Greek Roasted Potatoes
Greek roasted potatoes are crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and delicious all the way through! A classic Greek basting technique soaks and bakes these lemon garlic potatoes with a bit of olive oil and semolina flour for a crunchy bite and creamy, fluffy center.
Who doesn’t love a good roasted potato side dish? And with bright, herbal Mediterranean flavors to the mix, that side dish just might become the center of the whole meal. If you’re not afraid of ridiculously tasty lemon garlic potatoes, read on!
With freshly squeezed lemon juice, oregano, and a semolina and olive oil pan sauce, these unassuming wedges are about to become the talk of the dinner table.
This basting method takes a little longer, but the results are so worth it! It’s like marinating meat — the potato flesh soaks up the seasonings in the water, flavoring them from the inside out. Meanwhile, the olive oil and semolina flour keep the outside nice and crispy.
Table of Contents
Serve with Greek souvlaki or any baked chicken dish. I like cool, refreshing tzatziki with my Greek roasted potatoes and sometimes tahini yogurt sauce when I’m in the mood for something richer.
Crusty
What makes for a crusty exterior? Semolina! This golden, high-protein flour is a sweet, nutty flour popular in Mediterranean cooking — especially pasta. The coarse texture browns deliciously on the potatoes and helps to form a nice golden crust on the potatoes while they roast. A fine cornmeal is the next best choice!
- Potatoes – It’s important to cut them down to the right size so they cook through quickly and evenly. It’s best to peel to properly season and brown the flesh.
- Water – Greek roasted potatoes are braised in liquid, allowing the flesh to actually soak up the seasonings — that’s what makes them so delicious! To add even more flavor, you can use chicken or vegetable broth.
- Olive Oil – Use extra virgin olive oil, which is most stable at the temperature used in this recipe.
- Lemons – Get the best, most fresh flavor with freshly squeezed lemon juice! For a stronger lemon flavor, you could also zest the lemons to sprinkle onto your potatoes before serving.
- Garlic – If using jarred, minced garlic, use one tablespoon.
- Oregano – Feel free to substitute with another Mediterranean herb of your choosing: thyme and parsley would be my top two recommendations. Or use any combination of the three!
- Semolina – This golden, high-protein flour is a sweet, nutty flour popular in Mediterranean cooking — especially pasta. The coarse texture browns deliciously on the potatoes while they roast. Cornmeal is the next best choice.
- Prepare the Potato Wedges. Peel the potatoes. Slice them lengthwise, turn them flat, and slice lengthwise again. Turn those pieces over and slice lengthwise again for a total of 48 wedges. Place them in a roasting pan.
- Whisk the Basting Sauce. Add the water, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and semolina to a bowl and whisk together. Pour into the pan, evenly covering and coating all of the wedges.
- Season & Bake. Season with salt and pepper, slide the pan into an oven preheated to 400 degrees F, and bake for 40 minutes.
- Baste & Bake. After 40 minutes, use a baster or spoon to cover the lemon garlic potatoes with the rich pan sauce. Bake for another 30 minutes, baste once more, and bake for a final 10 minutes before removing from the oven to cook.
- Let Cool & Serve. Allow Greek roasted potatoes to cool for a few minutes before serving.
Recommended Tools
- Roasting Pan – Use a pan that can hold the basting liquid. A roasting pan is best for this, but you could also use a 9×13 baking dish with tall sides.
Storing and Reheating
Greek roasted potatoes can be stored for up to 4 days but are really at their best right out of the oven.
Reheat in the oven to restore that crunch! Preheat to 400 degrees F and bake for 10 minutes. Check to see if they’re warmed through and cook for another 5 minutes if they’re not soft enough. Then, broil for a few minutes to get them extra crispy again!
Soaking and boiling both work to remove starch, soften the wedges a tad, and reduce cooking time.
But these lemon garlic potatoes are cut into relatively small wedges, so they cook pretty quickly. And I find that I spend just as much time boiling and waiting for them to cool as I would have if I’d just roasted them to begin with!
