These Greek potatoes are crispy-meets-tender, easy to throw together on a weeknight, and pack all the lemony, garlicky flavors of Greece with my little twist: melty Parmesan cheese!
This easy recipe is my take on Patates Lemonates, the golden potatoes you find at just about every Greek restaurant. They’re crisp on the outside, fluffy inside and burst with garlicky, lemony flavor.
My version of Greek potatoes starts with the classic heavy hitters: garlic, oregano, lemon, and stock (you can use vegetable broth for a vegetarian option). The potatoes bathe in this fragrant broth before roasting. Then, just when they’re tender and the edges are turning golden, I sprinkle on Parmesan so it melts, bubbles, and creates a caramelized crust. They may not be traditional, but they are irresistible!
Bold and yet so versatile, they’re the perfect side to so many Greek feasts, from a simple Greek salad to grilled Chicken Souvlaki. Plus, they are so easy to make. They only take about 10 minutes of hands-on time, then pop them in the oven while you get the main course ready.
Table of Contents
Greek Potatoes Ingredients and Substitutions
My secret ingredient to these roasted Greek potatoes is a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese added midway through baking. This isn’t necessarily traditional, but it adds both flavor and texture.
- Spices: Dried Greek oregano, dried rosemary, and sweet paprika bring decidedly Greek-style flavor to the party. Kosher salt and black pepper perk up the flavor.
- Extra virgin olive oil: The olive oil flavors the broth and the potatoes soak up all that flavor as they roast, so a high quality oil is essential. I recommend our rich and peppery Private Reserve Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil with this recipe.
- Parmesan cheese: I love how the Parmesan gets melty, bubbly, golden brown, and delicious, but it’s not traditional. Feel free to leave this off for a dairy free option. Or take a page from our Greek fries and swap with crumbled fresh feta after roasting.
- Baking potatoes: Russet, Idaho, or Yukon gold work best.
- Garlic: And lots of it! Garlic and salt are a potato’s best friend.
- Lemon: A fresh squeeze of lemon juice gives these roasted potatoes just the right amount of zing.
- Vegetable or chicken broth: I like to use low sodium so I can control the seasoning, but potatoes can handle a lot of salt, so standard broth would also work.
- PRO TIP: Did you know that chicken stock and chicken broth are (almost always) interchangeable, and that you can make your own vegetable broth with leftover food scraps?
- Parsley leaves: Adds herby freshness to this dish, but they’re not crucial. If you have all the ingredients except parsley, you don’t need to make a special trip.
How To Make Greek Lemon Potatoes
Cheesy, crispy, lemony Greek Potatoes is a side dish recipe all home cooks should keep up their sleeve. It’s inexpensive, easy, goes with everything, and is sure to be a big hit at your table. Here are all the tricks for how to roast potatoes in the oven so they’re tender on the inside and crispy on the outside:
- Get ready: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat a large, 9”X13-inch baking dish in a thin layer of olive oil.
- Make the spice mix: In a small bowl, mix together 1 teaspoon each salt, black pepper, sweet paprika, oregano, and dried rosemary.
- Cut the potatoes into wedges: Peel and scrub 4 potatoes. Put one on your cutting board and slice it in half lengthwise. With the cut side facing down, slice each half lengthwise once more, then slice each piece in half lengthwise one more time to make 8 wedges. Repeat with the remaining 3 potatoes, slicing each one into 8 wedges.
- Season the potatoes: Place the potato wedges in the oiled baking dish and sprinkle with the spice mix. Toss to evenly to distribute the spices.
- Season the broth: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together 8 chopped garlic cloves, 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, the juice of one lemon, and 1 1/4 cups vegetable or chicken broth. Pour over the potatoes.
- Bake the potatoes: Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Give the potatoes a cheesy crust: Remove the potatoes from the oven, uncover, and sprinkle on 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven, uncovered, and roast until the potatoes are cooked through and have turned a nice golden brown with a little crust forming, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven, garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley, and serve. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Greek Potatoes
With all the classic Greek flavors of lemon, herbs, and garlic, these Greek-style potatoes make for the perfect side dish to so many recipes. Serve:
- As a mezze: Serve with a punchy dip, like 5-minute Creamy Whipped Feta or Spinach Greek Yogurt Dip.
- Alongside meat: I love a good Mediterranean meat and potatoes situation! Serve with anything from Greek meatballs to grilled chicken thighs–you really can’t go wrong!
- With fish: I particularly love them Greek tavern-style with a pan of garlicky seared shrimp or salmon burgers
- For a hearty vegetarian dinner: Opt for vegetable stock and serve with a hearty salad, like Lentil Salad with Roasted Eggplant.
