Definitely a cut above the usual roasted potatoes! The unique thing about Greek Lemon Potatoes is that they are cooked in a heavily flavoured lemon garlic broth so they suck up all that flavour before roasting to golden perfection. They’re utterly addictive!
Greek Lemon Potatoes
Welcome back to the final instalment of GREEK WEEK!!! We started the week with Greek Chicken marinated in the most incredible yogurt marinade, served up a big pan of homemade Greek Baklava on Wednesday and we’re finishing up the week with the much anticipated Greek Lemon Potatoes!
We’re serving all these with a side of fresh Greek Salad and Tzatziki for dolloping (in the Greek Chicken recipe) – and see here for more Greek recipes.
Plate smashing is optional – but loads of garlic in everything is not!
Let’s be clear about one thing up front:
These are not your usual roasted potatoes
Don’t get me wrong. Throw spuds in the oven drizzled with oil, salt and pepper, and I’ll happily munch my way through them.
Make the effort to follow a few extra steps to make the crunchiest roast potatoes you’ve ever had, and it’s like all my Christmases have come at once. Thick, craggy crusts, perfectly seasoned, fluffy insides.
But these roasted Greek Lemon Potatoes….
These are unlike any other roasted potato I’ve ever had because they’re flavoured all the way through. Flavoured with all THIS ↓↓↓
How I cut potatoes for this recipe
We want chunky pieces for this recipe so they hold up to the relatively long cooking time. I cut medium potatoes into 3 pieces, as pictured below, and large potatoes into quarters or thick wedges.
HALF BRAISED, HALF ROASTED
The idea behind Greek Lemon Potatoes is that they are braised in a lemon-garlic flavoured broth so they suck up all that flavour, then you continue roasting them until the liquid evaporates, leaving behind just the oil to roast the potatoes until golden.
The concept sounds easy enough, but actually, it’s quite tricky to do in one pan. I swear, it’s scientifically impossible to roast potatoes until golden without the garlic burning. It’s one or the other – golden garlic or golden potatoes (unless, like I do with my Herb Roasted Potatoes, you add the garlic midway through cooking).
Also, I kept ending up with burnt ridges on the potato from the lemon juice and broth that caramelises on the base of the pan, and a disappointing lack of golden crusts promised by recipes I used.
After two, three, five, seven attempts, I threw every recipe I read out the window (virtually) and settled on an easier, less risky way of making Greek Lemon Potatoes so they come out as golden as possible: Braise in one pan to suck up flavour, transfer to a tray to bake until golden, drizzled with the flavoured oil from Pan 1.
How to make Greek Lemon Potatoes (my safer way)
You can skip the transference step if you want. But just be mindful that you’ll need to keep a super close eye on the potatoes and they won’t be as golden as you see in these photos, you’ll likely end up with thin dark burnt ridges and the garlic with burn (gee, I’m really making this sound appetising! 😂)
In the interest of total transparency …
Because I hate recipes that lie, I want to be 100% clear about expectations: these are not the crispiest roast potatoes in the world. I truly think it’s scientifically impossible to get seriously crispy roast potatoes once they’ve been submerged in all that lemon and broth (believe me, I tried my heart out!).
So if seriously crunchy potatoes is what you are after – and I’m talking seriously thick crunchy crust and they stay crisp for ages – use this recipe: Duck Fat Potatoes or Truly Crunchy Roast Potatoes.
But these Greek Lemon Potatoes do have nice crispy edges and some crispy surfaces (see video and photos) and in any case, you won’t miss major crunch factor because these have so much more flavour than any other roasted potato.
It was actually scary how much of these I was able to consume in one sitting. I just couldn’t stop – they are so darn good!! – Nagi x
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Greek Lemon Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg / 2.5lb potatoes (Aus: Desiree, US: Yukon Gold, UK: Maris Piper) (Note 1)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 5 garlic cloves , finely grated using microplane (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp salt (Note 4)
Garnish (optional)
- Lemon wedges, fresh oregano leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°Cfan).
- Cut potatoes: Peel potatoes and cut large ones into thick wedges – about 3cm / 1.2" thick – and medium ones into 3 (see photo in post).
- Coat potatoes: Place potatoes in a roasting pan with all the other ingredients. Toss well.
- Roast 45 minutes: Roast for 20 minutes. Turn potatoes, roast for a further 25 to 30 minutes until the liquid is mostly absorbed by potatoes/evaporated and you're left with mainly oil in the pan.
- To crisp the potatoes (optional): Transfer potatoes to a separate tray. (Note 3) Tilt the original roasting pan and scoop off as much of the oil as you can (some juices is ok), then drizzle over the potatoes.
- Roast 35 minutes: Transfer potatoes to oven and roast for 35 – 40 minutes, turning once or twice, until potatoes are golden and a bit crispy on the edges.
- Heat pan juices: Return pan #1 with the garlic juices to the oven for the last 5 – 10 minutes or so to reduce down and make the garlic golden. (Optional, Note 4)
- Plate up: Transfer potatoes to serving platter. Drizzle over the reduced garlic pan juices (or toss potatoes in the pan). Serve, garnished with lemon wedges and oregano if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
When Dozer stole a dog treat at the pet shop while I was trying to take cute photos of him eyeing off the treats…..
I’m making this now and I think it’ll come out good based on the way it smells at a half hour of cooking time. However the recipe notes confuse me. They Don’t Really correspond with the instructions. Love your dog.
