Easy Boiled Potatoes Recipe
This Boiled Potatoes Recipe is the easiest way to cook potatoes and there is no peeling required. New potatoes are the best for boiling because they have delicate skins and are so creamy and buttery in the center. These potatoes are excellent drizzled with melted butter, extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkled with kosher salt and herbs.
Boiled potatoes are a tasty and easy side dish that pairs well with Pan-Seared Steak, Broiled Lobster Tails, or Surf and Turf for a date night in.
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Boiled Potatoes with Olive Oil
I recently made Surf and Turf for my family and I knew my attention would be on making sure my steaks and shrimp are cooked to perfection so I needed a quick side dish. Boiled potatoes to the rescue!
This recipe pretty much makes itself with very little prep required. I usually make potatoes with just butter but adding a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil made the flavors really shine. So simple and so delicious.
Ingredients for Boiled Potatoes
The key to making great boiled potatoes is in using equal-sized potatoes so they cook at the same rate. If your potatoes are a little larger, you can cut them in half.
- 1 1/2 – 2 lbs Potatoes – you can use small yellow or red potatoes
- Unsalted butter – melted and drizzled over the potatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil – drizzled over the cooked and drained potatoes
- Salt – I salt the boiling water with fine sea salt then sprinkle the cooked potatoes with kosher salt.
- Black Pepper – sprinkle over the cooked potatoes, adding it to taste
- Parsley – this is optional but it sure adds beautiful color and fresh flavor to the potatoes.
How to Boil Potatoes
- Prep Potatoes – wash and scrub potatoes and cut larger potatoes in half so potato pieces are even-sized.
- Boil Potatoes – place potatoes in a pot of salted water and cover with an inch of water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are fork tender (10-18 minutes depending on size).
- Drain – drain off the water and return potatoes to the pot (or to a mixing bowl).
- Drizzle melted butter and olive oil over potatoes.
- Season – sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper, adding both to taste.
- Garnish – add freshly chopped parsley and toss to combine.
Pro Tip: The boiling time for potatoes can vary greatly depending on the size of your potatoes. Tiny potatoes can be done as quickly as 8 minutes while larger new potatoes can take up to 18 minutes. Test for doneness by poking with a fork and cook until potatoes are fork-tender.
Variations
There are so many variations for boiled potatoes. You can keep it simple or try some of these substitutions and additions:
- Herbs: You can use either parsley, fresh dill, or chives, or a combination of herbs.
- Salt: You can use a coarse salt like kosher or Maldon salt, or a fine sea salt to season the potatoes, just add it to taste.
- Bacon: Saute bacon in a skillet and toss the potatoes with bacon bits and grease instead of butter and olive oil.
- Parmesan: Freshly grated parmesan is an excellent garnish for boiled potatoes.
More Side Dish Recipes
If you love easy but interesting side dishes, you will love these ideas:
- Roasted Cauliflower
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Spaghetti Squash
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
These Boiled Potatoes are a staple recipe for our family and they are impressive enough for company. They have tons of flavor and I appreciate how easy they are to cook.
Easy Boiled Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs small new potatoes
- 1 Tbsp salt, to salt the water
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt, or added to taste
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or added to taste
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley, optional garnish
Instructions
- Wash and scrub potatoes and cut larger potatoes in halves or even quarters so the potato pieces are even-sized.
- Place potatoes in a pot of water with 1 Tbsp salt and cover with an inch of water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are fork tender (10-18 minutes depending on size).
- Drain potatoes and return them to the pot, or a mixing bowl.
- Drizzle melted butter and olive oil over potatoes.
- Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Garnish with a freshly chopped parsley and toss to combine. Keep covered until ready to serve.
Nutrition Per Serving
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
These came out wonderfully! I love potatoes, but my son could take them or leave them. He absolutely loved these. I was surprised to see he finished his first serving, and shocked that he asked for seconds. This recipe and method is a keeper for sure!
