Think of potatoes parmentier as mini crispy roasted potatoes! So perfect for midweek meals or even easy entertaining, they’re delicious – lightly seasoned, perfectly tender on the inside and golden brown and crisp on the outside. The best part? No need to peel the potatoes and no time-consuming parboiling necessary!
What are potatoes parmentier?
Potatoes Parmentier is a classic French dish. It involves dicing or cubing potatoes and cooking them simply in butter or oil and a sprinkle of herbs for extra oomph. In France, they are called Pommes Parmentier.
The dish gets its name from Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, an 18th-century French pharmacist and nutrition guru. He waved the potato flag high, convincing people that good old potatoes were the way to go. Thanks to him, France fell in love with potatoes!
Why you’ll love them
✔ No parboiling! Since the potato cubes are so small, you can simply toss them with oil and seasonings, then roast until crisp and browned. You could say they’re like mini roast potatoes!
✔ Oven-baked. You can make potatoes parmentier either in the oven or on the stove. I much prefer the oven method. Prepare the potatoes in around 10 minutes, then let the oven do the rest of the work.
✔ Kind of fancy – perhaps no surprises there since parmentier potatoes is a French dish! They’re easier than traditional roast potatoes for a midweek meal, but would also look classy served at a dinner party, don’t you think?
✔ Healthy. Baked and not fried. You can also keep the skin on the potatoes. As Monsieur Parmentier said many years ago, potatoes are nutritious!
✔ Versatile. Serve them as no-brainer side dish. But that’s not all! How about enjoying them for breakfast or brunch with eggs and bacon? Got leftovers? Throw them into an omelette or frittata or even into these incredibly delicious Greek chicken gyros pitas!
Ingredients
Potatoes: To serve four as a side dish, you’ll need around 4 to 5 medium sized potatoes. I find that this amount ‘just’ fits onto a large baking sheet.
Ideally, for making these tasty diced roasted potatoes, choose semi-starchy potatoes that hold their shape well during cooking. Some examples include Yukon Gold, red potatoes (my favorite!) or simply use white potatoes (all-purpose).
In a pinch, just use what you have!
Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil or light olive oil are both fine. You can even use another type of oil such as vegetable oil if that’s what you have.
If you’d like your potatoes to taste richer, by all means use melted butter instead.
Dried herbs and garlic: To keep the recipe super simple, I recommend dried herbs and dried garlic. I usually go for mixed dried herbs, but you can use any. Good options are any or a mixture of: basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary.
If you like, use fresh herbs instead (around a tablespoon for every teaspoon of dried). However, stick to ‘hardy’ herbs such as rosemary or thyme to add at the beginning of cooking. Add more delicate herbs such as basil or parsley at the end of cooking.
Salt and pepper: Half a teaspoon of salt and around a quarter teaspoon of pepper is about right, but you can adjust to taste.
And that’s it. Really. Get ready for some of the tastiest, easiest potatoes of your life!
How to make potatoes parmentier
In short, it’s incredibly easy!
First, pre-heat the oven to a fairly high temperature – 410F/210C.
Then wash and chop your potatoes into slices – around 1 cm thick. Then cut each slice, two or three at a time if you like, into cubes that are around 1cm square.
No need to peel the potatoes, unless you want to, which is also fine.
Once the potatoes are diced, blot them with kitchen paper to remove excess moisture (this is optional, but only takes a few seconds and can help the potatoes get crispier).
Then spread out evenly and in a single layer on a large baking sheet (or two smaller ones) or in a roasting pan. If you like you can line with baking paper first for easier clean-up. Toss well with the olive oil and herbs/seasoning.
Roast for around 40 minutes, or until nicely tender inside and golden and crispy on the outside. Toss half way through.
Helen’s top tips
- If your food processor can dice, use this to cut the cubes of potatoes instead if you like! I don’t think it’s worth dirtying your processor if you’re just making 1 batch. But if you happen to be making more, this might be worth considering.
- Arrange the diced potatoes on the baking sheet in just one layer. They can be close together but not piled on top of each other. This way the air can circulate around them in the oven and get them nice and crisp. If you need to, use two baking sheets instead of just one.
- Toss the potatoes around once or twice during cooking so that they get browned evenly.
How to serve
I like to serve the crispy cubed potatoes immediately while still hot and crisp out of the oven! Empty them into a nice serving dish and let everyone help themselves.
Some of the dinners in our regular rotation that I often serve this potato parmentier recipe with include creamy pesto chicken, one pan chicken pizzaiola, spinach and feta stuffed chicken breasts, or these copycat Ikea Swedish meatballs.
