The 1-Ingredient Upgrade for the Best Roasted Potatoes

I was inspired to try this trick after reading the label on a bag of frozen French fries.

Roasted potatoes are a go-to weeknight side dishI tend to throw in the oven when I don’t have time to think about what else to make. I start with baby potatoes so I don’t have to bother peeling them, and I parboil them as the oven preheats so that the inside stays fluffy and the outside gets crispy.

Now, as many of you probably know, my kids are super picky. Even though they would eat French fries every night if I let them, roasted potatoes were a hard no for them. I’m unsure if you’ve ever tried reasoning with a six-year-old and a three-year-old … I could never convince my kids that roasted potatoes were basically the same as French fries.

For my kids, the texture is the barrier to entry with new foods. When I served them standard roasted potatoes they were thrown off by the feel of the outsides; they weren't super crisp like the French fries they love.

So, what's a mom to do? Trick them, obviously. I decided the only way to get my kids to try the potatoes was to make them more like French fries: really crispy on the outside.

After closely inspecting the brand of frozen French fries I often buy, I realized that they are coated in a blend of starches to help crisp them up. So, I decided to give the method a shot with roasted potatoes. And it turns out, coating the potatoes with cornstarch is the secret to super crispy roasted potatoes!

How To Get the Crispiest Potatoes Using Cornstarch

After parboiling the potatoes in a pot of salted water, I let them steam dry in a colander set on my kitchen counter, or in the freezer if I am pressed for time. Once the potatoes are dry to the touch and no longer steaming, I coat them in salt, black pepper, dried herbs, and spices (I like oregano and paprika), and cornstarch. I use about a tablespoon for every 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes.

Season the Potatoes Generously

One thing to keep in mind is that adding any type of starch will dull the seasoning on the potatoes, so it's important to season them more generously than you would otherwise.

I toss the potatoes well to make sure everything is coated evenly, then I add them to a well-oiled rimmed sheet pan and toss again so the potatoes are fully coated with oil. The potatoes then go into a 450°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes. They'll get golden brown, super crispy, and delicious.

The resulting potatoes are incredibly crisp on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, and hold their shape well. I can’t say my kids prefer them to French fries, but they will eat them, which is a big win in my book.