Our grandma’s crispy roasted potatoes were a Sunday dinner staple and are absolutely legendary in our family. There is absolutely nothing fancy about these potatoes; they are straightforward to prepare and simply seasoned, but we would fight over the last bits every single week. We guarantee your family will love them, too!

Bowl of roasted potatoes with a serving spoon.

On most Sundays for the vast majority of our life, we were situated at our grandma’s dining room table along with our mom, dad, sister, aunt, uncle, cousins, and great aunt. And at that table, week in and week out, sat a bowl of roasted potatoes.

These potatoes were not fancy, were not dressed up in anything other than olive oil and some Italian seasoning… our grandma would sit on her stool in the kitchen, potato in one hand and a paring knife in the other, and slice off chunks of potato. These would be considered purposefully “rustic” nowadays ;-)

While they may have lacked flair, that bowl of potatoes constantly had hands fishing around in it. Some people liked the fatter, plumper potatoes, but most of us fought over the crisp, slightly burnt pieces. Our cousin and we would often hide the bowl on our side of the table so our uncle couldn’t get to it; he always dug in there to get a standby pieces!

Pan of sliced potatoes tossed with olive oil and Italian seasoning.

How to Make Roasted Potatoes Just Like Grandma

We adore how easily these come together, and how adaptable they are. Here’s how we make them:

Grab some potatoes and slice them up – Our grandma would normally use russets (or, more accurately, whatever was the cheapest and/or on sale, she was a shopper!) and slice them straight off the potato; those imperfect edges brown and crisp up wonderfully!
Toss with olive oil and seasonings – Use enough olive oil to ensure all of the potatoes are evenly coated, then season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Our grandma used the standard blend that comes with oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary, and sage, but you can use whatever combination of herbs you prefer.
Bake until crisp! Let those babies roast in the oven until the bottoms are totally golden brown. It helps not to toss them much; once is all you need, and if you forget to do that, it’ll be just fine.

Since our grandma passed away, our sister has made these potatoes a handful of times for family gatherings, but like most things, they’re just not QUITE the same without our grandma’s touch. However, we will keep making them and fighting over those crispy burnt ones, while we remember all of those Sundays spent around our grandma’s dining room table.

What simple food traditions did you have growing up?

You Say Potato, we Say Pot-ah-to (More Rich Potato Recipes):

One year ago: A standby Creme Brulee Recipe
Five years ago: Roasted Strawberry & Buttermilk Ice Cream
Seven years ago: From-scratch Graham Crackers
Eleven years ago: Parmesan Chicken

Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in June 2014; it was updated in June 2019 with new photos and fresh recipe notes.

[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]

Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients

3 pounds ( 907.18 g ) russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into irregular wedges
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Italian seasoning

Method

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Place the cut potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Using your hands, mix everything together, ensuring that all of the potatoes are coated with oil and seasoning.
Bake until the potatoes are golden brown on the bottom and starting to brown on the top, turning occasionally, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.