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…..
Unbelievable flavour and followed tips for transferring and adding garlic halfway, I think next time I’ll cook even 10 minutes more. Delicious! I used fingerlings and left skin on, followed to a t except veggie stock for me. Fresh oregano at tte end is loveky and next time I might add a bit of crumbled feta at the end! A keeper, thank you!
Add Feta at the end of roasting for 5 min for an even mouth watering experience…..these are insanely good…..I’m gonna try to use a little less oil next time to see if they’re just as good using 1/4 cup
That’s a great ti0, I’m sure that is really good so I’ll be trying it!
Today is Greek Easter and I was asked by my Greek friend to cook some traditional potatoes. I found this recipe by total chance and … it was a resounding success! My Greek friend said they were perfect and I had to share the recipe with several people. Thank you! So easy to make and so so good. Will make them again for sure. Between the 2 steps (with liquid and without) I was left with quite a lot of liquid. I put it in a pot, reduce it and served it in a little bowl to add on the potatoes. Yummy!
Awesome recipe. A little trick during the crisping stage…get a container of Empire Chicken Fat or render your own…drizzle over the potato before putting back in the oven for crisping. Also adds additional flavor.
These are some of the best potatoes I have ever made or eaten! Bravo, what a fabulous recipe.
Just made it! Excellent and not a lot of work.
I have been making PATATES LEMONATES for years. Always a family favourite. Never seen potatoes disappear so quick. They are even better done over charcoal BBQ. Whilst I haven’t tried this recipe yet, I just wanted to let yourself and your followers in on a trick I learned (from a Greek food blog) to get the crispness on the potatoes. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of semolina to the pan (mix in with the liquid ingredients). If you want gluten-free you can mix in some rice flour or potato flour instead. Works great!
This recipe is off the charts amazing! Every single thing about it is perfection. Just genius to cook them in the liquid first, and even if they’re not brown or crunchy, they could not taste more amazing. THANK YOU for this stroke of genius!
This is the best greek lemon potato recipe that I have ever tried. My friends rave every time I make this. The roasting at the end makes all the difference.
So glad to hear Dozer is improving daily! I try not to peel most vegetables for the added nutrition and also because we prefer the texture. I wonder whether it would make so much of a difference if i didnt peel the potatoes?
I have finally made these with a butterflied lamb roast marinated with Rosemary and garlic. My first time cooking for my new girlfriend.. I will never go back to boring old roasted potatoes.
Plus I have impressed my girlfriend.
Winner winner roast lamb dinner!
I have made this 4 times in the last few months. It is superb and a family favourite already. We love it after braising just shy of an hour. Gorgeous with lamb, beef and chicken but welcome at our home anytime.
These were outstanding! I just did the braise, and they were plenty crispy.
I’ve already shared the recipe with friends and family.
This recipe worked perfectly for me. Simple and delicious. Will definitely make again!
Wow! Speechless! Best potatoes ever, and so easy. Thanks again nagi. Had with your morrocan lamb backstrap. Did hasselback zucchini with it. Definitely do again and again.
Nagi, I like interesting food. Sometimes I’m ready to spend hours cooking, but more often, I want to cook something that doesn’t have 19 ingredients or needs 6 hours. Somehow, I always end up on your site. Have never been disappointed and have never needed to pay. To thank you, I just ordered your cookbook. Thank you for sharing all your goodness.
My favourite potatoes of ALL TIME. Recipe is perfect. I serve them with tzatziki
Best lemon potatoes I’ve ever prepared!!
Thank you!!
THANK YOU! Your recipe was AWESOME and I’m Greek and have tried many recipes through the years. Loved your 2 step technique. I DOUBLED your recipe and added some things: thick ground pepper, squeezed juice of 1 orange, and a touch more lemon juice, paprika and 3T of butter, They came out amazing, Thanks again for your tenacity and great recipe!
These potatoes are epic.
I’ve had them several times and they’re always a winner!! They’re great with a Greek lamb or chicken and a a Greek salad.
No one ever complains and there’s usually few to no leftovers