How Martha Stewart Makes Extra-Garlicky Roast Potatoes

It’s the time of year to start thinking about potatoes. Yes, these tubers are available all year — and I use them in meals at home regularly — but as the peak season for dinner parties and holidays approaches, I begin contemplating how I can take a potato side dish to the next level.

I’ve tried gratins, mashed potatoes with varying amounts of cream and butter, crispy smashed spuds, and perfectly piped pommes duchesse. This year, I’m focusing on something that strikes the right balance — requiring some effort, but not too much — while still delivering impressive results. Most importantly, it maximizes the amount of garlicky flavor you can pack into a potato.

As a seasoned expert and cookbook author who’s written over 1,000 recipes across 100 cookbooks, Martha Stewart knows a thing or two about making holiday-worthy potatoes. And if you’re looking for a twist on typical potato sides or simply love roasted garlic — who doesn’t — she has one dish that belongs on your Thanksgiving table.

How to make Martha Stewart’s garlicky roasted potatoes

In a throwback clip from one of her many TV shows over the decades, Stewart demonstrates how to make her “roast potatoes with garlic,” a preparation she says she first tried during a camping trip to Saranac Lake in New York.

“Roast potatoes with garlic” is an apt name, but this recipe differs from simple fingerling potatoes roasted with minced garlic, as it maximizes the flavor of this aromatic allium in every bite.

Stewart begins with “two whole bulbs of roasted garlic” and places each tender, caramelized clove into a small to medium bowl. (This will require a little pre-planning, but roasting whole bulbs of garlic is straightforward. Just cut off about a quarter-inch from the top of the bulb, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and bake at 400°F for roughly 40 minutes or until the garlic cloves are tender and golden.)

After mashing the garlic with a pinch of salt and some olive oil, Stewart sets the mixture aside and grabs a few russet potatoes. She then begins to “slice the potatoes into pieces about an inch thick.” For the next step, you’ll need just a little bit of finesse. Stewart spreads the roasted garlic paste onto each piece of potato and reassembles the slices into the shape of the original, whole potato.

Each garlic-filled potato is set on a piece of tinfoil, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a touch of olive oil, then wrapped in foil. Stewart recommends baking the potatoes at 475°F for about an hour and ten minutes, or simply placing them directly into a blazing campfire if you happen to be out on an outdoor trip.

Is this just a Hasselback potato?

While both dishes call for slicing a potato and layering seasonings between each slice, Martha Stewart’s garlicky roasted potatoes will yield results that are fairly different from a Hasselback spud.

The Hasselback potato technique focuses on achieving crispiness and requires that you do not cut all the way through the potatoes, leaving the bottom intact. The thin slices are fanned out and roasted, allowing hot air to circulate around them in the oven and producing the crispy edges you want with this dish.

In addition to the extra garlic — two full bulbs, which is more than most recipes for any potato dish call for — and the subtly sweet, caramelized notes from the pre-roasted alliums, Stewart’s recipe is texturally different from a Hasselback potato.

Wrapping thicker potato slices in foil, insulating the vegetables, and shielding them from air exposure will produce melt-in-your-mouth, buttery potatoes infused with the aroma of roasted garlic. If you’re looking for a side that complements everything on your dinner table, these are likely the perfect choice.