Puff Pastry Potato Tart
Crisp puff pastry topped with thinly sliced new potatoes, melted cheese and rosemary. Five main ingredients, one sheet of shop-bought pastry, and about forty minutes.
By Hanan · Salt & Hearth
Published August 17, 2026
Full quantities, times and temperatures · How we make this site
Prep
15 min
Cook
30 min
Total
45 min
Serves
6
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A sheet of shop-bought puff pastry, a layer of cheese, and thinly sliced new potatoes laid over the top with rosemary and Parmesan. That is the whole thing. It bakes into something that looks considerably more effortful than it is: a crisp golden base, a puffed border, and rounds of potato browned at the edges. Eat it hot as a light dinner with a green salad, or cold from the fridge the next day — it is genuinely good both ways, which is not true of most tarts.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Shop-bought puff pastry does the hard work, and nobody will hold it against you.
- Five main ingredients, most of them already in the fridge.
- Equally good hot, warm or cold, which makes it a picnic and lunchbox recipe as well as a dinner one.
- Endlessly adaptable — the potato-and-cheese base takes almost any addition you have to hand.
- Cuts into neat squares, so it works as an appetizer or as a meal with a salad.
Ingredients
For the tart
- 1 sheet (about 11 oz / 320 g) ready-rolled puff pastry
- 1 lb (450 g) waxy new potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup (100 g) grated mozzarella
- 1/2 cup (40 g) finely grated Parmesan
- 1 garlic clove, finely grated (optional)
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves, plus a little extra to finish
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 large egg, beaten, for the border
Ingredient notes & substitutions
- New potatoes:
- Waxy varieties — Charlotte, fingerling, baby or salad potatoes all work. They hold their shape and stay creamy. Floury baking potatoes fall apart.
- Ready-rolled puff pastry:
- A block works too, rolled to about 1/8 inch, but ready-rolled saves the step and the edges get folded anyway so neatness barely matters.
- Mozzarella:
- Grated low-moisture mozzarella, not the fresh kind in water — fresh mozzarella releases too much liquid and softens the pastry underneath.
- Parmesan:
- Used twice: under the potatoes for savouriness and over the top for browning. A little goes a long way.
- Rosemary:
- Fresh, and stripped from the stalk. It crisps in the oven and perfumes the whole tart. Thyme works equally well.
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 400°F. Unroll the pastry onto a baking sheet, keeping it on its own parchment — it saves you greasing anything and stops the base sticking.
- 2
Fold the outer 3/4 inch of pastry over onto itself on all four sides and press down lightly to make a raised rim. Prick the base inside the rim all over with a fork so the centre stays flat while the edges puff.
- 3
Slice the potatoes as thinly as you can, about 1/8 inch, ideally on a mandoline. Evenness is the whole recipe: the slices have to cook through in the same time the pastry takes to crisp, and thick slices will still be raw when the tart is golden.
- 4
Toss the potato slices in a bowl with the olive oil, garlic if using, rosemary, salt and pepper, separating any slices stuck together so every one is lightly coated.
- 5
Scatter the mozzarella over the base inside the rim, then half the Parmesan. The cheese layer underneath keeps the potatoes from drying out and glues them to the pastry.
- 6
Lay the potato slices over the cheese in overlapping rows, working right up to the rim. Overlapping is fine and looks better than a single flat layer.
- 7
Scatter the remaining Parmesan over the potatoes and brush the folded rim with the beaten egg.
- 8
Bake 25-30 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden and puffed at the edges, the cheese is bubbling, and a potato slice gives easily when pressed with a knife tip.
- 9
Scatter with a little more rosemary, let it settle for 5 minutes so the base firms up, then cut into squares. Good hot, warm or cold.
Tips
- Use waxy new potatoes, not floury baking potatoes. Waxy slices hold their shape; floury ones collapse into mush.
- A mandoline is worth getting out for this. Hand-cut slices vary just enough that some finish raw while others burn.
- Do not skip pricking the base. Without it the middle rises and the potatoes slide off the dome.
- There is no need to parboil the potatoes — slicing them thin is what makes that unnecessary.
- If the rim browns before the potatoes are tender, lay a strip of foil along the edges and keep baking.
Variations to try
- Scatter crisped bacon or pancetta over the cheese before the potatoes go on.
- Add thinly sliced red onion between the potato rows for sweetness.
- Swap the rosemary for thyme, or for a scatter of chopped chives after baking.
- Dot with soft goat cheese or blue cheese before baking for something sharper.
- Finish the hot tart with a handful of rocket and a squeeze of lemon to turn it into a meal.
Storage & make-ahead
Keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and is genuinely good cold. To bring back the crispness, reheat in a 350°F oven for 8-10 minutes rather than the microwave, which turns the pastry soft. Baked tart freezes for up to 2 months; thaw fully and refresh in a hot oven.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to parboil the potatoes first?
- No, as long as you slice them thin — about 1/8 inch. At that thickness they cook through in exactly the time the pastry needs. Thicker slices are the one reason this recipe fails.
- Can I use regular baking potatoes?
- You can, but the texture suffers. Floury potatoes break down and go mealy. Waxy new potatoes hold their shape and stay creamy.
- My pastry base went soggy. Why?
- Usually fresh mozzarella rather than the low-moisture grated kind, or potatoes that were wet when they went on. Pat the slices dry and use grated mozzarella.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Assemble it up to a few hours ahead, keep it covered in the fridge and bake when you need it. It is best baked fresh, but it also reheats well.
- How do I know when it is done?
- The rim should be deep golden and well puffed, the cheese bubbling, and a knife tip should slide into a potato slice with no resistance.
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