Kitchen rescueRice, pasta and potatoesUsually saveable

How to fix soggy roast potatoes

Turn the oven up high, spread the potatoes out in a roasting tin with a little more hot fat so they aren't touching, and roast until crisp, turning them partway through.

How you can tell

  • The potatoes are pale and soft on the outside
  • They're greasy or steamy rather than crisp
  • The edges are smooth rather than rough and crunchy

Why it happens

Roast potatoes go crisp when their surface dries out and fries in hot fat. If the tin is overcrowded, the potatoes release steam that can't escape, so they steam instead of roast. Fat that isn't hot enough soaks into the potatoes rather than crisping them. Potatoes that are still wet from boiling, or that weren't parboiled and roughed up, have less surface to crisp. Waxy potatoes also crisp less well than floury ones.

How to fix it

The fixRoast them hotter and further apart

  1. Turn the oven up high
  2. Spread the potatoes out in a large roasting tin, or use another tin, so they aren't touching
  3. Add a little more fat, heated in the tin beforehand, and turn the potatoes to coat them
  4. Roast until golden and crisp, turning them partway through

Next time

  • Use floury potatoes and parboil them until the edges soften
  • Drain them well, let them steam dry, then shake them in the pan to rough up the edges
  • Heat the fat in the tin in the oven before adding the potatoes
  • Give them plenty of space in the tin

Terms on this page

General kitchen guidance, not food-safety advice. If food may be unsafe, for example undercooked meat or anything left out too long, follow the Food Standards Agency and throw it away if in doubt.