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The small-cube roastSteam · butter · turn · crunch

500 g potatoes · two servings

Crispy Crunchy Cubed Potatoes

Small potato cubes are briefly steamed, coated with butter and a restrained herb-spice mix, then roasted until deeply golden and crisp.

Roast the potatoes
Deeply golden roasted potato pieces on a white plate, their broad faces browned and flecked with herbs.
An illustrative plate of lemon-seasoned roasted potatoes shows the color and broad crisp faces to look for; Toon’s formula uses butter, rosemary, oregano, and paprika without lemon.Photo by Joey Doll · CC BY 2.0
Yield
2 servings
Cube
1 cm
Oven
220°C
Total
40 min

The cube is the whole proposition. At one centimeter, 500 grams of potato turns into dozens of tiny surfaces that can take butter, paprika, herbs, and direct tray heat. Toon De Backer’s method gives those small centers a five-minute head start in steam, then lets a 220°C oven do the crisping.

There is no flour, semolina, baking soda, or oil hiding in the technique. The original seven-item ingredient list stays intact. The useful refinements are physical: let surface moisture leave, keep the cubes in one layer, wait for the first crust to release, and judge the second half of the roast by color as well as the clock.

“Toon De Backer presents these crispy, crunchy potato cubes as a festive alternative to fries or croquettes.”

Steam first

Five minutes starts the centers without rounding away the clean one-centimeter edges.

Butter twice

Part greases the tray; the remainder carries the seasonings over the warm cubes and returns at the turn.

Serve dry

The source keeps the potatoes separate from sauce so the crisp shell survives the trip to the plate.

Before the steamScale space butter tool

Build the tray around one-centimeter cubes

A small cut cooks quickly and exposes a lot of starch. Evenness, tray room, and a clean turn matter more than adding another ingredient.

The original listPotato butter herbs spice

Seven source ingredients, no invented measures

Only the potatoes and butter arrive with weights. The five seasonings remain deliberately to taste.

01

Potatoes

Five hundred grams become a high-ratio side: plenty of broad cut surface surrounding small, tender centers.

A floury potato browns readily, but the source leaves the variety open—uniform size matters more than a named cultivar.Read the ingredient story
02

Butter

Fifty grams season the tray and coat the cubes, helping paprika and dried herbs cling to every face.

Count the tray grease inside the total rather than adding extra fat beyond the source formula.
03

Rosemary + oregano

The two herbs give the restrained, savory profile named by the original recipe.

The source says to taste. Crush dried rosemary between your fingers if the needles are coarse.
04

Paprika + pepper

Paprika brings warm color while black pepper supplies a sharper finish against the buttery potato.

Season the melted butter first for even distribution; no invented teaspoon quantity is needed.

Forty minutes totalCut steam coat roast turn

Five minutes of steam, two fifteen-minute roasts

The source clock is compact. Use it as a map, then let release, color, crisp corners, and a tender center confirm each transition.

  1. 0:00

    Cube precisely

    Peel 500 g potatoes and cut close to 1 cm so the whole tray moves on one clock.

  2. 0:05

    Steam briefly

    Cover over simmering water for about 5 minutes; the cubes should soften only at the surface.

  3. 0:10

    Dry and butter

    Let steam escape, then coat with melted butter, salt, pepper, rosemary, oregano, and paprika.

  4. 0:15

    Start untouched

    Spread in one layer and roast at 220°C for 15 minutes without nudging the forming crust.

  5. 0:30

    Turn and recoat

    Release with a thin spatula, add the reserved seasoned butter, and expose new faces to the tray.

  6. 0:45

    Read the finish

    Deep gold faces, crisp corners, and tender centers end the roast; serve immediately.

From cellar to herb gardenEarth butter rosemary bronze

Keep the potato plain enough for the browned faces to speak

Several unpeeled russet potatoes piled together under warm light.
A floury potato is a strong candidate for a crisp shell and soft middle, but the source simply calls for potatoes and does not require a named variety.Photo by Willis Lam · CC BY-SA 2.0
One layer is a method, not a styling note

Every cube needs a route for steam to escape and at least one broad face against hot buttered metal.

