How to Get Crispy Roast Potatoes in the Oven

Roast potatoes are one of those dishes where everyone has an opinion on the method, but the results still vary wildly from one kitchen to the next. Some come out golden and shattering-crisp on every side, others are pale on the bottom no matter how long they're left in. Most of that difference comes down to one thing that has nothing to do with the recipe, how much of the potato's surface is actually exposed to hot, moving air.

The problem with a flat tray

On a standard flat roasting tray, a potato is only ever getting proper heat from the surfaces touching the metal and whatever's directly above it. The underside sits flush against the tray, which means less air movement there than anywhere else on the potato, and it's usually the underside that ends up disappointingly pale even when the top and edges have coloured beautifully. Turning the potatoes halfway through helps, but it also means opening the oven, losing heat, and breaking up any crust that's already started to form.

This is exactly the gap the Pep Oven Tray With Crisping Basket is built to close. Rather than potatoes sitting flat against a solid base, the raised basket design lifts them up and lets hot air circulate underneath and around each piece, not just from above. It's a similar idea to what an air fryer basket does, exposing far more of the potato's surface to moving hot air than a flat tray ever can, which is why potatoes cooked this way tend to crisp more evenly on every side, including the bottom, without needing to be turned as often.

Choosing the right potato

Not every potato is built for this. You want a floury variety with a high starch content, Maris Piper and King Edward are the two most reliable choices available in most UK supermarkets. Their fluffier texture once cooked gives you more surface area to roughen up, which is where the crispiest bits come from. Waxy potatoes, like Charlotte or new potatoes, hold their shape well but won't give you the same shattering crust.

Cut them into evenly sized chunks, roughly egg-sized halves or thirds depending on how large the potatoes are. Uneven sizes mean some pieces finish before others, and on a basket tray in particular, evenly sized pieces sit and roast more consistently against the raised structure.

Parboiling and roughing up the edges

This step makes more difference to the final result than almost anything else in the method.

1. Parboil the potatoes in salted water for 8 to 10 minutes, until the outside is starting to soften but the middle still has some resistance. You're not trying to cook them through at this stage.

2. Drain thoroughly, then return them to the empty pan.

3. Shake the pan with the lid on, or toss the potatoes gently in a colander. This roughens and fluffs up the surface of each piece, and that rough, slightly broken texture is what goes properly crisp in the oven rather than just golden. A smooth-edged potato, however well roasted, will never crisp the same way.

4. Let them steam-dry for a few minutes before they go anywhere near oil. Any excess surface moisture works against crisping, the same principle as drying chips or potato wedges before roasting them.

Oil, and getting it properly hot

Heat your oil separately before the potatoes go anywhere near the tray, either in the oven while it preheats or briefly on the hob. A neutral oil with a high smoke point works well, rapeseed oil, or goose fat if you want the more traditional route for a Sunday roast. Adding potatoes to oil that's already hot gives them an immediate sizzle on contact, which starts the crisping process straight away rather than letting them slowly heat up alongside a lukewarm tray.

Toss the roughened, dried potatoes in the hot oil in the pan then pour onto the basket tray, using enough to coat every piece without pooling in the base. The raised basket structure means any excess oil drains away from the potatoes as they cook rather than sitting underneath them, so you can be a little more generous here than you would with a flat tray without ending up with soggy, oil-logged results.

Oven temperature and timing

• Oven temperature: 200°C (180°C fan) or gas mark 6

• Cooking time: 45 to 55 minutes, depending on the size of your pieces

• With a basket tray, you shouldn't need to turn the potatoes as often as you would on a flat tray, since air is already reaching most of each piece, but one turn around the halfway point still helps even things out, particularly for pieces near the edges of the tray.

Give them the full time rather than judging by colour alone in the first half hour, a properly crisp potato needs the moisture inside to reduce as much as the outside needs to brown, and rushing the process tends to leave you with something crisp on the outside but still slightly gluey just underneath the surface.

Salt at the end, not the start

Salt draws moisture out of whatever it touches, so seasoning the potatoes before they go in the oven works against the drying and crisping you've just spent time setting up. Season once they're out of the oven and still hot enough for the salt to stick properly.

A few things worth checking if they're not crisping

Overcrowding the basket. Even with better air circulation than a flat tray, potatoes piled on top of each other will still steam each other rather than crisp. Spread them into a single layer with a little space around each piece, cooking in two batches if needed.

Oil that wasn't hot enough to start. A cold or lukewarm start means the potatoes spend the first part of cooking simply heating up rather than actively crisping, which costs you time you don't get back later in the process.

Skipping the shake. Smooth-surfaced parboiled potatoes, however well roasted afterwards, won't develop the same rough, crisp texture as ones that have been properly roughened up first.

Once you've got the method down, this works just as well for parsnips, and roast potatoes cooked this way tend to hold their crispness for longer once out of the oven too, since less oil and moisture has been trapped underneath them during cooking, which matters if dinner's not going straight to the table the moment they're done. 

The Pep Crisper Oven Tray With Crisping Basket is available HERE!