Emily Blunt’s 3-Ingredient Recipe Broke the Internet and Now We Understand Why

When it comes to roasted vegetable recipes, po-tay-to, po-tah-to, right?

Not so fast, we imagine Emily Blunt might say. The British actor and mom of two has a potato recipe that takes a super-simple ingredient list—potatoes, oil, fresh herbs—and transforms them into something truly spectacular.

The actor originally shared her spud secrets with Garten during a 2018 episode of "Barefoot Contessa Cook Like a Pro: Mary Poppins Show," noting that “This is like a staple in the Blunt household.” It's such a highly-praised recipe (Even Ina says "They're amazing.") that we decided it was finally time to try the recipe ourselves.

How Emily Blunt Gets Her Potatoes So Crispy

In Britain, these are sometimes referred to as “crispy roasties.” They’re often served as part of a holiday or Sunday roast dinner alongside carrots, peas, Yorkshire pudding, and a meat or poultry roast of some sort. But the potatoes are far too tasty to reserve for just one night per week or for special occasions. And the great news is, this Blunt family staple is simple enough to execute any time.

The three-ingredient potatoes have been a hit with fans, who declare the finished product “to die for” and “outstandingly delicious” since the recipe first debuted. However, the side dish flew under the radar until two game-changing events made it one of the most popular potato recipes in recent memory.

Buzz started to build—okay, skyrocket—in May 2020, when Garten was testing and perfecting recipes for her cookbook "Modern Comfort Food." To tease the book’s fall release, the celebrity chef, author, and entertaining extraordinaire shared a photo of Emily’s English Roasted Potatoes in her Instagram feed.

So many fans rushed to the Barefoot Contessa site to snag the recipe that they literally broke the internet… or, at least, crashed Garten’s website. “We're fixing it now. Try again soon,” Garten wrote on Instagram, assuring fans “they're worth it!! Xxxx."

Garten’s BFF Jennifer Garner agreed, drawing even more attention to Blunt’s family heirloom recipe. When asked by our pals at "PEOPLE" to reveal her family’s menu standbys, the actor, entrepreneur, and “Pretend Cooking Show” host recommended Blunt’s potatoes, too. “I’ve made them consistently,” since she learned about the unique technique, Garner said. “Rarely a week goes by that I'm not in [the kitchen] peeling potatoes trying to make them like Emily’s.”

As for what makes these spuds stand out, it’s the unique preparation. While some sheet-pan smashed or roasted potato recipes call for boiling before roasting, Blunt’s beauties end up with a fluffy, mashed potato-like interior and an audibly crisp exterior thanks to three steps that go beyond boil-then-bake:

• Shake the parboiled potatoes in the pan to roughen up the edges to promote browning and crispiness.
• Rest the shaken potatoes on a wire rack before roasting them to allow the surface to dry so they can brown and crisp more efficiently.
• Preheat the oil in a sheet pan or baking dish so it’s nice and hot by the time you add the parboiled, shaken potatoes.

Emily Blunt’s 3-Ingredient Roasted Potatoes Recipe

We can’t be the only ones who are suddenly rewriting our menus tonight to add this celeb- and home cook-approved idea to the line-up. If you, too, feel compelled to try Blunt’s side dish, here’s how it’s done.

Note: We’ve adjusted the potato size based on fan feedback—and to match what is shown in Blunt's original demo on "Barefoot Contessa."

Ingredients

• Kosher salt
• 3 pounds large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and halved
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, bacon fat, duck fat, or goose fat
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt or fleur de sel
• Fresh parsley, minced

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Bring a large pot of water with 2 tablespoons of kosher salt to a boil. Add the potatoes, return to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 8 minutes.
3. Place a colander in the bottom of your sink and drain the potatoes. Place the potatoes back in the pot with the lid on, and shake the pot roughly for 5 seconds to rough up the edges. (This is “the workout part,” Blunt laughs. “You get a facial, get a workout… if you rough up the edges, once you roast them, it just gives a really nice crispy” texture.")
4. Carefully transfer the potatoes in one layer to a baking rack set over a sheet pan. Set aside to dry for at least 15 minutes. (Blunt’s mom never did this, but she takes one more step to ensure the spuds dry off so each piece can form a “fantastic crust,” she explains. They can sit at room temperature for several hours or in the fridge for up to 6 hours.)
5. Pour the oil onto a baking dish or another rimmed sheet pan. Tilt the pan to distribute the oil, and place the pan in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until the oil is smoking hot.
6. Use a pair of heat-safe tongs or a large metal spatula to transfer the potatoes carefully into the oil, and toss them lightly to coat each potato with the hot oil.
7. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Roast for 45 minutes to one hour, using tongs to turn the potatoes every 15 minutes, until very browned and crisp on the outside and tender and creamy inside.
8. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle generously with the sea salt and fresh parsley, to taste, and serve hot.

Adapted from "Barefoot Contessa Cook Like a Pro: Mary Poppins Show"