Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Dirty Martini-Infused Olive Topping

Some side dishes show up at the table and do their job. Fine. Reliable. Forgettable. And then there are the ones that completely steal the show — the ones where people are still talking about them on the drive home. These Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Dirty Martini-Infused Olive Topping are firmly in the second category.

{{ The recipe for these Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Dirty Martini-Infused Olive Topping and the post that goes with it was made in partnership with California Ripe Olives and California Grown! We received compensation in exchange for it. Opinions are always our own. If we don't love it, you don't hear about it. Thanks for your continued support! }}

This smashed potatoes recipe takes a beloved classic and pushes it somewhere genuinely next level: shatteringly crispy edges, a tangy salt-and-vinegar punch, and a chunky, briny olive topping that tastes like your favorite dirty martini decided to show up to dinner. It's a simple recipe with a serious payoff, and California Ripe Olives are the whole reason the topping works as well as it does.

Let's Talk About the Potatoes

The best smashed potatoes start with the right potato. Baby potatoes — or small potatoes in general — are the move here. They boil quickly, smash evenly, and develop those gorgeous, lacy, craggy edges in the oven that are impossible to resist. Baby Dutch Yellow potatoes are a personal favorite because they stay creamy in the center while the outside gets completely crispy on the sheet pan.

Here's the method: start by boiling your small potatoes in a large pot of salted water until they're just fork-tender. Don't rush this step. You want them cooked through before they ever hit the oven, so the inside stays fluffy while the outside crisps up. Drain the potatoes well — and I mean really well, because excess moisture is the enemy of crunch — then let them steam-dry for a few minutes on the baking sheet before you smash them.

Once they're smashed flat onto your sheet pan, a generous drizzle of olive oil goes over every single one. Don't be shy with it. That olive oil is what transforms these from good to great. High heat, plenty of fat, and enough space between each potato on the baking sheet so they roast rather than steam. That's the formula for crispy smashed potatoes that actually deliver.

The salt and vinegar treatment layers in while the potatoes are still hot — tangy, aggressive, and completely addictive. Think of your favorite salt-and-vinegar chip, but make it a whole potato with crispy edges in every direction.

California Ripe Olives: Why They're the Star of This Topping

If you've been around here for a while, you already know how I feel about California Ripe Olives. They've anchored some of my most popular recipes — my classic dirty vodka martini, my olive tapenade, those bite-sized potato skins that disappear in minutes, and those simple roasted ripe olives that I make when I need something impressive with almost zero effort. There's a reason I keep coming back to them.

Over 95% of the canned ripe olives grown in the United States come from California — specifically the warm, fertile stretches of the Central Valley. Farmers harvest between September and November, and the olives are then cured and packed in a mild salt-brine at one of just two multi-generational canneries still operating in the state. Real families. Real craft. Genuinely delicious briny olives that taste like they come from somewhere specific and mean something.

For this topping, I'm using California Ripe green olives and the olive brine they come packed in. The chopped olives bring bold, salty, buttery depth. The olive brine is the dirty martini moment that makes the whole thing sing. Do not pour it down the drain. It is liquid gold in this recipe.

When you're at the store, flip the can over and check the label for origin information. That's how you know you're getting California Ripe Olives — grown and processed right here in the Golden State, by the farming families who have been doing this for generations.

Here are Some of Our Favorite Recipes to Make with California Ripe Olives

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The Whipped Cheese Base, The Olive Topping, and Why The Order Matters

This is where things get really fun — and where the presentation goes from good to genuinely stunning.

The build here is intentional, and it matters. First, the blended cream cheese and feta mixture gets spread across the bottom of your serving dish in a generous, swooping layer. Softened cream cheese and crumbled feta come together into something smooth, tangy, and rich — the perfect canvas for everything that's going on above it. This is not an afterthought. The cream cheese mixture is doing real work here, adding a cool, creamy contrast to those hot, crispy potatoes that land on top of it.

Then come the potatoes. Straight from the baking sheet, still crackling from the oven, arranged right on top of that whipped cheese base so the bottoms just barely sink in and pick up some of that creaminess as you eat.

And finally — the dirty martini-infused olive topping. I've been obsessed with the flavor profile of a classic dirty martini for years, and this chunky relish-style olive topping is that flavor translated into something you spoon over a platter. Chopped olives that have marinated in olive brine with a splash of dry vermouth mixed with a scosh of vodka, minced shallot, fresh herbs, and a hit of lemon — all tossed together into a bold, briny, chunky mixture that gets piled generously over the top of the whole thing.

Every element on this platter earns its place. The crispy potatoes. The smooth, tangy cream cheese mixture underneath. The chunky olive topping with all that dirty martini character on top. Together, it's a bite that covers every note — crunchy, creamy, salty, acidic, savory, and bold.

If you're prepping the cheesey bottom layer in advance, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Pull it out about 15 minutes before assembling so it softens back to that perfect spreadable consistency.

Your New Favorite Side Dish

This smashed potatoes recipe works for almost any occasion. Spring dinner party. Sunday supper. Weeknight dinner that needs a little something extra. It's a side dish that plays well with grilled chicken or just a big green salad.

The combination of textures alone makes this dish worth making. The shatter of that crispy edge, the creamy cheese base, the chunky olive topping with that briny, martini-forward punch. It's a lot happening in one bite, and all of it is good.

Pair it with my favorite dirty martini recipe and you've got a full theme going. The flavor connection between the drink and this side dish is very much intentional, and very much worth leaning into for a spring dinner where you want everything to feel considered and cohesive.

Enter the CA GROWN x No Crumbs Left Contest and Win

There's something exciting happening right now, and I want to make sure you're in on it.

California Grown has teamed up with the incredible Teri Turner of No Crumbs Left for a "Show Us What You're Cooking With California Ripe Olives" contest — and the prizes include Williams Sonoma gift cards.

How to enter: Cook anything using California Ripe Olives. Use this Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Dirty Martini-Infused Olive Topping recipe, one from CA GROWN, a recipe from No Crumbs Left, or your own creation. Post your finished dish on Instagram or Facebook and tag @californiagrown and @nocrumbsleft.

Contest dates: March 30 – April 20, 2026.

That's it. Make something delicious with California Ripe Olives, take a photo, and tag it. This layered smashed potato platter would make a pretty great entry — just saying.

Head over to Teri's page for even more California Ripe Olive recipe inspiration to get you started.

The Bottom Line

California Ripe Olives are one of those ingredients that punch way above their weight. Bold flavor, real versatility — from an olive garnish on a martini glass to a chunky, dirty martini-infused relish spooned over a platter of crispy smashed potatoes — and grown by farming families right here in the Golden State. That's a pantry staple worth celebrating.

Make the potatoes. Build the platter. Enter the contest. And if you do, tag me at @thismessisours — I want to see what lands on your table.

If you've made this Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Dirty Martini-Infused Olive Topping recipe, I would be so grateful if you'd rate it and leave a comment below.

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