My sister taught me this brilliant 3 ingredient trick when you are too tired to actually cook

This is my go-to, too-tired-to-cook side dish that my sister swears by: oven baked 3-ingredients salsa verde potatoes. She showed me how you can dump everything into a casserole dish, shove it in the oven, and end up with tender, golden-edged potato wedges swimming in bright green salsa verde. It tastes like you actually cooked, but the effort is closer to ordering takeout. This is perfect for weeknights when you’re wiped out, want something cozy, and don’t feel like chopping a ton of ingredients or dirtying a pile of pans.

Serve these salsa verde potatoes straight from the white casserole dish while they’re still hot and a little blistered around the edges. They’re great next to roasted chicken, grilled steak, or simple pan-seared fish. For a meatless night, pile them into warm tortillas with a sprinkle of cheese and a squeeze of lime for the easiest potato tacos. You can also spoon them over rice or alongside scrambled eggs for a low-effort brunch. If you have it, a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and a handful of whatever fresh herbs are in your fridge make them feel a little more dressed up without much extra work.

Servings: 4

2 pounds small Yukon gold or red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges

Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease a medium white casserole dish (about 9x13 inches) with a little of the oil or a quick spray, just enough to keep the potatoes from sticking.

Scrub the potatoes well under cool running water, then pat them dry with a clean kitchen towel. Cut each potato into even wedges so they cook at the same rate. Aim for about 6–8 wedges per small potato.

In the casserole dish, add the potato wedges and drizzle with the remaining oil. Toss with your hands or a spoon to coat the potatoes as evenly as possible. Spread them into a mostly single layer so the edges can brown and crisp.

Pour the salsa verde over the potatoes, making sure most of the potatoes are nestled down in the salsa. It’s okay if a few tips of the wedges are peeking out of the sauce; those exposed edges will get nicely blistered and golden as they bake.

Cover the casserole dish tightly with foil. Bake for 25 minutes, until the potatoes are starting to turn tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.

Carefully remove the foil (watch for steam), give the potatoes a gentle stir to re-coat them in the salsa, then spread them back out. Return the uncovered dish to the oven and bake for another 20–25 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender and the exposed edges are crispy and browned. The salsa should be bubbling and slightly thickened.

Once done, let the potatoes rest for 5–10 minutes so the bubbling settles and the salsa clings a bit more to the wedges. Serve the potatoes directly from the white casserole dish while they’re hot, making sure to spoon plenty of the bright green salsa over each serving.

For a slightly richer version, you can whisk 1–2 tablespoons of sour cream or Greek yogurt into the salsa verde before baking (this technically adds a fourth ingredient, but it’s a nice upgrade on nights you’re not completely wiped out). If you want extra browning, switch the oven to broil for the last 2–3 minutes of cooking and keep a close eye so the potato edges blister without burning. To keep this truly low-effort, choose small, thin-skinned potatoes so you don’t need to peel them. If you’re cooking for spice-lovers, use a spicier salsa verde or add a few jarred jalapeño slices on top before baking; for kids or sensitive palates, go with a mild salsa verde. For meal prep, bake the potatoes as directed, cool completely, and refrigerate up to 3 days; reheat in a 400°F oven until hot and re-crisped around the edges. Food safety tips: Always wash potatoes well to remove dirt before cooking, and don’t use any that are very soft, moldy, or heavily sprouted. If using homemade salsa verde, cool it fully before combining with the potatoes and store leftovers in the refrigerator within 2 hours of baking. Reheat leftovers to at least 165°F and discard any potatoes that have sat at room temperature for more than 2 hours.