No Oil No Fat Crispy Roast Potatoes
These Crispy Roast Potatoes are made with a special method that doesn’t require oil, and makes for potatoes that are golden brown and crispy!
The crispiness of these potatoes just boggles my mind. This recipe uses absolutely no oil, no butter, no lard, no shortening, no fat whatsoever. It is crispy completely from the way that it is cooked. The interior of the potato is fluffy and soft, and the outside has a robust crunch to it.
Don’t expect the same kind of crunch as true double deep-fried french fries, but these potatoes are equally as addictive. My husband and I can go through a whole sheet pan of these things in one sitting, and we do…that’s why I make four pounds at a time.
I discovered the crispiness sort of by accident two years ago. I had seen a recipe for crispy potatoes from Nigella Lawson, and they looked so good…but the recipe called for two 11-ounce jars of goose fat for 5 lbs of potatoes!! I was afraid of fat at the time, so I tried making them in a similar way, but without the fat. And they crisped nicely!
Part of the crispy potato magic comes from a little bit of flour, and the other part of the magic comes from the way these are cooked.
Start by peeling the potatoes:
Parboil the potatoes, then shake them up with flour, to mar up the edges a bit:
This changes the shape of the potato pieces, makes the edges lighter, and coats the edges with the flour.
Spread them out on a sheet pan, and bake!
This time in the hot oven is when they develop their crisp brown edges.
Once you’ve tried this recipe, don’t be shy about getting creative with the seasoning. In addition to salt and pepper, you could do garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, chili powder, and all sorts of stuff that strikes your fancy. Have fun with it!
No Oil No Fat Crispy Roast Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 pounds russet potatoes
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
- Peel the skin off the potatoes, placing the potatoes in cool water after peeling so they don’t discolor.
- Once the potatoes are peeled, cut them into evenly sized small pieces an inch or two big (either is fine, cut to your preference). Place the potato pieces in a pot, fill with enough cold water to cover the potatoes, and salt the water like you would a pasta water (it should taste as salty as ocean water). This will help season the potatoes on the inside.
- Bring the water to a boil on high heat (you always cook potatoes starting with cold water in order to ensure evenly cooked pieces. If you start the potatoes in boiling water, the outside will be overcooked by the time the inside is done). Once the water is boiling, cook for an additional 4 minutes. Drain the potatoes, return the pieces to the pot (don’t put the pot back on the heat), and sprinkle over the flour. Put the lid back on the pan, and shake it up. You are marring the edges, which will facilitate the crunchiness of the potatoes later on.
- Dump the potatoes onto a sheet pan and make sure they are in a single layer (don’t crowd the potatoes, or the edges won’t get crispy). Give it a good sprinkling of sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and they are ready to go into the oven. Roast for 30-45 minutes, but watch them carefully because roasting time can vary depending on the size of the potato pieces. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
62 Comments on “No Oil No Fat Crispy Roast Potatoes”
I was looking an oil free way of making oven roasted potatoes when I came across your recipe. My wife and I tried it tonight and we loved it. So simple yet so delicious.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Mike, I’m so glad to hear that you and your wife enjoyed these potatoes!!! Thanks for stopping by to let me know. Happy cooking!
Hey. So I needed to figure out how to make potatoes without oil or salt and came across your recipe. I changed it around so it is hygienic diet-friendly and thought you might find it interesting: http://deena.co/2012/05/19/turmeric-potatoes-hygienic-diet-style/
Thanks for the inspiration and help making a dish that actually came out quite good!
I just put them in the oven. Will let you all know. I boiled the potatoes exactly as you recommended, but came out mushy. Next time I will try boiling for 2 minutes. Anxios for them to come out of the oven now.
I tried these tonight with Florida white potatoes. I substituted chickpea flour for all purpose flour because I have to eat gluten free. I sprayed a little canola oil over the tops (very little) and added a little rosemary. They came out great. What a wonderful recipe you have given us!
Leslie, that is wonderful!!! That’s awesome the chickpea flour worked so well too!
I bet rice flour would work great too for those people who have to avoid wheat and might not have the chickpea flour on hand. I might try that next time.
I need a new way to make potatoes that will not require oil due to health. I was surprised to see it is possible. I know they will be tasty just from the picture.
It definitely is possible! They’re a little time consuming, but only because opening a bag of chips is what it’s compared to. I just slice up the next batch while the other microwaves, it’s not too bad.
Thank you for this awesome recipe. I did it differently, by cutting my pieces for fries, and they came out perfect!
Awesome, Kevin! I’m so happy to hear this!!! I like your idea of cutting them into fries!
Have you ever frozen the potatoes have you cooked them? Any suggestions would be great! I am starting a new diet and I need potatoes for the morning!
Hi Courtney, Hm…I unfortunately don’t think potatoes freeze well. The texture usually gets all funny, like many other fresh produce items. The good news is you can make a big batch and they’ll probably keep in the fridge for a good few days (pop them in the oven to re-crisp). Good luck on the new diet…I need to start one myself!
Check the one out on body building . Com from Jamie Eason. It’s the one I am starting! Would love to have a friend to do it with! Thanks about putting them in the fridge that will def work!
Great recipe…but was very salty, so salt to taste. And it was done in half an hour. Will make again, thank you!
Yum! I’m McDougalling and these are perfect! I’ve always adored roasted potatoes, but couldn’t figure out how to make them without oil. You totally saved the day! Many, many thanks! 🙂
YAY Thanks for letting me know!!! Glad you enjoyed them Stephani!
I’ll be giving this recipe a go this week. I don’t generally like potatoes and I’m incredibly limited in what I can use to make them taste good, so I’m really crossing my fingers that these are going to be as awesome as they sound!
I tried making these the other night…serious fail! My mistake was prepping the potatoes, putting them in the oven at 525, and leaving for a quick trip to the gym. I came back 50 minutes later and my entire apartment was full of smoke and the potatoes were scorched. Yes, I know its stupid to leave when your oven is on such a high heat, but how did you make these without them burning?
Emily, I’m so sorry to hear they were so burned. Do you have an oven thermometer?
No…perhaps I should get one. I will give them another try…this time I won’t leave the house! 😉
Winner!!!! We all loved these and they will enter “THE VAULT” of family favorites, thanks and we love the site.
Thank you, Mike! I love that they are healthy but still crispy!!! It just shows you what playing with different techniques can do!
What a great recipe! I made this recipe tonight…only thing I changed was to season the flour before adding it to the potatoes. (Oh, and I didn’t make the potato water super salty because I have to watch how much salt I eat. I understand what you’re saying, but I’m only allowed about 1000 mg a day.)
We’ll have this again 🙂 Thanks!
YAY! I’m so glad you liked them! And I like that you made little changes to it! I’m all for tweaking food/recipes to meet your needs/taste.
I’m intrigued… no butter or oil but it’s crispy?? Will definitely have to give it a try!
I’m glad you liked the white velvet cupcakes!
I made this tonight!I’ve been making really random things today lol. Its similar to potatoes that my mom makes 🙂 These are really crispy, I love it!
Thanks for posting this on Twitter. I’m going to make these tonight for the BCS bowl game I’m hosting. I appreciate the pictures as well.
Have a happy week.
Imelda Dulcich
http://twitter.com/imeldadulcich
http://imeldadulcich.com