Rosemary branches with dark green needles and pale violet flowers in bright sunlight.
Rosemary is one of the source’s four seasonings; use it to taste, alongside oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper.Photo by Nico · CC0 1.0

Read the trayEdges matte release gold

Four signs that crunch is actually forming

A timer cannot see water, crowding, or the exact starch in your potatoes. These cues can.

01

Sharp edges survive the steam

The cubes are not fully cooked before roasting. They still look geometric when they leave the basket.

02

The surface looks matte before butter

A minute uncovered lets visible water escape instead of trapping it beneath the fat.

03

The first face releases

If a cube clings at 15 minutes, work underneath it gently; tearing off the crust sacrifices the crunch you built.

04

Gold reaches beyond the corners

Look for browned planes rather than a few dark points, then split one cube to confirm the center is tender.

Serving + storageSeparate quick chill dry heat

Protect the crust from sauce, steam, and the microwave

This side is designed around immediacy, but leftovers can recover much of their texture with a hot tray.

Serve beside the sauce

Keep gravy and braising liquid off the potatoes until each diner is ready; this is the source’s best texture advice.

Move quickly to the table

The cubes are at their best straight from the tray, before trapped steam begins softening the crust.

Chill within two hours

Transfer leftovers to a shallow covered container and refrigerate for 3–4 days.

Reheat with dry heat

Spread on a tray at 200°C until piping hot and crisp; USDA’s safe leftover-reheat target is 74°C/165°F.

Crispy Crunchy Cubed Potatoes

Toon De Backer’s one-centimeter potato cubes: briefly steamed, coated in seasoned butter, and roasted at 220°C until crisp and deeply golden.

PotatoesRoasted PotatoesSide DishButterRosemaryVegetarian

Ingredients

Potatoes

  • 500 g potatoes
  • 50 g butter, divided between greasing the tray and coating the potatoes
  • Fine salt, to taste
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • Rosemary, to taste
  • Dried oregano, to taste
  • Paprika powder, to taste

Directions

  1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into even 1 cm cubes. Keep the pieces close in size so their centers soften and their faces brown at the same rate.
  2. Heat the oven to 220°C. Use part of the 50 g butter to grease a large roasting tray, leaving the rest for the potato coating.
  3. Set the cubes in a steamer basket over simmering water, cover, and steam for about 5 minutes. They should be hot and just beginning to soften at the surface, not cooked through or collapsing.
  4. Lift out the basket and let the potatoes stand uncovered for a minute so visible surface moisture can steam away. Transfer them to a large bowl.
  5. Melt the remaining butter. Season it to taste with salt, black pepper, rosemary, oregano, and paprika, then pour it over the warm potato cubes and turn gently until every face is glossy.
  6. Spread the cubes on the greased tray in a single uncrowded layer, with as much space between them as the tray allows. Reserve any seasoned butter left in the bowl.
  7. Roast for 15 minutes without disturbing the potatoes. Turn them with a thin metal spatula, coat with any remaining seasoned butter, and return the tray to the oven.
  8. Roast for about 15 minutes more, until the broad faces are deeply golden, the corners feel crisp, and a cube is tender at the center. Serve immediately, ideally beside rather than underneath a saucy main so the crust stays crunchy.

Source and research references: Toon De Backer’s Surprising Recipes card for the complete formula, 1 cm cut, 5-minute steam, buttered tray, 220°C oven, halfway turn, 30-minute roast, nutrition, and keep-it-away-from-sauce serving note; Serious Eats’ roast-potato testing for a roomy sheet, high heat, waiting for a crust to release, and reading browning instead of relying on time alone; Easy Peasy Foodie’s Parmentier potato method for corroboration that small cubes benefit from a brief pre-cook, steam-drying, a single layer, and a halfway turn; and USDA FSIS leftover guidance for the 2-hour refrigeration limit, 3–4 day window, and 165°F/74°C reheating target. The handling cues clarify the original butter-and-steam recipe without changing its identity.

Image credits

Photography is used under open licenses with attribution: Joey Doll, Willis Lam, and Nico.