This is a recipe for truly crispy Potato Rosti that’s beautifully golden on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The secret is pan frying in the right fat! Butter = tasty but not crispy. Oil = crispy but flavourless. The Swiss cracked the code – use clarified butter (or ghee!). Buy it or make your own – it’s super easy!
Make one giant one as I do, though if you have the patience, you can make lots of smaller ones!
Potato Rosti
She who was labelled Potato Girl by her family when she was a mere teenager cannot comprehend how she’s made it through 6 years with a recipe website and not shared a rosti recipe.
At least, not “properly”. A variation of it is buried in this old Smoked Salmon Rosti Stack breakfast recipe.
But – onwards! It has arrived, ready to serve alongside your schnitzels, parmies, an epic standing rib roast or roast chicken!
Difference between potato rosti, hashbrowns and latkes
Broadly speaking, they are similar as they are all made with shredded potatoes that are pan fried until crispy. The other thing they all have in common is that I am a fan of all three.😍
However, there are subtle differences:
Rostis (or properly spelt rösti), which originate from Switzerland, typically are pan fried in a medium(ish) skillet then cut up to serve as a side dish for a meal;
Hash browns are usually individual size – think Macca’s hash browns – and served for breakfast; and
Latkes are also individual size but usually bound with some egg and flour, and because of these additions, they are not as crispy – unless you use basically deep fry them.
What you need for potato rosti
Here’s all you need to make Potato Rosti (I get salt and pepper for free!):
Potatoes
There’s no definitive rule about what type of potatoes to use, and there’s no need to get pedantic about it either! Floury potatoes will make the inside more fluffy, a bit like mashed potato, and waxy potatoes hold those lovely strands better, but still very soft and cooked through.
Both go nice and crispy, albeit waxy potatoes get a bit crispier. In all honesty, use whichever you prefer – I just use all-rounder floury potatoes to get the best of both worlds.
I use Sebago potatoes (Australia, the dirt brushed type) which is a great all rounder that leans towards floury. The equivalent in the US are Russets though Yukon Golds are excellent all-rounders, and in the UK – Maris Pipers, King Edward and Desirée;
Clarified butter or ghee (virtually the same thing)
This is for flavour and crispiness. Make your own (it’s cinch!) or buy it (Indian section of large Australian grocery stores, labelled Ghee). Your rosti won’t be crispy if you pan fry in ordinary butter because butter has water in it. And if you fry in oil, you will miss the buttery flavour!
The solution is clarified butter or ghee.
Ghee and clarified butter is simply pure butter fat, and they are virtually the same thing so they can be used interchangeably. They have a more intense butter flavour than ordinary butter and unlike regular butter, can be used for frying without burning.
What is it actually? Butter is made up of ~84% fat, and the rest is water and dairy (milk solids). For clarified butter and ghee, the water and milk solids are removed leaving pure butter fat which has a much higher smoke point (ever set off your smoke alarm with burning butter??🙋🏻♀️). You also won’t have the little dark brown/black flecks you get when cooking in butter for more than a few minutes, which are the burnt milk solids.
Clarified butter also makes the rosti crispier than using normal butter (because butter has some water content = bad for frying) and also has a more intense butter flavour.
Difference between ghee and clarified butter – While both are made the same way (ie simmering to remove water and milk solids), ghee is simmered a little longer which gives it a slightly nuttier flavour. Clarified butter is from Europe (classically used in French cooking) while ghee is used in Indian cooking (the secret to amazing curries!).
Best alternative: butter and oil combo. Just using butter gives a better flavour but won’t make it as crispy and you get little black bits from the burnt bits of butter. Just using oil doesn’t have as nice a flavour.
How to make Potato Rosti
If you’re staring at the giant rosti and already fretting about The Dreaded Flip – don’t! My trick is to use a wooden board with a handle or even a cutting board – just something with some protrusion that you can grip onto for the flip. Much easier than using a plate (says the girl who has lost more rosti than she cares to remember by attempting a plate flip 😩).
1. Grate the raw potatoes using a standard box grater. I like to do it lengthwise to get nice long strands – but it really doesn’t matter how long or short your strands are. There is no need to parboil – I find that makes the inside too much like mashed potato before the outside gets golden;
2. Squeeze out the excess liquid then transfer to a bowl. No need to be 100% thorough here, squeezing out every drop of water, because we actually need some of that water to help steam-cook the inside (otherwise it takes forever to cook through!). That’s why I just grab handfuls rather than using a tea towel which is more thorough.
However, squeezing out most of the water is necessary because otherwise all that water leeches down to the base of the pan as it cooks and it does eventually evaporate, but it takes longer and stops the base from getting really crispy.