This amazing Greek eggplant dish is a great vegetarian option, and it will be fine put in the oven together with the potatoes.
The roasted potato cubes are also PERFECT with this 5-ingredient chicken with feta and lemon as the oven temperature is the same for both the chicken and the potato parmentier. Serve these two together with 10-minute frozen green beans and it’s a dinner fit for kings and queens!
They also go well with a ‘dinner salad’ such as this amazing roast pumpkin and feta salad with chorizo, easy tuna salad or bacon and spinach salad.
But let’s be real. Whenever you would normally have some kind of potato dish with your meal, this quick and crowd pleasing french potatoes recipe would be great. You could even make them to go with your Sunday roast!
Need more ideas? See all easy dinners.
Variations
- Switch up the herbs and/or spices. How about paprika, cumin, onion powder or red pepper flakes? Use whichever dried herbs you would like to try. Fresh work well, too. Try tossing finely chopped rosemary or thyme through the potatoes before cooking.
- Sprinkle over any of the ‘more delicate’ fresh herbs at the end. Try chopped dill (always good with potatoes!), coriander, parley, chopped chives, or basil.
- Add veggies. Toss chopped red bell peppers, chopped onions, diced zucchini, or chopped fresh fennel through the potatoes around half way through cooking.
- Make ‘loaded potatoes’. After cooking, sprinkle the potatoes parmentier with cheese and broil (put under the grill) for a few minutes until melted and bubbling. Great cheese options could be cheddar, gruyère, parmesan, or anything that melts easily. Top with sour cream or Greek yogurt, crispy bacon, and chopped chives. Enjoy!
- ‘Wild card’ option. Drizzle with some of this delicious 10-minute lemon herb sauce just before serving!
Recipe FAQs
They’re best eaten immediately after cooking, but you can prepare them for cooking in advance. Dice the potatoes and toss with the olive oil and herbs/seasoning up to a few hours ahead, then cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you’re ready to cook dinner.
Yes, you can. Simply spread out evenly over a baking sheet again and reheat at 350°F/175°C for around 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp again. If they are browning too much, tuck aluminum foil over the top.
Yes, you can. However, reduce the oven temperature to 375F/190C. Roast for 30-40 minutes, tossing half way through and keeping an eye on the potatoes towards the end of the cooking time so that they don’t burn.
Yes! Halve the amount, unless you have a very large air fryer. Preheat to 375°F/190°C (may vary slightly depending on air fryer). Air fry for 15-20 minutes or until evenly browned and crisp. Toss half way through cooking.
More easy side dish ideas
You’ve got dinner sorted – luckily I have plenty of super simple side dish ideas for you, too!
- These 2-minute toasted breads with olive oil and salt have ‘saved’ me on many a week night!
- Sautéed vegetables! You can even cook them straight from frozen. Choose from either sautéed green beans, sautéed broccoli or sautéed butternut squash – all very delicious.
- Go Greek style with these incredible Greek potatoes, a classic Greek ‘horiatiki’ salad or a simple but tasty Greek lettuce salad.
- Got an air fryer? Try air fried cauliflower. It’s tasty, crispy, and ready in just 15 minutes.
Or see all easy side dishes.
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Easy Potatoes Parmentier (No Parboiling!)
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
- 1.75 pounds potatoes (around 5 medium potatoes) washed but with skins left on
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried herbs (I like mixed herbs, but basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary, or any mixture you like OK.) Substitute with 2 tablespoons 'hardy' fresh herbs such as thyme or rosemary.
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
To serve (optional)
- Fresh chopped herbs such as parsley, basil, coriander or chives.
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 410F/210C. Line a large baking sheet or roasting pan with baking paper (if you like for easier clean-up).
- Dice the potatoes so that each 'cube' is around 1 cm square in size (first slice into rounds, then dice 2 to 3 slices at a time).1.75 pounds potatoes
- Scatter evenly over the baking sheet. They can be fairly close together but not piled on top of each other. If necessary use two baking sheets.
- Toss the tiny potato cubes well with the olive oil, dried herbs, garlic, salt and pepper.3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons dried herbs, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Roast the potatoes parmentier for around 40 minutes or until they are tender inside and nicely golden brown and crisp on the outside. Toss well again half way through the cooking time for even browning/crisping.
- Empty into a nice serving dish and serve while still hot/warm and crispy. Scatter with fresh herbs to serve if you like.Fresh chopped herbs such as parsley, basil, coriander or chives.
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