Imagine the crispiness of seriously good smashed potatoes cooked in the oven paired with the fresh flavors of our homemade vegan pesto. It’s the perfect match! This Mediterranean-style side dish can served as a side, appetizer, or snack.
I have a fun story to share from when I was putting together this recipe for you guys. I took a quick break to take down to compost, and, to my surprise, I spotted a vibrant green plant sprouting right out of the pile. It looked like a potato plant (to be honest, I’ve never grown -potatoes), so I pulled, and there it was! A whole potato plant with three or four little baby potatoes budding from it.
Maybe it was just a coincidence, but maybe it was my garden telling me, “If you like potatoes this much, here’s one plant for you!” I will see what comes out of this.
So we shared our classic Vegan Pesto recipe that we've been making at home for years. We like making pesto in big batches so we can freeze it. Today, we are just exploring a new way to enjoy pesto with extra crispy smashed potatoes!
Ingredients
Baby potatoes. We like using baby potatoes or smaller potatoes for smashed potatoes, as they have the perfect size to enjoy in one bite.
Fresh basil leaves. You can also use a mix of leafy greens, such as spinach and rocket, but we recommend always adding at least half the amount of basil.
Pine nuts. You can also use cashews or Macadamia nuts.
Yeast flakes. We use yeast flakes to add that cheesy flavor from parmesan that you need to make classic pesto. You can skip this ingredient, but if you have it, we recommend adding it. Also, vegan parmesan is a great option. Here are some substitutes for yeast flakes.
Garlic.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil. We use extra virgin olive oil to make our fresh pesto and to bake the potatoes.
A pinch of salt and pepper.
Cooking Method
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook the potatoes on medium heat and simmer for around 20 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain the potatoes and add to a baking tray.
Add some olive oil to a baking tray and smash the potatoes into the tray with a glass or flat object.
Brush them with some extra olive oil to ensure they get crispy all around.
Cook the potatoes at 400F/200C for 30 minutes until crispy, turning them halfway through.
While the potatoes are cooking, you can prepare the pesto.
Separate the leaves from the stems of your basil. Wash and dry all the leaves with a paper towel.
Add all the pesto ingredients to a blender and blend until you have a smooth pesto sauce. If needed, keep adding some more olive oil while blending the pesto.
You may need to stop a few times to scrape down the bits left on the sides of the blender and make sure all the leaves are finely chopped and incorporated into the pesto sauce.
Transfer the pesto to a container or bowl.
Once the potatoes are cooked, transfer the smashed potatoes to a serving plate and serve with the vegan pesto. You can serve the pesto as a dip or add or just as we like it, add some pesto dollops on the potatoes.
Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Vegan Pesto
Ingredients
- 16 oz baby potatoes
- 2 ½ cups fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- ⅓ cup yeast flakes
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- A pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
Smashed Potatoes
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the potatoes. Cook the potatoes on medium heat and simmer for around 20 minutes, or until fork-tender. Drain the potatoes and add to a baking tray.
- Add some olive oil to a baking tray and smash the potatoes into the tray with a glass or flat object.
- Brush them with some extra olive oil to ensure they get crispy all around.
- Cook the potatoes at 400F/200C for 30 minutes until crispy, turning them halfway through.
Fresh Basil Pesto
- First, you'll need to separate the leaves from the stems of your basil. To make pesto, you can also use the stems, but we prefer to only use the leaves. Then, wash and dry all the leaves with a paper towel.
- Add all the ingredients to make the pesto in a food processor or blender.
- Incorporate the fresh basil, pine nuts, yeast flakes, garlic cloves, half of the olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Blend all the ingredients, and if needed, keep adding some more olive oil while blending the pesto. You may need to stop a few times to scrape down the bits left on the sides of the blender and make sure all the leaves are finely chopped and incorporated into the pesto sauce.
- Transfer the smashed potatoes to a serving plate and serve with the vegan pesto. You can serve the pesto as a dip or add a little spoonful on top of each potato.
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Serving Suggestions
The best way to enjoy smashed potatoes is right away after baking them. If you leave them out for too long, they start losing their crispiness.
We love serving this dish as an appetizer or side dish. Our kids really enjoy having them as an appetizer while they're waiting for their food.
These smashed potatoes with pesto pair nicely with a tofu schnitzel or a cauliflower steak. This side dish is also a great option to serve with a plant-based burger or sausages.
If you have a potluck dinner or a BBQ, this dish can be a great choice! Leave the potatoes boiled and the pesto made, and then bake the potatoes before the meal.
Variations to our Smashed Potatoes with Pesto
We've got you covered if you want to serve these crispy potatoes with different dips! Pesto is such a delicious sauce, but sometimes, we serve the potatoes with a different dip because we don’t have fresh basil, or for big gatherings, we like to offer more than one dip. So these are the ones we tried and loved for these smashed potatoes:
If you need something easier, serve them with a store-bought sauce such as ketchup, mayo, or BBQ sauce. You can also get store-bought vegan pesto if you can find it!
FAQ
Smashed potatoes are cooked with the skin and baked in the oven until crispy. Mashed potatoes are also boiled, but once the skin is removed, they are mashed into a purée with added butter.
Totally! We've made them using the air fryer before. Set your air fryer to 400F (200C) and air fry for about 20 minutes or until crispy, turning them halfway. You may need to make the smashed potatoes in different batches so you don't overcrowd the air fryer.
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