Parmentier potatoes are small, cubed potatoes roasted in olive oil with garlic and rosemary until every cut surface is deeply golden and crispy. They are the French version of roast potatoes — smaller, more elegant, faster to cook, and with more crispy surface area per mouthful than a standard roast potato.

I make them whenever I want something more refined than chips but just as satisfying, and they are the potato dish that disappears fastest from the table every single time.

The name comes from Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the eighteenth-century French agronomist who championed the potato in France at a time when many people were suspicious of it. His name is now attached to several potato dishes in French cooking, and this is the simplest and the best of them.

The two keys are parboiling the cubed potatoes before roasting — which gives a fluffy interior — and using a hot oven and plenty of fat — which gives the crispy, golden exterior.

Ingredients for Mary Berry Parmentier Potatoes (Serves 4–6)

For the Parmentier Potatoes

1kg floury potatoes — Maris Piper or King Edward, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
4 tbsp olive oil — or duck fat for an even crispier, richer result
4 garlic cloves — left whole in their skins, bashed lightly
3 sprigs fresh rosemary — or 1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp fine salt — for the parboiling water
Flaked sea salt — for finishing
Freshly ground black pepper

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How to Make Mary Berry Parmentier Potatoes

Step 1 — Parboil the Potatoes

Put the cubed potatoes into a large saucepan. Cover with cold water. Add the fine salt. Bring to the boil. Cook for six to seven minutes — until the outside of each cube is beginning to soften but the centre is still firm. Do not cook until completely tender.

Drain well. Return to the pan. Shake the pan vigorously for thirty seconds — this roughens the surface of each cube, giving more surface area to crisp in the oven.

Step 2 — Heat the Fat

Preheat your oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / Gas 7. Pour the olive oil into a large, sturdy roasting tin. Place in the oven for five minutes until the oil is very hot and shimmering.

Step 3 — Roast

Carefully tip the parboiled potatoes into the hot oil — they will sizzle immediately. Turn quickly with a spoon to coat every side in the hot oil. Add the bashed garlic cloves and rosemary sprigs.

Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, turning every fifteen minutes, until every cut surface is deeply golden and crispy and the insides are completely fluffy. The garlic will soften and caramelise alongside the potatoes, giving a gentle garlic flavour throughout.

Step 4 — Finish and Serve

Transfer to a warm serving dish. Scatter with flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately — parmentier potatoes lose their crispiness quickly and are always best eaten straight from the oven.

My Top Tips For Perfect Parmentier Potatoes Mary Berry

Parboil first — always. A potato cube roasted from raw never gets properly crispy on the outside and fluffy inside in the time available. Six to seven minutes of parboiling gives the fluffy interior that makes the finished potato specifically wonderful. It also reduces the total oven time considerably.

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Shake the pan after draining. The rough, slightly furry surface that comes from shaking the parboiled potatoes in the pan is what gives the extra crispiness. The rough surface creates more surface area that crisps in the hot fat.

The oil must be very hot before the potatoes go in. Cold or warm oil does not immediately start crisping the surface of the potatoes. Very hot oil — five minutes in a 220°C oven — begins crisping immediately when the potatoes are added and gives the best possible result.

Turn every fifteen minutes. The potatoes need turning regularly so every cut surface gets contact with the hot fat and the hot oven. Without turning, one side gets crispy and the rest stays pale and slightly soft.

Serve immediately. Parmentier potatoes are at their absolute best straight from the oven. They soften quickly once out of the heat. I always time them so they come out of the oven as everything else is ready to serve.

Serving Suggestions

Alongside roast chicken, roast lamb, or steak. With grilled fish for a more elegant pairing. Instead of chips alongside a fried egg and bacon. As a side dish at a dinner party where standard roast potatoes would feel too heavy.

How to Store Parmentier Potatoes Mary Berry

Best eaten immediately. Leftover parmentier potatoes can be refrigerated for up to 2 days and reheated at 220°C for ten to twelve minutes to re-crisp.

Freezing is not recommended — the texture deteriorates completely on defrosting.

Parmentier Potatoes Mary Berry Recipe

Mary Berry’s parmentier potatoes are crispy, golden cubed roast potatoes cooked with garlic and rosemary — the most elegant and addictive potato side dish.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Parboiling Time 5

Total Time 50

Servings: 4 Portions

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British

Calories: 235

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

Parmentier Potatoes:
1 kg floury potatoes Maris Piper or King Edward, peeled and in 2cm cubes
4 tbsp olive oil or duck fat
4 garlic cloves whole, skins on, lightly bashed
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 tsp fine salt — for parboiling water
Flaked sea salt and black pepper — for finishing

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Method

Cut potatoes into 2cm cubes. Parboil in well-salted cold water — bring to boil, cook 6–7 minutes until outsides beginning to soften but centre still firm. Drain well. Return to pan — shake vigorously 30 seconds to roughen surfaces.
Preheat oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / Gas 7. Pour oil into large sturdy roasting tin — place in oven 5 minutes until very hot and shimmering.
Carefully tip potatoes into hot oil — they will sizzle. Turn to coat every side. Add bashed garlic and rosemary. Roast 35–40 minutes, turning every 15 minutes, until deeply golden and crispy on all surfaces.
Transfer to warm serving dish. Scatter with flaked sea salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.

Notes

Parboil first — raw potato cubes never get properly crispy and fluffy in the oven time available.

Shake the pan after draining — the rough surface gives extra crispiness in the hot fat.

The oil must be very hot before the potatoes go in — cold oil gives poor crisping.

Turn every 15 minutes — every cut surface needs contact with the hot fat.

Serve immediately — parmentier potatoes lose their crispiness quickly once out of the oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use waxy potatoes instead of floury?

Floury potatoes — Maris Piper or King Edward — give the best crispy exterior and fluffy interior. Waxy potatoes do not fluff up in the same way and give a firmer, less crispy result.

Can I add different herbs?

Yes — thyme gives a slightly more delicate, more French character alongside rosemary. Sage gives a more robust flavour that suits pork particularly well.

Can I use duck fat instead of olive oil?

Yes — duck fat gives a richer flavour and an even crispier result. It is my preferred fat for these potatoes when I am cooking for a special occasion.