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Oven Patatas Bravas

Oven Patatas Bravas

Spanish-Style Crispy Roasted Potatoes with Whole Garlic

Salt-soaked potato chunks roast in a pool of olive oil alongside whole garlic cloves, emerging golden and impossibly crispy on the outside while staying fluffy within. This is the Spanish technique that turns humble potatoes into something extraordinary.

SpanishSide DishVegetarianVeganGluten FreeDairy FreeNut FreeRoasting
Prep10 min
Cook35 min
Total45 min
Servings6
Difficultyeasy

Ingredients

FOR THE POTATOES

  • 2 lbyellow-fleshed or russet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1½-inch chunks
  • kosher salt
  • ½ cupextra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 headgarlic, separated into cloves but not peeled

Instructions

  1. Crank your oven to 450°F and let it fully preheat while you prep the potatoes.
  2. Toss the potato chunks in a large bowl with a generous coating of salt — don't be shy here. Let them sit while the salt draws out moisture and seasons them through.
    ⏱ 3 min
  3. Pour in the olive oil along with the whole garlic cloves and toss everything until the potatoes glisten and the garlic is well distributed.
  4. Dump everything into a large cast-iron skillet or heavy roasting pan, spreading the potatoes in a single layer without overcrowding. You want at least ½ inch of oil covering the bottom — add more if needed. Use two pans rather than crowd them.
  5. Slide into the oven and roast until the bottoms are deeply golden and crispy, about 15-20 minutes. Resist the urge to peek too early — you'll hear them sizzling away.
    ⏱ 20 min
  6. Using a sturdy metal spatula, flip each chunk to reveal that gorgeous golden crust, then drop the temperature to 400°F.
  7. Roast until the second side matches the first — deeply bronzed and crispy all over, another 15-20 minutes. The potatoes should sound hollow when tapped and yield easily to a fork.
    ⏱ 20 min