Would you believe me if I told you there was a way to make low FODMAP garlic potatoes? If you follow me on Instagram the answer is probably yes, because I have been yelling about pickled garlic for a while now. If not, let me introduce you to your new favourite ingredient: pickled garlic. It has a generous low FODMAP threshold, is easy to make and is the star of these low FODMAP garlic brown butter and sage potatoes.
This recipe uses an all rounder variety of baby potatoes (I used Maris Piper). They are boiled in salted water, then tossed in some oil and salt. We’re using a glass to squish each potato down into a crispy, craggy flat potato and then baking them until golden.
The sauce is a simple mix of brown butter, crushed pickled garlic and sage. Salt and pepper are all that’s left to create this heavenly side dish that tastes as gorgeous as it looks.
Let’s get straight down to business.
FODMAP notes
These FODMAP thresholds are current as of August 2026. They will be periodically reviewed to ensure they remain up to date with the latest research.
Of course, our main ingredient that needs discussing is the pickled garlic. According to Monash, pickled garlic is low FODMAP in serves of up to 29g per person. In larger serves, pickled garlic contains moderate amounts of fructose.
FODMAP Friendly app says that pickled garlic is low FODMAP in serves of up to 17g. In larger serves, it contains excess fructose.
Potatoes are FODMAP free, as is sage.
Interestingly, Monash seems to have recently introduced a FODMAP limit for butter. They now say it is low FODMAP in serves of up to 143g serves. In larger serves, they say it contains moderate amounts of lactose. FODMAP Friendly still say that butter is FODMAP free. Either way, this recipe uses 100g butter divided between 4-6 people so it is well under the new Monash threshold.
Recipe tips
Choose all rounder potatoes that are small and even in size. I used small Maris Piper potatoes that I buy from a farm gate. Small, even sized potatoes are important because they will cook through at roughly the same time and are easy to squish on a tray while retaining their shape.
I haven’t been able to find much information on which varieties are sold as baby or new potatoes at the supermarket. It seems to be that a number of different varieties can be sold as baby potatoes in the store. If you can, I’d recommend sourcing variety specific potatoes from a farmers market or farm gate. I realise that’s a lot to ask of busy people, though, so just be aware that it’s not 100% clear what you are getting when you buy baby potatoes from the supermarket (here in Australia, at least).
After boiling the potatoes until a knife slides through the largest potato, I recommend oiling and salting them on their baking trays. Oiling them prior to crushing them means they are oiled and salted on all sides. If you brush the oil over after, the bottoms remain un-oiled and unsalted.
If you’re not sure what variety of potato you are working with (or even if you are) crush the potatoes slowly and carefully. I like to use a large glass measuring jug so the surface area of the vessel is wider than my potato. This just means it’s easy to crush the potato down in a uniform way, all in one go.
Arrange the potatoes on the trays with space between them and crush them down in place. They are hard to move once crushed.
Tips for the low FODMAP garlic brown butter and sage sauce
- I know that low FODMAP garlic sauce sounds unnatural, but hopefully you have read the above section on the FODMAP threshold of pickled garlic by now.
- I HIGHLY recommend making your own pickled garlic. It does take a while but it tastes infinitely better than the store bought variety (which is also hard to find in Australia).
- I tested browning the butter while the garlic cooks and browning the butter prior to cooking the garlic. The second option (browning the butter first) was way easier. The garlic contributes some water to the butter which slows down the browning process. By the time the butter browned, the garlic was borderline overcooked. I found it much easier to get the butter to a light-medium brown and then add the garlic. This then slows down the further browning of the butter temporarily but long enough to cook the garlic.
- I think 1-2 sage leaves per potato is the ideal amount. This might mean you need to buy 2 bunches of sage, depending on the size of your potatoes, the size of your sage bunches and your penchant for crispy sage.
