Easy Crispy Salt-Baked Potatoes (With Rosemary)

How to make salt-baked potatoes for spuds that are tender, fluffy, and creamy on the inside, yet crisp and browned on the outside. All you need are just 3 ingredients (one of which is optional!) and a wide baking dish for superior spuds for your table!

This week I’m all for everything potato. Mashed potato, crispy smashed potatoes (not to be confused with smash dried potatoes), and now these salt-baked potatoes.

Potatoes baked in salt are fluffy and flavourful and perfect for serving as a side dish or main, topped with your favorite baked potato toppings. Who said you can’t get something spectacular with an ingredient so humble?

Best of all, this process may use a lot of salt, but it’s reusable time and time again. In fact, there are several uses for the baked salt – read the recipe notes below for more on that.

Why bake potatoes on a bed of salt?

There are several variations of “salt-baked potatoes” out there – including recipes where the potatoes are buried in salt and then dug up post-cooking time (read the recipe notes for more on that), methods that create a salt crust on the potato, and recipes like this, where the potatoes are baked on a bed of salt (and herbs).

But, why do this? And what difference does it make?

When burying food in salt while cooking, the salt acts as a type of insulation. It cooks the food evenly but also gently and keeps the item soft and moist. In the case of potatoes baked in salt, it really locks in their flavor and texture for buttery, creamy potatoes with a practically non-existent skin.

Salt-baked potatoes that cook over a bed of salt, however, are the best of both worlds. The salt is said to trap any moisture that escapes the potatoes while cooking, allowing it to be reabsorbed by the potatoes for super fluffy, tender results. However, as the potatoes aren’t buried in the salt, if we uncover the potatoes for the latter part of the baking process, you end up with wonderfully crispy potato skin (without it being hard!).

The result are potatoes with super fluffy interiors and a light and crispy exterior.

Not to mention that it obviously helps to season the potatoes, and, in a similar way to how it works when the food item is buried, the salt also regulates the oven heat for a slower, more even bake.

Note – There is some debate over what salt actually does for the potatoes and how it works. However, I do know that, when using this method, my potatoes always come out light and fluffy.

What Is Needed

• Potatoes – I used regular baking potatoes (sold as ‘jacket potatoes’ or ‘baking potatoes’). Read the FAQ section for other potatoes great for baking.
• Salt – You can use rock salt, coarse sea salt, kosher salt, etc.
• Herbs – I’ve used rosemary here, as it’s one of my favorites to pair with spuds. However, feel free to use your herbs and flavorings of choice; garlic, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, etc.

The Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1: Wash the potatoes

You can do this under running water or place all your spuds in a large bowl of water and scrub before rinsing with a little fresh water. Use a brush to get all the dirt off.

Then pat them dry with a kitchen towel.

Step 2: Prepare the baking dish

Choose a baking dish big enough to comfortably fit all of the potatoes, without them touching, that’s tall enough to cover/ have a lid.

Pour salt into the baking dish – until about an inch in height.

Then add the herbs of your choice (optional) and mix into the salt.

Step 3: Par-bake the potatoes, covered

Add your potatoes to the dish. Don’t pierce them.

Then, cover the dish with a lid or some aluminum foil, tightly.

Bake in pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes at 230ºC/450ºF.

Step 4: Baste and bake the potatoes, uncovered

Remove the dish from the oven and increase the temperature to 260ºC/500ºF.

Remove the lid/foil from the potatoes and brush the potatoes with a little oil (or butter). Then place the dish back in the oven without the lid/foil.

Bake for another 15 minutes at 260ºC/500ºF. The potato skins will become crispy during this time.

Step 5: Serve the salt-baked potatoes

When the potatoes are ready, take them out of the baking dish and remove any excess salt – handle with care as the potatoes will be piping hot.

You can check the potatoes are ready using the method in the FAQ section.

Puncture the skin of the potatoes with a fork in a cross shape and then pop them open. You can also cut them in two with a knife, but popping them open keeps them fluffier.

The potatoes are ready to serve with your desired toppings!

How To Serve

Serve the delicious salt-baked potatoes as you would any jacket potato, with the fillings/toppings of your choice. Here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy them.

• With a little homemade butter (use compound butter with your favorite herbs for even more flavor)
• Use a little olive oil in place of butter
• Spoon over some sour cream or yogurt and chopped chives or spring onion.
• With homemade vegetarian chili con carne or this Stir-Fried Thai Basil Vegan Beef (Pad Krapow)
• With this Green Bean Stew (Braised Green Beans)
• A little of your favorite cheese – like this Simple Smoky Vegan Cheddar Cheese
• Sprinkle with a little Healthy Omega Seed Mix Sprinkle

FAQs

Recipe Notes

• Don’t throw away the salt! You can reuse the salt several times for the same purpose. You can also use it to create a brine and to clean cast-iron pans. If it’s not too brown/ burnt – then you can use it as a delicious herb-infused seasoning, too. Simply allow it to dry out, break up any clumps, and then keep it in an airtight bag. Optionally, sift the salt to get rid of any larger particles.
• You can use this cooking method with smaller potato varieties too such as fingerlings, baby red, Alex, and German butter potatoes. However, baking times will vary.
• If you want to serve these potatoes with roasted garlic, roast the garlic alongside the potatoes (over the salt), then crush it up into your butter/olive oil when serving the potatoes, for a delicious treat.
• These crispy salt roasted potatoes are best eaten immediately as the skin will lose its crispiness as it cools. However, you can store the potatoes covered in the fridge for 3-5 days and reheat in the oven for 15-20 minutes to try to get back some of the crispiness and heat through. 

Related Recipes

• Crispy Smashed Potatoes
• Creamy mashed potatoes (with cream)
• Rosemary Garlic Crispy Roasted Potatoes
• Roasted Purple Potatoes
• Oven-Roasted New Red Potatoes
• The Perfect Baked Potato Recipe

If you try this salt-baked potatoes recipe/method, then let me know your thoughts and any questions in the comments. I’d also really appreciate a recipe rating and would love to see your recreations – just tag @AlphaFoodie.