Are Sticky Potatoes as Amazing as People Say? I Tried the Recipe to Find Out

My passion for potatoes started young. On the lucky days my parents would take us to the drive-thru as kids, the main dish might rotate from burger to nuggets to chili. But there was no question about my answer to, “would you like fries with that?” Yes. Yes, I would. 

More than three decades later, I still frequently celebrate the versatile, budget-friendly carb, and have done so lately with remixes like Dolly Parton’s mashed potatoes, tater tot salad, and Mississippi Mud Potatoes. (I knew I had to try that last one after you, BHG readers, saved it on MyRecipes more than any other spud side!)

Although I was already pretty happy with the options in my potato recipe archives, you better believe I was lured in when I spotted a wildly-popular sticky potato recipe making the rounds on social media. The “glamour shot” of the finished dish was tempting enough to stop my scroll, and once I saw that it all came together in a single skillet, I was sold on trying this ASAP.

How to Make Sticky Potatoes

I originally spotted this Sticky Chipotle Braised Potato recipe on the Instagram page of Manchester, UK-based creator Rhian Melvin (@rhi.scran) who specializes in plant-forward recipes. While demonstrating the tempting one-pan recipe, Melvin says, “you really can’t go wrong with a good potato side dish, and these sticky chipotle-braised potatoes are up there with the best of ‘em.”

The saucy, swicy potatoes remind me of sticky Korean potatoes (aka Gamja Jorim)—a sweet-and-sour potato recipe that appears on many banchan spreads at Korean barbecue restaurants—just with a little southwestern flair. Here’s how to make them:

1. Mix the sauce. In a bowl, whisk together water, tamari sauce, maple syrup, lime juice, minced chipotles in adobo, minced garlic, and smoked paprika.
2. Sauté then braise the potatoes. In a medium skillet over medium heat, add unsalted butter and washed and scrubbed baby potatoes, cut into about 1-inch cubes. Cook the potatoes in the butter, stirring every so often, for 5 minutes. Pour in the maple syrup mixture. Allow the sauce to come to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and top the skillet with a lid. Simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Remove the lid, turn the heat back up to medium. Cook for 10 minutes more, stirring often to ensure each potato is evenly coated in the glaze.
3. Garnish and serve. Remove the skillet from the heat, season to taste with salt and black pepper, then garnish with fresh cilantro and/or sour cream. Then dive in!

Tips For Making Sticky Potatoes

With one bowl, one skillet, and about 30 minutes of time, you can have this potato side dish ready to share…or keep all for yourself. No judgement here! If you decide to give it a go, here are a few bonus tips I learned from my trial and our Test Kitchen team.

• Pick the proper potato. Potato varieties exist on a spectrum from waxy to starchy. Your best bets for this skillet potato recipe are the spuds that sit near the middle; offering a blend of both qualities. They’ll crisp up nicely on the outside while staying fluffy, tender, and moist on the inside. Red Bliss, Yukon Gold, and fingerling potatoes all work well here. Just be sure to slice any of the above into evenly-sized pieces so each bite cooks evenly.
• Preserve your peppers. A $1.79 can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (essentially smoked jalapeños in zesty tomato mixture) is a gift that keeps on giving in my kitchen. Many recipes, including this one, ask for 1 tablespoon or less to lend a subtle yet deep smoky heat to dishes. A small 7-ounce can contains about 12 tablespoons, and you definitely want the rest to go to waste. To save the rest for another day (or month), use a food process or blender to purée the leftovers. Distribute the chipotles in adobo into the wells of an ice cube tray. Freeze until solid, then transfer the cubes to a zip-top bag to store for up to 6 months. As for how to use those cubes, thaw a cube or two overnight in the fridge, then stir it into soups, stews, salad dressings, tomato sauces, sloppy joes, egg scrambles, mayonnaise, or ketchup to amp up the flavor.
• Get sweet. Maple syrup is Melvin’s pick, but you could easily swap in honey or agave nectar if that’s what you have handy.
• Swap the sauce. Tamari sauce is like soy sauce’s gluten-free, tamer, and less salty cousin. If you aren’t already on Team Tamari and don’t feel like investing in another bottle, soy works A-OK here, too. The flavor will just be a bit more salty and bold. Or for a slightly sweeter, soy-free option, use coconut aminos.

The Verdict on the Viral Sticky Potato Recipe

After recreating these sticky potatoes in their own kitchens, home cooks chimed in on social media to declare them “sensational,” “an absolute smash hit,” and to say they “can’t wait to make it again!” Just a couple bites was enough to convince me that I agree. 

The mild flavor of the potatoes acts as the perfect canvas to display the smoky chipotles and paprika, sweet maple syrup, tangy lime juice, and salty tamari. All of that cooks down into a sticky syrup that coats the exterior of each piece of potato, enrobing it in so much zippy flavor. In addition to the punchy flavor, I appreciate that I could make this entire potato recipe in one skillet, and didn’t need to turn on the oven. I paired them with grilled steak, and could see sticky potatoes acting as a terrific teammate for seared salmon and Copycat Chipotle Chicken, too.

With its in-your-face flavor, this is not a shy side dish, though. While that means it might not play nicely with as many main dishes as other classics like Cracker Barrel’s Hashbrown Potato Casserole or baked potatoes, these sticky potatoes have a loyal following for good reason. And I, for one, am delighted to now be part of the fan club.