That’s wonderful, Mae! Thanks for sharing.
We loved these but I have a question. Do you think potatoes cooked/boiled in soup would work? I put lots of veggies into soup, chicken soup as zan example so they’re really well cooked.
Hi Shelley! Yes, I make soup with potatoes and it’s delicious!
I want to make these but don’t know how much salt to put in the water. Can you give me advice please?
Hi Sharon, we mention that in the recipe “1 Tbsp salt, to salt the water” I hope that helps!
Thanks for this! This recipe will definitely help me out as I’m having issues with my hand and find peeling potatoes extremely difficult and painful.
You’re so welcome!
I used to have Polish kitchen, but now everything is NATASHA’S. You are amazing lady. I love your food and you. Thanks for feeding us.
You are so sweet, thank you for your nice messages. I appreciate it so much!
Hi thank you Natasha for this simple recipe, I had to use the potato’s I had being that this was a nutritional suggestion for me because of my health, i really like the ingredients you suggested which made my Idaho’s very tasty.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Natasha! This looks delicious! I wanted to ask you if there is any tricks to cooking red potatoes? I always tend to overcook th. Maybe I need to pick the smaller size? Any help would be appreciated.
Last time I got a bag of red potatoes and I cut the in half because they were huge. They still turned out kind of mushy..
Appreciate any advice.
Hi Tony, cutting them to an even size definitely helps so you don’t end up with some that are overcooked while the others are finishing up. A bag of potatoes will have a verity of sizes so cut them to uniform sizes – you might need to cut some potatoes into quarters while you cut others in half or even leave them whole if very small.
I’ve loved every recipe I’ve gotten from you. You also taught me how to make my first charcuterie board. I’m looking for recipes for low salt due to my husband have lymphedema.
I’m happy to hear that you’re enjoying my recipes, Nancy. Feel free to check the Diet Category on my website for some healthy recipes.
i need some diet recipe have got to loose weight bad kidney and heart gerald
Hi Gerald, we have a selection of recipes in our “diet” category you could look through and choose from. Many of our recipes can be modified to better fit your dietary needs as recommended by your health care provider.
Wow i should try this recipe i know kids love it thanks Natasha for sharing
You’re welcome! I hope it becomes a hit with the kids and the adults too.
This is great way to fix potatoes….Easy, Fast and Oh! So Good!!! I sometimes top them with some grated Parmesan and/or chopped bacon, sliced green onions or chives. Thanks so much for posting this, Natasha.
You’re so welcome, Connie. I am happy to hear that you loved it!
These potatoes were FANTASTIC! & seriously so easy! I will be making them this way all the time now!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Jen!
Hey Nat , hope you don’t mind if I ask you a question that is not about this recipe? Can you tell me how to freeze fresh mushrooms? I would really apprciate it…thanks.
Hi Juniper, I think that’s good content for a future blog post since that will require a bit more information. I’ll try to add that to our list.
Mmm ! Love potatoes ! They are amazing like this ! Isn’t it wonderful how you can boil, bake, roast, fry them and yes you can add lots but all they need is a little butter, evoo, s&p, maybe sour cream and they are delish ! I could eat them every day ! What is your fav kind ? Thanks Nat !
That is right, the options are endless! We love creamy mashed potatoes at home!
Sounds delicious Natasha. I don’t have New potatoes but I’ll try it with the small russet until I get a bag of those. I have roast pork that I made recently I think would go great with the gravy. Thanks for the idea! Luv your recipes!
Sounds good, please let us know how it goes after you try this recipe. Thanks a lot for your comments!
I could eat potatoes for every single meal AND snack! These are delicious! Love the simplicity and ease. Perfect seasoning and — and the combination of both butter & olive oil is so lovely! Perfect side dish for any meal!!
Thanks for the awesome feedback, Betsy! I’m glad you loved it.
I love new potatoes. I love the melted butter add just the right amount of creaminess! Great recipe – will make again soon!
Aren’t they the best! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!