More low FODMAP potato recipes
- Greek salad potatoes
- Crispy cacio e pepe potatoes
- Gluten free Varenyky with a potato and leek filling
- Low FODMAP leek and potato soup
- Low FODMAP garlic oil potatoes with a zingy yoghurt base and a herb salsa
Low FODMAP brown butter, garlic and sage crispy potatoes
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 1 kg all-rounder variety baby or small potatoes I used Maris Piper
- Salt to season the boiling water
- 40-60 ml (2-3 tablespoons)* olive oil
- Salt for seasoning
For the brown butter garlic sage sauce:
- 100 g salted butter
- 4-10 cloves pickled garlic (approximately 12-20g up to 30-50g, clove size dependent) see notes for a recipe and guide
- 1-2 sage leaves per potato I used 1 ½ medium bunches
- Salt and pepper to finish
Instructions
To make the crispy flattened potatoes:
- If your potatoes have dirt on them, wash and scrub your potatoes.
- Place them in a large pot of well salted water over a medium high heat and cook for 20-30 minutes or until the largest potato can easily be pierced with a knife.
- While you wait, preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Move your racks to have space for two oven trays if necessary. Get two oven trays out and measure the butter for the sauce into a small pot.
- Crush your garlic and pick any woody stems off the sage.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them. Place half of the cooked potatoes on each tray then drizzle over half the oil and season with salt per tray. If the potatoes are cool enough, use your hands to massage the oil and seasoning into each potato.
- Space the potatoes out evenly on each tray. Use a large flat-bottomed mug (I like to use a pouring jug) to gently put pressure on the first potato, squishing it down. Try to go slowly but firmly so that you don’t completely break the potato apart – we want it flattened but held together by the potato skin. Repeat with the remaining potatoes.
- Place the trays in the oven for 25 minutes, then swap them over so that each tray gets equal browning. Cook for an additional 20-25 minutes.
To make the garlic brown butter sage sauce:
- About 5-10 minutes before the potatoes are cooked, make the brown butter sauce.
- Brown the butter over a medium-low heat until it becomes a medium brown colour. Once it does, add the crushed garlic. Cook the garlic for a couple of minutes or until it just starts to brown, then add the sage. I find it easier to add the sage leaves gradually and to remove them from the pot with a fork or something slotted when they become crisp. Once the sage leaves are crisp and the garlic is light golden, remove the sauce from the heat. I like to add a little extra salt and some freshly cracked pepper here.
To finish:
- Arrange the potatoes on your serving platter and pour over the hot garlic sauce. Serve immediately. Leftovers keep well in the fridge although they will need to be reheated as the butter will harden.
Notes
- See my pickled garlic recipe here. I highly recommend making your own – I promise it is so much better than the store bought stuff. Homemade pickled garlic actually tastes of garlic, whereas the store bought stuff tastes tinny, mushy and like a faint whisper of what I remember garlic to be.
- Add as much pickled garlic as you feel comfortable with within the specifications of the recipe. As we have discussed, Monash says that pickled garlic is low FODMAP in serves of up to 28g per person. FODMAP Friendly says it is low FODMAP in serves of up to 17g per person. Both are very generous servings per person and they are hard to exceed per serve in this recipe.
- 1 medium clove of pickled garlic weighs approximately 3-5g. This obviously varies a lot depending on your garlic, so you are best to go by weight here.
- According to Monash, the maximum weight of pickled garlic for 4 people/serves is 112g. For 6 people/serves it is 168g. I daresay that would be far too much garlic and reaching that number would be tough.
- For FODMAP Friendly, the maximum weight of pickled garlic for 4 people/serves is 68g. For 6 people/serves it is 102g.
- Using an average clove size of 3-5g, 10 garlic cloves is approximately 30-50g pickled garlic. This is well under both thresholds for a serving size.
- Keep in mind that FODMAPs stack and the FODMAP in question here is fructose. The more pickled garlic you use, the more you need to consider what you are serving your potatoes with. Choos low fructose side dishes to keep the overall fructose content lower.
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