Maple Glazed Roasted Potatoes with Pecans

Sear them cut side down first—that’s where the gold happens. Three minutes, don’t touch them. Then maple syrup. Then the oven. Comes out sweet and sharp at the same time, with pecans that get crispy in the residual heat.

Why You’ll Love This Roasted Potatoes Recipe

Takes 55 minutes total if you count oven time—20 minutes of actual work. Baby potatoes. They roast through without getting mealy, and the coriander does something weird that just works. Pecans toast themselves at the end using heat that’s already there. Side dish that tastes like you planned it, but it’s vegan and stupid easy. Not one complicated step. One skillet the whole time.

What You Need for Maple Roasted Baby Potatoes

Fourteen baby potatoes. Halved. Cut side down matters—that’s how they get the color. Olive oil. Not much, just a tablespoon and a half. Three garlic cloves, halved. Not minced. The pieces stay whole and sweet that way. Maple syrup. A third cup. The real stuff, not pancake syrup. Crushed coriander seeds and cracked black pepper—a teaspoon and a quarter of each. They’re the whole reason this tastes like something. Pecans. Chopped rough. Maybe seventy milliliters. Salt for the sear, more at the end if it needs it.

How to Make Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Maple Glaze

Oven goes to 365 degrees Fahrenheit. Get it hot first. Warm the olive oil in a skillet that can go in the oven—cast iron’s perfect but any ovenproof thing works. Potatoes go in cut side down, don’t move them. Three minutes. You’ll hear them sizzle, smell them start to brown. That’s the only patience this needs.

Season with salt and pepper while they’re still in the pan. Then pour the maple syrup over everything. Sprinkle the coriander and more black pepper. Stir gently, and here’s the thing—flip the potatoes back so the cut side faces down again. That side needs to stay touching the pan or it gets steamed instead of roasted. Into the oven they go.

Cast Iron Roasted Potatoes with Toasted Nuts and Coriander

Thirty to thirty-five minutes. Stir every eight minutes or so. You’re not trying to move them around constantly—just make sure nothing sticks and they cook even. The potatoes are done when a fork goes through the flat side without any resistance. Soft all the way through.

Pull it out. The pecans go on top while the skillet’s still hot. Just scattered over. Mix them in lightly and the residual heat toasts them, makes them crunch in a way that matters. If you tried toasting them first they’d just get soft again when everything mixed together.

Maple Roasted Baby Potatoes Tips and Common Mistakes

Biggest mistake—moving the potatoes during that first sear. They need three solid minutes to develop color. Undisturbed. Don’t flip them early. The second mistake is cutting them too small. Baby potatoes halved is the exact right size. Smaller and they turn to paste. Larger and the inside’s raw when the outside’s done. The coriander needs to be crushed, not whole. Whole seeds are bitter and hard. Crushed, they break down and taste like something floral and subtle. The maple syrup should be real maple, not the brown sugar stuff. It actually makes a difference—real maple has more complexity, tastes deeper. Some people skip the garlic thinking maple and garlic don’t work together. They do. The garlic goes sweet and mellow. The maple and coriander carry it. Salt at the sear and salt at the end. Two separate seasons. The salt you add during the sear seasons the potato flesh. The salt at the end sits on top and hits different.

Maple Glazed Roasted Potatoes with Pecans

By Emma

Prep:

20 min

Cook:

35 min

Total:

55 min

Servings:

4 servings

Ingredients

• 14 baby potatoes, halved
• 25 ml olive oil (1 1/2 tablespoons)
• 3 garlic cloves, halved
• 75 ml maple syrup (1/3 cup)
• 6 ml crushed coriander seeds (1 1/4 teaspoons)
• 6 ml crushed black pepper (1 1/4 teaspoons)
• 70 ml roughly chopped pecans

Method

1. 1 Heat oven to 185 °C (365 °F).
2. 2 Warm olive oil in an ovenproof skillet. Add halved potatoes, cut side down, and garlic pieces. Sear 3 minutes without moving until golden. Season with salt and cracked pepper.
3. 3 Drizzle maple syrup over potatoes. Sprinkle crushed coriander and cracked black pepper evenly. Stir gently to coat everything. Shift potatoes so they lay cut side down again.
4. 4 Place skillet in oven. Roast 30-35 minutes, stirring every 8 minutes, until potatoes give when pierced with a fork.
5. 5 Remove skillet, scatter chopped pecans on top. Mix to combine, letting residual heat toast nuts lightly.
6. 6 Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Serve with roasted meats or bitter greens.

Nutritional information

Calories

210

Protein

3g

Carbs

32g

Fat

9g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Vegan Roasted Potatoes

Can you make vegan roasted potatoes ahead of time? Yeah, they’re fine cold the next day. Reheat in a 350-degree oven for about ten minutes if you want them hot again. They taste different cold—the maple tastes stronger, somehow. Not worse. Just different.

What if you don’t have maple syrup? Haven’t tried honey. Probably works but it’ll taste like honey instead of maple. Brown sugar mixed with a little water would do it. Won’t be the same thing though.

Can you use regular potatoes instead of baby potatoes? Cut them into smaller chunks if you do. The point is pieces about the size of a baby potato, cut side down. Bigger chunks mean longer roasting. Maybe five or ten minutes more depending on size.

Why crush the coriander instead of using ground? Ground stuff is older and tastes flat. Crushed seeds still have oils in them. There’s an actual difference. If you only have ground coriander, use less—maybe half a teaspoon.

Do the pecans have to go in at the end? If you add them at the start they’ll burn before the potatoes finish. You could toast them separately and sprinkle them at the end instead. Won’t get that crispy-soft contrast from the residual heat though. That’s the thing that works about this version.

What goes with roasted potatoes with maple syrup and coriander? Anything savory. Roasted chicken. Fish. Bitter greens on the side—arugula or endive. The sweet and the bitter balance each other. Vegetarian mains work too. Just needs something that isn’t sweet.