Don’t worry if your potatoes go brown / reddish while sitting around. This is just from oxidation (reaction of potato to air) and it’s all bluster; it doesn’t mean the potato is off. Once you start cooking, it will change back to white;
3. Mix the potatoes with melted butter (or clarified butter, if that’s what you’re using), salt and pepper;
4. Scatter into skillet lightly, don’t pack it down tightly. We want FLUFFY on the inside! It will seem quite deep – around 3.5cm / 1.5″ – but it cooks down to 2cm / 4/5″.
Cook for 12 minutes on medium low to make the underside golden and for the inside to cook through and semi-adhere together. We don’t want mash – we just want the strands to cook through until soft and bond together enough to be sliceable without falling apart. This is the reason it’s best not to rinse the grated potato – because it removes much more starch than just squeezing out excess water. This results in “slippery” potato strands, rather than bonding together.
It takes longer than you think to become golden because residual water from the potato leeches out and that needs to evaporate – which also sort of “steam-cooks” the inside – before the underside goes golden and crispy.
Individual Rosti
If you’re making small ones, just place the potatoes into small rounds. Again, don’t pack them down – place the potato in the skillet, then use a rubber spatula to push the sides in to form rounds. Resist the temptation to use rings – those little pokey bits on the side get extra crispy!!
5. Flip! When the underside is golden (use a rubber spatula to peek), using a round wooden board with a handle or even a large rectangle cutting board (or plate, if you are a pro!) to cover the skillet then quickly turn to flip! Using a plate is a little more difficult because you don’t have anything to hold onto so you need to press the plate and skillet together very firmly and hold them together as you flip. It’s much easier to do that manoeuvre using something with a handle. Once I switched from a plate to a wooden board with a handle, I’ve never lost part of a rosti during The Flip! It’s also easier to slip the rosti back into the skillet if you use a board, rather than a plate with a ridge;
6. Lift the skillet off the board to reveal the golden underside. If at this stage, you realise it’s not as golden as you thought, just flip it back into the skillet and keep cooking;
7. Slide the rosti back in, uncooked side down and cook for a further 12 minutes or until you can slide a knife through the centre easily, with no resistance from uncooked potato; and
8. Slide the rosti onto a serving platter or cutting board. Cut into (large!) wedges and serve immediately!
How to make rosti super crispy
The crispiness of a rosti comes down to the amount of fat you use to cook it – and nothing more. Any type of potato cooked in plenty of fat will become very crispy – waxy or floury.
I use 4 tablespoons / 60g of clarified butter to cook my rosti and it makes it quite crispy on each side, but still fluffy on the inside. You will hear how crispy it is in the recipe video!!
However if you make thin small ones, they can be potato crisp-level crispy. As in, THIS crispy:
They are pretty much like potato crisps when they’re this thin!
So for those of you who rate crispiness very highly, this might beg the question – why would you make a large one instead of small ones?
Sheer practicality.
For small rostis, it takes up to 10 minutes per batch – 3 to 4 in a medium/large skillet. They will stay warm and crisp in the oven, but if you’re feeding a family of 4, that’s a LOT of batches you need to make, and the time quickly adds up.
On the other hand, one giant rosti takes 25 minutes to cook, and it’s low maintenance at that. So for me, it’s a no brainer – I always go the large format.
What to serve with rosti
The first thought for most people is Schnitzel – it’s a pub grub favourite here in Australia!
But actually, I find rosti to be a really handy starch side dish that’s cooked entirely on the stove when a centrepiece requiring exact cook times is hogging the oven. When I’ve invested in a precious prime rib, or I’ve been slaving for hours over the perfect Roast Turkey, or making the best ever Roast Chicken, I do not want to muck up oven temps by cramming the oven full of other stuff. Stay away from the oven, people!
So a grand potato side dish that’s made on the stove is a very handy recipe indeed, especially around the holiday season – Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter.
Of course, rosti also makes a wonderful addition to the breakfast table, whether in lieu of hash browns alongside bacon and eggs, or accompanying grander affairs like last week’s Eggs Benedict. Though that’s one ambitious breakfast spread, even I’ll freely admit! – Potato Girl x
Watch how to make it
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Crispy Potato Rosti
Ingredients
- 1kg/ 2 lb potatoes (skin on weight) – Aus: Sebago (dirt brushed), US: Yukon Gold, Russet, UK: Maris Piper, King Edwards (Note 1)
- 3/4 tsp salt , kosher/cooking salt (or 1/2 tsp table salt)
- 1/2 tsp finely ground black pepper
- 15g/ 1 tbsp clarified butter / ghee or normal butter , melted (Note 2)
Cooking:
- 60g/ 4 tbsp clarified butter / ghee , separated (sub half butter, half vegetable oil) (Note 2)
Instructions
Grate & squeeze:
- Peel then grate the potatoes using a box grater, trying to get nice long strands if you can.
