The Staple Pantry Ingredient To Give Roast Potatoes A Flavor Boost

Roasted potatoes are an endless source of joy, even in the face of some very stiff competition. Potatoes are capable of being transformed in so many ways that it almost defies belief. You can smash them, mash them, and you can turn them into soup. Yet with all those options we still come back, time and time again, to roasted potatoes. That's because, outside of baking them, roasted potatoes are perhaps the purest expression of what a potato can be. Crispy outside, fluffy inside, they are comforting, filling, and delicious — all while CNN states they are far healthier than the fried alternatives.

It also doesn't hurt that roasted potatoes are pretty easy to make. They are the perfect weekday dinner side because they can be cut up, thrown in the oven, and left alone while you work on the main course. But that utility is also why people are always looking for ways to mix it up and take roasted potatoes to the next level. Something has to be good to get that common, and any food as common as roasted potatoes is always going to be a magnet for culinary experiments. 

Luckily for everyone, there are a lot of options out there for making better roasted potatoes, and you probably have one in your pantry right now.

Bouillon cubes were one of the original modern convenience foods and they still function in that role today. While their main purpose is to quickly turn water into stock, their usefulness as an ingredient becomes apparent the second you realize they are basically concentrated flavor packets. Cultures around the world already use similar seasonings like chicken or mushroom powder to give dishes added depth and a shot of extra umami flavor. Bouillon, whether it is powdered or cube form, can easily fill the same role, and that is where its potential with potatoes becomes clear.

You can take advantage of bouillon's boost to potatoes a few different ways. If you are taking the step of boiling your potatoes before roasting them, the BBC notes you can add some bouillon to the water to infuse your potatoes with extra flavor. If you are skipping the boiling step, or just want a little more seasoning on the outside, The Mirror states that you can simply crumble some bouillon over roasted potatoes before they go into the oven. Either method will give your potatoes an extra-savory quality, and lend some depth of flavor from all those stock ingredients like carrots and celery. 

Your roasted potatoes just found their new best friend.