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Golden garlic butter roasted potatoes with fresh herbs in rustic serving bowl

Garlic Butter Roasted Potatoes

These garlic butter roasted potatoes are golden and crispy on the outside with tender, creamy centers and incredible flavor from fresh garlic and herbs. They're tossed in butter halfway through roasting for maximum richness and come out perfectly seasoned every time. An irresistible side dish that pairs with absolutely everything.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 350
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Potatoes
  • 900 g baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes halved
  • 30 ml olive oil
  • 5 g salt
  • 2 g black pepper
For the Garlic Butter
  • 60 g unsalted butter
  • 6 cloves garlic about 20g, minced
  • 3 g fresh thyme leaves
  • 3 g fresh rosemary finely chopped
  • 5 g fresh parsley chopped
  • 3 g salt
  • 1 g red pepper flakes optional

Method
 

Prepare and Season Potatoes
  1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F). Halve 900g potatoes lengthwise (quarter very large ones so pieces are similar). Toss in a large bowl with 30ml olive oil, 5g salt, and 2g black pepper until evenly coated—oil should lightly film the cut surfaces.
Roast Initial Stage
  1. Spread potatoes cut-side down on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Roast 20–25 minutes without stirring; the cut face needs uninterrupted contact to brown and crisp. You’re looking for a deep golden underside and edges that look slightly dry and crisping.
Make the Garlic Butter
  1. While potatoes roast, melt 60g butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 20g minced garlic and cook 1–2 minutes until fragrant—keep the garlic pale; browning turns it bitter. Remove from heat and stir in 3g thyme, 3g rosemary, and 1g red pepper flakes if using.
Toss with Garlic Butter
  1. Remove potatoes from the oven and pour the garlic herb butter over them. Toss gently with a spatula or by shaking the tray (careful not to break soft pieces), then spread back into a single layer. Aim to get some butter into the cracks and along the edges.
Finish Roasting
  1. Return to the oven and roast 15–20 minutes until deeply golden and crisp at the edges and tender in the center. Test doneness by piercing the thickest piece—there should be no resistance. If the edges are browning faster than your oven normally does, rotate the tray once halfway through.
Garnish and Serve
  1. Remove from oven and immediately toss with 5g fresh parsley. Taste and add up to 3g additional salt if needed (potatoes often need a final adjustment). Serve hot while the garlic aroma is at its strongest and the edges are crisp.

Notes

Cut-side-down roasting is the crispness hack here. That flat face browns like a pan sear in the oven, while the skin protects the interior from drying out. If you flip too early or stir, you lose that concentrated browning.
Garlic butter is about heat control. Garlic should sizzle softly, not fry aggressively—browned garlic tastes harsh and overwhelms the herbs. If your butter is bubbling hard, lower the heat immediately and shorten the cook.
Toss gently after adding butter. You want maximum coating without breaking the potatoes into mashed edges. If potatoes are very delicate, use a wide spatula and fold from the edges inward.
For leftovers, reheat uncovered at 200°C for 10–12 minutes to restore crisp edges. Reheating covered traps steam and makes them soft.