- Grab handfuls of potato and squeeze out excess liquid, then place in bowl. This helps make the potato crispier (otherwise all that water has to steam out in the pan).
- Add butter, salt and pepper then toss. Don’t worry if your potatoes go brown/reddy – it’s still safe to eat, and turns white again when cooked.
Cook
- Melt half the clarified butter in a 26cm / 10.5" (or thereabouts) non-stick pan or skillet over medium low heat. Shallow non-stick pan with sloped sides is best for easy rosti removal.
- Place the potato in pan, but do not pack down. Use rubber spatula to tidy the edges, then lightly pat down to even surface.
- Cook first side: Cook 12 minutes until underside is very golden and crispy, lifting edge with rubber spatula to check. If by 8 minutes it is not going golden, increase heat.
- TIP: Insurance policy – If you didn't use a non stick pan, slide the rubber spatular underneath all the way to the middle and run it around, to be 100% sure nothing is stuck before attempting flip.
- Flip: Cover pan with a round wooden board with a handle (or anything similar with a handle, Note 3). Holding the handle of the board, flip quickly – and with confidence!
- Cook second side: Melt remaining clarified butter in the pan, then slide the rosti back in and cook for 12 minutes until golden crispy, and there is no resistance when a knife is inserted into the middle.
- Slide onto cutting board, cut into 4 or 6 wedges and serve immediately!
Small rosti
- Use 25g / 1 1/2 tbsp clarified butter for each batch, medium heat in a non stick pan. Place potato in rounds in a skillet, around 8cm / 3" wide, 1.5 – 2cm / 2/3" thick (without patting down). Cook 5 minutes until deep golden and crispy, flip, and cook another 5 minutes until done.
To hold / keep warm
- Transfer to rack set over tray in a 120°C/250°F oven until ready to serve.
Recipe Notes:
- Normal melted butter for mix into potato (just a touch helps disperse salt and pepper better, plus touch of extra flavour).
- Cooking: 15g / 1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp vegetable oil for each side you cook.
Nutrition Information:
More great potato sides
Life of Dozer
Potato Girls’ Potato Boy.
Hey Nagi…I absolutely love your recipes and of course I absolutely love Dozer…He is adorable!
Thanks so much Judy 🙂 N x
I made this tonight. Our only issue is that my family wished I had made two!! So Delicious!!
I know this feeling all too well Tracy!!! N x
Oh yum. First are these at the roesti bar that used to be at Zurich train station. Loved them every since!
How good are they Sandy?! I can’t get enough of them! N x
Hi nagi, could this be made into little cakes?
Hi Brooke, as in the smaller Rosti that I have mentioned in the notes? I’m not sure what you mean about cakes sorry! N x
Yes I mean like little rosti
Hi Brooke – yes it’s all there in the recipe notes. I hope you love them! N x
Oh Nagi,
You had me at crispy 🤣
Easy schmeezy recipe and perfect every time. Love potatoes, heck love all starches. This one is a keeper. Love the Dozer 💕
I hear you Mary!!! 🙌
Hi Nagi, so the other night on Junior Masterchef one of the contestants made Boa Buns, i was wondering if you have made them and suggestions for fillings etc, i could not find anything on your site and you normally really good at everything, would love to see some recipes, please
Hi David – believe it or not, they are on my list to create! N x
I used a naan pan with a handle for the flip.Perfect. Delicious potatos!
Perfect Rufus!!! N x
Dear Nagi
Personally I think that the Swiss share in a conspiracy to prevent the world from sharing this wonderful dish. I’ve eaten it greedily in Switzerland. It’s potatoes and butter : how hard can it be? Answer- for me, impossible. Therefore I’m so happy to have this detailed and sensibly explained recipe. I’m also glad to know that brushed potatoes are Sebagos. (Why is the Australian potato industry so bent on not sharing names of varieties with consumers?)
Thank you, thank you, Nagi. The spuds, clarified butter and frypan are headed for the stove top, pronto.
Lynne
Hi Lynn, I couldn’t agree more – supermarkets NEVER label their potatoes! And I hope you love this one Lynne (let’s not kid ourselves, we both know you will 😉 ) N x
Nagi, I have missed you. I signed up a while ago and enjoyed every recipe I tried. I then tried to find you but couldn’t remember “recipetineats”. But now I have in it down in my “can’t remember shit book”. You are a phenomenal cook with the cutest dog ever who has the best life ever. Thank you for brightening my life!
