serving than a banana? Amazing, right? Everyone always thinks of bananas as the “potassium go-to”, now you can eat a potato. They also contain Vitamin C (a third of your daily needs), Vitamin B6 and fiber. This is a side that will please everyone, even picky eaters, and you can feel good about serving them to the people you love.
What are MELTING POTATOES?
Melting potatoes are taking over Pinterest and the possibly the internet. I’m not really sure where the name came from, but my best guess would be because of the way these potatoes practically melt in your mouth. The outside is super crispy, while the inside remains incredibly fluffy and light.
In my head, I compare it to crème brûlée. That top layer of burnt sugar shatters and gives way to a luscious, creamy custard. Same deal with these potatoes, minus the sweetness.
While all potatoes are fantastic, they each have their own space to shine. Russets are good for baking, waxy potatoes are good for potato salad and Yukon Golds are the king of Melting Potatoes. That delicious yellow-hued flesh makes these potatoes the perfect choice for this preparation.
Melting potatoes recipe
To make this recipe, you’ll need the following:
- Yukon Gold potatoes
- unsalted butter (or oil to keep it vegan)
- chicken or vegetable broth
- garlic
- salt and pepper
- fresh and dried herbs
- a sheet pan
- a flexible spatula
- a medium sized mixing bowl
As with every recipe, read all the way through it before you begin. Make sure you have your ingredients and equipment ready to go. This recipe isn’t difficult at all, but you don’t want to discover after having the potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes that you forgot the chicken broth.
This recipe is perfect for Sunday dinners, holiday dinners or even weeknights. It is honestly one of my favorite potato recipes and I hope it’ll be one of your favorites, too.
CHEF’S NOTES:
I usually put these at the end, but I really wanted to make sure you saw this. Before we get to the recipe, let me suggest two pieces of equipment for this: A heavy sheet pan and a fish spatula Why? I know I’m not the only person who has that one sheet pan that always warps in the oven making a loud pop and scaring all the neighborhood dogs. I highly recommend a heavier sheet pan for this because the oven is going to be VERY hot.
Next, the fish spatula. But, it’s for fish, right? Well, it is for everything actually. It is one of the best kitchen tools you’ll ever own and you’ll wonder why you never bought one before. What makes this thing so magical? It’s thin and flexible, which means you can get under those potatoes to turn them without leaving the crispy bottom stuck to the sheet pan.
What can I serve with these spuds?
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MORE POTATO RECIPES:
- Breakfast Casserole
- Hash Brown Crust Pizza
- Crispy, Cheesy Hash Browns
- Oven Roasted Potatoes with Honey Mustard Pecan Dressing
- Roasted Fingerlings with Shishito Peppers
Melting Potatoes

Melting potatoes are one of the easiest, most delicious ways to prepare potatoes. Perfect for your holiday table, but easy enough for weeknight supper.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds Yukon Gold Idaho Potatoes, peeled
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or oil to keep it vegan)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup vegetable broth, or chicken broth
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed (or more if you really like garlic!)
- ¼ cup parsley, chopped
- ¼ cup scallions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500°F (475°F for convection). In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, dried herbs, salt and pepper.
- Slice potatoes into 1-inch rounds and toss in butter mixture. Lay potatoes on a metal baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 15 minutes.
- Flip over, using a flexible (fish) spatula and return to oven for another 15 minutes.
- Carefully pour broth onto sheet pan and add smashed garlic. Roast for an additional 10 – 15 minutes to allow most of the stock to get absorbed and to get the tops super crispy. Sprinkle with fresh herbs and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 301Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 1348mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 5gSugar: 3gProtein: 6g
Nutrition information calculated by a third-party company as a courtesy. It is intended as a guideline only.
Another fantastic recipe! Very easy to make, but elegant enough to serve with any meal. My sister saw my picture and wanted me to send them through the phone lines! I left the skin on some of the potatoes to see how that worked. They had a slightly different texture, and overall I liked them better without the skin. (But, if you want to save a little time by not peeling the potatoes they still taste incredible!)