Ingredients
For the Spice Mix
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the Potatoes
- 4 large baking potatoes (like Russet, Idaho, or Yukon gold), peeled, washed, and cut into wedges
- 8 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for coating
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth, if you prefer)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Get ready: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat a large, 9”X13-inch baking dish in a thin layer of olive oil.
- Make the spice mix: In a small bowl, mix together the salt, black pepper, sweet paprika, oregano, and dried rosemary.
- Prep the potatoes: Place the potato wedges in the oiled baking dish and sprinkle with the spice mix. Toss to evenly to distribute the spices.
- Season the broth: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and broth. Pour over the potatoes.
- Bake the potatoes: Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
- Give the potatoes a cheesy crust: Remove the potatoes from the oven, uncover, and sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven, uncovered, and roast until the potatoes are cooked through and have turned a nice golden brown with a little crust forming, about 10-15 minutes.
- Garnish and serve: Remove from the oven, garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley, and serve. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the olive oil and spices used in this recipe.
- Make it spicy! Feel free to throw in a pinch of cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or Aleppo pepper with the spice mix.
- If you want to add a touch more browning and color to the potatoes, finish them under the broiler. Just be sure to keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn!
Nutrition
Try Our Greek Oregano!
This dried herb straight from Greece is lemony, fragrant, and perfect for everyday use.
*This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
Loved! Will definitely make again.
Easy to fix and absolutely delicious. I switched up the spice mix a bit, using herbed de Provence, sweet paprika, and Trader Joe’s mushroom umami.
Per the recipe when i pour the liquid on the seasoned potatoes. The liquid rinsed the seasoning off the potatoes. Is that supposed to happen? If so, it would have been simpler to put the seasoning in the liquid.
I just recently subscribed to you. Made these potatoes for dinner. Wonderful! They accompanied the cilantro lime chicken. Loved it.
I cooked this recipe and was concerned about the amount of liquid. When I pulled it from the oven, there was at least a quarter inch of broth at the bottom of the pan and it watered down the potatoes. I returned the leftovers to the oven to finish reducing the liquid. It was OK, the spice level was good. I would make it again but reduce the broth by 1/2 and up the spice level.
Yes I found too much liquid in the bottom and made for soggy potatoes and agree you can’t pour over the potatoes as that washes the spices off?
But still a fan of your recipes.
This is the best recipe I’ve come across in a while, perfect balance of lemon and garlic… a little crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. I halved the recipe and baked in a 5” square dish. I have already shared the recipe with friends and will definitely make again. Thank you!!
Wonderful! Thanks for your review!
Any thoughts on how to prep in the morning to just stick in the oven in the evening? Thinking the potatoes will brown?
Hi, Jen. If you place the potatoes in the fridge in a bowl of cold water, they should keep well until ready to cook!
Really good, but I would halve the amount of oil, it’s *really* heavy otherwise. I’ve also been experimenting with different herbs, like basil and oregano, and adding chili oil to give it a kick.
Thank you for the feedback, Sol.
Came out really bad, way too much paprika. Way too much liquid
Love the way you cook thank you I bought your book of course.happy and healthy new year.
Thanks so much for your support, Karen!
Just came across your site, very interesting and informative from the beginning, so I am trying a couple or your recipes this weekend, I have one comment that may seem picky and most likely is obvious to all, but in your notes on the Lemon Greek style potatoes you say to bake in the olive oil, lemon juice and both, I do realize that it was supposed to say broth, but I did have to take a moment to think that through, anyway I am looking forward to trying so many more, thank you
Hi Suzy, I have to say wow… such lemony goodness. I even added the zest from the lemon as well as the juice. I kept the foil over the dish for the full cooking time, this ensured the sauce didn’t all dry out. Thank you 🙂
I made these tonight with pork chops. Used the same seasoning for the potatoes and the pork chops. It was delicious. I used fresh rosemary instead of dried. Only way to go.
Definitely will make these again. My wife and I really enjoyed. As there are just the two of us ‘experimenting’ I cut everything in 1/2. All of the liquid had boiled away and the potatoes were cooked in the time allotted. I did put them under the broiler for a few minutes to brown them and crisp up. Served with your Mediterranean Lemon Chicken. YUM!
Thanks, Dave!
I made this last night with the Garlic Dijon Chicken…..They were both very good. I would make it again. The potatoes were a nice change from the usual. Thanks!
Jackie
I made these potatoes the other night to go with souvlaki pork chops, and they are super delicious! Will definitely make them again. Thank you!! Next recipe to try is your Lemon Pesto Orzo Soup!
Ooo! You’re gonna LOVE the soup! 🙂