I think I need one of those books Molly 😂 I’m so glad you found me again! N x
Really enjoy your pictures of Dozer. He seems like the perfect companion for you.
Not even a crispy Rosti can stack up to Dozer pictures 😂 N x
Thank you soooooo much for all you share. I leave the page with a happy heart and a newfound joy for cooking. Always curious about Dozer!
That’s lovely to hear Maryanne! N x
Thanks for the rosti recipe. I make lots of latkes every year and would like to pass on a tip which makes them wonderfully crispy. After you grate the potatoes, rinse them in cold water, squeeze out as much water as possible and collect the water. Let is sit a few minutes for the starch to settle at the bottom, pour off the water and add the starch back to the potatoes. For latkes I add egg, onion, s & p and a bit of meal and fry in sunflower oil or oil and butter mix. They are very crispy and delicious. Give Dozer a cuddle for me.
Hi Wendy, that’s a great tip – I do talk about Latkes in the post – I find them not as crispy as this Rosti due to the addition of egg and flour 🙂 N x
My latkes are always very crispy and I do not have to deep fry them. It’s not the addition of egg and flour, but rather using a good starchy potato, rinsing them and adding the starch back. I have made vegan latkes with just potatoes, onion, s&p and some extra potato starch. They were also nice and crispy but lacked flavour. BTW – When I had rosti in Germany and Switzerland, they added onion too. Try it. It’s really delicious in rosti and latkes.
Nagi,
Will definitely try this one. My nonna used to make mushroom & cheese frittatas using the flip method with a plate. I’ve seen her friends toss them in the air but that’s more than I can do! I’m going to purchase a paddle with handle like yours. Thanks for the tip.
I’m not game enough to throw in the air – it would be a potato disaster!!! 😂 N x
I think that shredded hash brown potatoes would work which are frozen and easier than shredding yourself.
Are you talking about frozen hash browns Mimi? Or just frozen grated potatoes? N x
love it have only made Latke . goin in witt lard , ya LARD ,and plain grated taters in dish towel twist and most water Gone ,, great one Nagi
Easy peasy Joseph – and utterly addictive! N x
Just cooked this. Fantastic!
Since I usually use a different recipe, I made both in parallel and compared. My recipe adds one big onion grated like the potatoes, some garlic cloved crashed (3 today) and 1-2 eggs. Sometimes I add some flour if too wet (not today). I fried Nagi’s in one big oiece according to recipe and mine in 4 quarters. Nagui’ was a little more crunchy and mine a little more tasty. Nagi’s had a slight but definite smell and taste of the ghee. Unusual but not unpleasant. BTW, if you do, then get your ghee in a “bio” shop. Much better.
Hi Eitan – yes you’ll find this recipe crispier as it doesn’t have eggs. You could definitely add some onion or garlic to it – but be mindful onion contains water and will definitely affect the crispness 🙂 N x
Again, you teach me something ! Thank you. You seem to be unable to write a sentence without it having something “educational”!. (Here: egg=less crispy). Thank you for all your efforts!
Can you use parboiled potatoes for this recipe?
Hi Rita, yes I know that some recipes use par-boiled potatoes, I prefer mine raw so I can get all that excess water out (plus I like the texture of the potato shreds rather than the slightly mashed that comes with par-boiled potatoes) N x
Some German recipe use two-thirds half cooked unpeeled and cooled potatoes and one third uncooked. Never tried it.
I confess, I’ve not actually made this 5 star recipe but how could it possibly go wrong!
Thank you so much for listing the various potato types common in – well, just about everywhere! I so often read a recipe with a specific ingredient being given a name I’ve never heard of! Probably common in the lost city of Atlantis but not here. Yes, I know you say it doesn’t really matter, in this case, which potato you use (I also believe that [high five!]) it just plain helps to know.
I love your notes clarifying and giving ‘reasons’ for your choices. I also firmly believe that if one knows “why” , one is less likely to forget and more likely to understand the reason for doing something in a specific way. Forgive the long blabber, motor-mouth needs more coffee.
You’re so welcome Gwen, thanks so much for the feedback, I truly appreciate it 🙂 N x
YUMI, love IT. i also add bit Of duck fat. Dozer Not sure. Thank YOU Kindly,Be Safe and healthy.
You can’t go wrong with duck fat Vera!! N x
My parents used to call me Potato Baby because I’ll eat it any way but I don’t think I’ve ever had rostis… I am excited to try this out, love that this humble yet formidable spud can still surprise me. ❤️
Oh you must Christina (potato baby) – such a great way with potatoes!!! N x