I’m obsessed with potato salads. They are the ultimate crowd-pleaser, so everyone loves the person that makes a good version.–Elena Silcock
Smashed Potato Salad FAQs
Crème fraîche (pronounced ‘krem ‘fresh, in case you were wondering) is basically a higher fat version of sour cream that’s used widely in Europe. It’s a bit less tangy than the sour cream we’re all accustomed to here in the States. If you’re struggling to find crème fraîche at the store, plain, whole-fat yogurt is a good substitute.
Partially. You can prepare your dressing, boil your potatoes, and crisp your pancetta ahead of time, but since the salad is intended to be crispy, we don’t recommend smashing those potatoes and baking again until you’re just about ready to serve. Once you’ve got them crisped up, the remaining assembled ingredients just need to be tossed together and brought to the table.
Definitely. Simply omit the pancetta, and in the dressing, use maple syrup in place of the honey and swap in vegan mayo and vegan yogurt for the dairy components.
Crispy Smashed Potato Salad
Ingredients
For the smashed potatoes
- 2 1/4 pounds baby potatoes
- Salt
- 2 3/4 ounces diced pancetta
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the creamy dressing
- Scant 1/2 cup plain yogurt or crème fraîche
- Generous 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
- 1 small bunch (about 100 g) scallions, outer layers removed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup capers
- 1/2 small bunch (about 15 g) fresh chives
Instructions
Make the smashed potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Scrub the potatoes if dirty, then put them in a large saucepan, cover with cool water and add a big pinch of salt. Place over high heat, bring to a boil and cook until a knife slides through them without any resistance, 15 to 25 minutes. (Don’t let them go too far, as you don’t want to be serving mashed potatoes!)
- Meanwhile, line a plate with paper towel. Toss the pancetta into a large skillet along with a splash of the oil. Set over medium-high heat and fry until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to the lined plate to drain. Reserve the fat.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then add them to the baking sheet. Use a fork or spatula to gently press down on them until the skin bursts and they flatten.
- Drizzle with the reserved pancetta fat plus 1 to 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Roast until the potatoes begin to brown and crisp up, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Turn the broiler to high, slide the potatoes under the broiler and cook until golden brown and crispy, 5 to 10 minutes more. Keep an eye on them as they can burn quickly.
Make the creamy dressing
- While the potatoes are crisping up, mix up the dressing. In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, combine the yogurt, mayonnaise, honey, mustard, and vinegar, and season generously with salt and pepper.
Assemble the salad
- Pile the potatoes on a serving platter.
- Put the scallions on the baking sheet that you used for the potatoes, drizzle with the remaining oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil until they’re charred and softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Scatter the charred scallions on top of the potatoes. Drizzle with the dressing, sprinkle with the capers and crispy pancetta, and use scissors to finely snip the chives over the top.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
A delicious combination of ingredients, this crispy smashed potato salad offered a big range of flavor in every bite. Not only was it delicious, it was visually appealing too.
Between its looks and flavor, we found it difficult to not keep spooning more onto our plates. From the crispy potatoes, the salty pancetta, and the very slightly sweet dressing, it was the perfect accompaniment to our grilled roasted chicken and raw asparagus salad.
I skimped a little on the capers because they’re not my favorite, but they offered some additional briny contrast that was really nice. My main caution would be to keep a close eye on the potatoes and scallions as they broil to avoid quickly going from browned and crisp to charred and unappealing. I avoided that and I’ll definitely be making this again.
Wow, this roasted potato salad knocks it out of the park. SO flavourful and so easy (and easy to customise according to what you have on hand). Wonderful warm and also makes great leftovers. My new go-to!
While not your typical type of potato salad, this crispy smashed potato salad is definitely worth putting on your dinner menu. It’s like a cross between a baked potato and a potato salad and is decidedly tasty.
I used a mix of red and yellow baby potatoes. I couldn’t find crème fraîche so I used a good double cream natural yogurt. After boiling the potatoes for 15 minutes I cooled them and spread them on a baking sheet before flattening them. We loved the bacon-y flavour the rendered fat gave the potatoes.
It was a simple dressing to make up and since the scallions available were very thin I only broiled them for 5 minutes to get a char. All in all, a great recipe for dinner, although we debated during dinner if this classified as a salad or not. We got 4 servings for our dinner. We served this with baked honey mustard chicken breast and roasted vegetables.