Hi Stanley, which instructions are you unsure of ❤️
Note numbers under the recipe don’t match up with the notes in the recipe instructions
I was confused by the note numbers in the recipe instruction not matching up with the note numbers in the notes section underneath. Potatoes were good though. Thanks.
These potatoes were so good, exactly like the potatoes at my favorite greek restaurant. I did do the browning technique and it took them over the top! Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad you loved them Christie – they are definitely addictive! N x
I made this and it is excellent. Thank you!
You’re so welcome Norm! N x
I eat these every time I go to Crete or any of the Greek Islands. They are truly the best roast potatoes you can get. I’m about to try your recipe, hope it’s as good as the recipe that I was given by an old Cretan lady. She didn’t use any stock, but used olive oil and half a slab of butter, she also insisted on using only Cyprus potatoes.
I hope so too Tony – please let me know how it stacks up!! N x
Oh My Gosh were these potatoes good!! I didn’t do the crisping technique at the end, I just left them in until most of the broth was absorbed. I couldn’t stop eating them. My son and I were fighting over them! Lol SOOO GOOD. Thank you for this recipe! Will be making again.
They are so addictive Michele!!!! N x
These were amazing Nagi!! My family were literally fighting to scrape out the roasting dish
Yes – luckily when testing these I didn’t have to fight anyone (just restrain myself 😂)
This was really good, will definitely make it again.
Awesome Angelina 🙂 N x
Simply the best, my family loved these. A huge hit, once again recipe tin!!
Wahoo, that’s great to hear Jody! N x
Hi Nagi!
My family & I are in lockdown in Colombia and I tried your Greek Lemon Potatoe recipe (with lime as not much lemon here).
The dish was a huge hit! My wife loved the fact that I cooked plus for me it was a lot of fun, especially with a couple glasses of wine.
To crisp up the taters I broiled them for 5 min or so.
To die for!!
I’m up to receive more recipes of yours please.
Abrazos de Colombia!
Brian.
Hi Nagi! I just made your Greek lamb and lemon Greek potatoes. I was short on garlic after making the lamb so decided to try just boiling the potatoes with the lamb for around 35 mins in the first stage of cooking, given the ingredients were pretty similar. I then removed the potatoes with a slotted spoon and left them to dry off while the lamb cooked for another six hours. When the lamb was done, I turned up the oven heat to abut 190 (fan), added some salt and oil to the potatoes, gave them a toss in the pan and roasted them for 30 mins or so. They turned out perfectly, just like regular crispy roasted potatoes but infused with garlic, lemon, oregano, chicken stock etc. flavours. To die for, I highly recommend it! I’d post pics but I’m not on Instagram, sorry 🙁
Thank you as always for all your wonderful recipes and for doing the hard testing work for us. You rock Nagi – everything is always perfect every time!!
And also, I think your sous-chef Dozer is gorgeous, he gives my Scooby-doo labradoodle a run for his money.
That sounds to die for Talya!!! Give your pup a big belly rub from me! N x
Nagi you are a legend! These lemon potatoes are to die for! And cooking isn’t one of my strengths. Your recipe was simple and they turned out exactly as you said they would! Consider me a new fan girl!
OMG they are so addictive aren’t they Angela?! N x
I have made this every week since finding this recipe – love it! I follow it exactly but make just half or I’d eat my weight in potatoes!
I just leave it in the same pan without transferring and it is still beautiful every time – thank you!
You have more self control than I do Roopat – I’m so glad you love them! N x
Hello Nagi,
My Greek aunt makes these for me but she lives 10 hours away. Hers are amazing and brings me right to Greece when I eat them. Yours tastes just like them! Bravo! I love this recipe!
LOVED THESE! I made these to pair with one of your lamb leg roasts and oh my goodness. My partner, who is greek, said they tasted just like his yiayias! I had some leftover so I diced them and fried them up with some lemon the next day, the meal that keeps on giving. Your recipes are making isolation yummy! Thanks Nagi!
Made your Greek Lemon potatoes last night. Best potatoes I’ve ever made! You can be sure I’ll make them again.
They are so addictive aren’t they Shirley?!
Made this tonight with roasted lamb shank. Super delicious pretty much sums it up. Very easy to follow recipe. I used yellow fleshed potatoes and russet potatoes, the yellow fleshed soaked up the flavours better and just had a more authentic Greek flavour. I also used parchment in the roasting pan to contain the liquids and mess. Can’t go wrong. So delicious.
I love love love these potatoes! They have already been one of my favorites that my Greek grandma has cooked throughout my life. But it was hard to get them right without coming them with a whole chicken. That’s where this recipe comes in… They’re so authentic and delicious and taste just like my grandma’s. Highly recommend this recipe!
I’m so glad you loved them Sarah!!!
Seriously delicious!! I did skip step step 4 as I only have the 1 pan but I did still cook them for the extra 20mins. I do however absolutely love soft lemon potatoes with gooey outside lemon flavouring! These were perfect and the garlic didn’t burn. Thank you 🙂
I am late to the Greek lemon potato party. Nagi or any other readers…. can I substitute the chicken stock for vege stock or will that change the taste too much?
Hi Anna, you can use vegetable stock! You may need to add a little more salt 🙂
I made this as part of our Christmas lunch. What a hit! It’s been shared several times now – I’m spreading the word.