I’m so glad you tried this recipe! I’ve never tried it with the skin on, but good to know that if I’m feeling lazy, it’s still pretty good! Thank you so much for the kind words and the comment! I hope your sister makes them and loves them too! <3
I made these with dinner tonight and they were delicious!! My husband couldn’t get enough of them!! He’s very picky so that’s saying a lot!! The only thing I did different was used minced (jarred) garlic, and only used 1tsp. I can’t wait to make these again! They will be a staple in my dinners from now on!!!
Liz, this totally made my morning!!! Thank you so much! I’m so happy that you liked them and that your husband like them! THANK YOU for leaving a comment, I really appreciate it! If you would rate the recipe (in the recipe card), that would be fantastic!!! 🙂
Thanksgiving is around the corners and I’m considering making these rather than mashed potatoes. Oh, who am I kidding? I’m going to have to make these either before or after Thanksgiving. Or maybe both – we’ll see. LOL! They sound amazingly delicious!
Your recipe gives the oven temperature for conventional and convection ovens. Thank you!
I might just have to do a blog post on this recipe.
LOL! Thanks, Anne! I must say, they are pretty tasty! I love them with a roast chicken, so they would be perfectly at home on your Thanksgiving table, if you can wait that long to make them 😉
Let me know what you think!
Why don’t these stick to the pan with all that butter?
They don’t stick to the pan at all. High heat, butter and then stock added in at the end makes steam and they release right off of the sheet pan! Having a thin, flexible spatula like the one I mentioned in the post helps to make sure you can flip your spuds without losing the crispy outside, just in case you have a bit that does stick.
We are a huge meat and potatoes kind of family. These were AMAZING! Made them for a party of 9 tonight and every single person asked me to make these again! Thank you for this recipe!
Wow! That’s fantastic! Thank you so much!!!
Could I do these in a casserole dish instead of a sheet pan? I worry about the mess from the broth etc when I, like I usually do, drop the sheet pan?
Hi CT, so I wouldn’t recommend a casserole dish. You won’t get the same crispy outside that is the best part of the potato. The metal from the sheet pan gets REALLY hot and helps the potato form the crust on the outside. A glass casserole dish won’t give you the same result and you might be a bit disappointed. If you are afraid you’ll drop the sheet pan (I’ve been there, I understand!), carefully slide the rack out and add the stock, then slowly slide it back. That way, you aren’t picking up the sheet pan at all 🙂
Great tasting potatoes, this is my new go to recipe!
Hooray! Thank you so much, Renee! I’m so happy that you like them!
These are in the oven at this moment, and I’m super excited to try them. I have a question about the calories and serving size. Is that 301 calories for one slice or one potato?
Hi Lauren! I’m excited for you! They are so good! 🙂
The nutrition info is for 1 serving. It’s a little weird, but that’s how it’s calculated. The recipe serves 6, so try to evenly divide it and you’ll have the proper serving size. Hope that helps!
Hi there. I’m posting in the UK, having Googled for some fresh recipe ideas to get away from my usual ‘go to’ roast potatoes or wedges. Cooked these for my husband’s birthday meal last night – halved the quantity as it was just the 2 of us. A great hit and there were no leftovers, despite making enough in theory for 3 servings! So easy. I used dried herbs only but had some lovely homemade stock and can truly say these were restaurant standard with next to zero effort on my part. Thank you so much! Anne
Hi Anne, you have made my day. Thank you so very much for your kind comment. I’m absolutely thrilled that there were no leftovers 🙂
I love this recipe too, it’s so easy and it turns out perfect every single time. Have a fantastic evening and thank you again!
Made these for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner with my hubby, which included barbecue salmon and marinated asparagus, which ended up being crashed by our daughter and her boyfriend. They said these were absolutely worth all the fuss (which wasn’t much of a fuss honestly) and to make them repeatedly henceforth. Hubby and I liked them too!
Hi Teri! Thank you so much for that lovely comment 🙂 I’m so happy everyone enjoyed them! They are totally worth the fuss, and you’re right, it’s not much of a fuss anyway. Also, it’s very sweet that your daughter & her BF wanted to crash Valentine’s Day with you & your husband <3