The British Trick for Impossibly Crispy Potatoes (I Cant Believe How Good They Are)

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I love potatoes — like, really love them. (They were my favorite vegetable when I was a kid.) I’ll take them in any form: french fries, mashed potatoes, or simply roasted in the oven with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few seasonings.

I’ve seen British people prepare their potatoes for a classic Sunday roast dinner, and they always look so incredibly crispy. But I’d never tried to prepare them myself. Then I came across a TikTok video of roast potatoes that looked impossibly crispy on the outside and very similar to the British-style ones I had seen all over my feed before. I thought I had to finally give it a go. Here’s how it went.

Seems like I wasn’t too far off in my assumptions, because the content creator’s recipe was written for a British audience. I did my best to convert it.

For starters, you’ll need 2 kilograms or roughly 4 1/2 pounds of potatoes. Peel and slice them into quarters (you want large pieces), then wash them in cold water. Place the cut and washed potatoes in a large pot with salted cold water and bring it to a boil. Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, place 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter in a large roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in a 375°F oven and let it heat up for about 10 minutes. (You want to time this right so the potatoes are ready to be added to the heated pan right when they finish cooking.) When the potatoes are finished cooking, strain them and let them sit for 5 minutes to fully dry off. Then add them back to the pan and sprinkle them with cornstarch (roughly 2 to 3 tablespoons), and shake the pan to evenly coat them.

Add your potatoes to the hot roasting pan (they should sizzle). Coat the potatoes in the hot butter and give them plenty of space to cook. Then bake for a total of 95 to 100 minutes. Every 20 minutes, take the potatoes out and give them a toss so they all cook evenly. At the 50- to 60-minute mark, add fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley, chives) and 6 cloves of crushed garlic. They’re done when they’re deeply golden-brown and crispy on the outside. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

This recipe is definitely a labor of love. The instructions weren’t super clear, so at times I was unsure if I’d get the desired result as shown in the video. All the elements have to be timed just right — from start to finish, it took me roughly 2 hours.

My potatoes also didn’t all fit in one roasting pan to be evenly spaced out (I had to use an additional one), nor did I feel like the amount of butter was enough, as the pan seemed too dry. (I added probably another 3 tablespoons.)

That being said, once they were finally done, wow did these potatoes impress me! The texture is an absolute dream. The potatoes are super crispy on the outside, with a hard crust and an audible crunch you can hear when you bite into them. Inside is the softest, fluffiest potato interior. It’s like the crunchiest potato wedge you’ve ever had. The buttery, garlicky flavor is super delicious too, and the herbs help it all pop. I’ve never had potatoes like these before, so if you have the time to spare, definitely try this recipe.