The ideal spud is the Maris Piper — found all over the United Kingdom and Europe, but impossible to find in the States because it is prohibited from import.
So what’s the best choice for us in the U.S.? I’d say Yukon Gold or Russet. Yukon Golds are more flavorful and a little less starchy so they roast to a dark, more golden brown with a creamy middle. Russets, being starchier, get crispier on the outside and fluffier in the center.
Rinsing the wedges removes some of the starch and will go a long way. After rinsing, coat them well in the roasting liquid — it contains oil, which will help prevent sticking.
Once they’re cooked all the way, they shouldn’t stick to the pan. Give them a nudge with a metal spatula. If they don’t give, roast for another 5 minutes and try again.
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Crispy Greek Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6) (See Note 1)
- 3/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 2 lemons juiced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp semolina
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Peel and slice each potato lengthwise (end to end). Turn each half over, (so flat side is down) and cut in half lengthwise again. Turn each piece over and cut each wedge lengthwise. You should have 48 potato wedges total.
- Place potato wedges in a large roasting pan or 9×13-inch deep baking dish with sides.
- To a bowl, add water, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano and semolina; whisk to combine. Pour mixture over the potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Using a baster or spoon, coat the potatoes with sauce and put back into the oven for another 30 minutes. Baste once more and bake another 10 minutes. The semolina helps to form a nice golden crust on the potatoes.
Notes
- Use starchy potatoes like “maris piper” if you can find them (primarily in Ireland, the UK and Europe). Otherwise, I recommend russet or Yukon Gold.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Thank you Kevin. A lovely recipe. I like the use of semolina to crisp the potatoes up.
Thanks Jacqueline, enjoy!
Made these tonight. I think my roasting pan was too deep as there was a lot of liquid that didn’t evaporate during cooking but I was fine with that Because I dipped some pita bread in it 😂. I also didn’t have semolina to add but was totally fine to omit it. I turned the broiler on for the last 5 mins or so of cooking to try to brown the potatoes a bit more. I have to say I ate more than my fair share of them. There was so much flavour and they were so delicious. I would definitely make these again and I already recommended them to my sisters to cook too.
! Thank you for such a great and easy to make recipe
So glad you enjoyed these Suzy!
Hi Kevin;
I made this recipe a couple days ago and mine looked nothing like your photos. They did not really crisp up much and they did not have the golden brown color that your photo shows. The potatoes were tasty, but I am not sure how they could brown up with so much broth in the pan that covered the potatoes nearly half way. I followed your directions precisely, but I did add more semolina. Maybe I should reduce the broth a bit next time and/or increase the oven temperature. Also, my potatoes were done cooking and were falling apart after the first 40 minutes. Any advice?
Did you by chance cover the potatoes while cooking? The basting sauce is able to reduce and coat the potatoes while baking uncovered. Did you use red potatoes? Let me know!
No I did not cover the potatoes, and I did not use red potatoes. The sauce didn’t reduce much at all. I think that reducing the broth/sauce is key in helping the potatoes to brown. I will try again at some point and let you know, unless you have additional thoughts now. I am determined to make this dish look like your photos and, of course, taste heavenly.
I grew up with Greek potatoes. Brought me back to my aunt’s iconic Greek potatoes. Oh so, so good! Thank you!
Now that’s a compliment, thanks Nancy!
You state you simmer and soak in seasoned broth before, so you dont have to boil. but where in the directions is this step. Im confused
Thanks
It’s all covered in Step 4 Dawn. Just follow as directed and you will be fine. Enjoy, these are tasty. Crispy outsides and fluffy inside. 🙂
These were fantastic! My kids were just in Greece and brought back olive oil for me, that I used for these. Such great flavor!! We all loved the potatoes. I only had small Yukon golds, so the slices were pretty small. Also, I used garlic granules instead of fresh. Thank you for a great recipe and how to cook them without boiling first.
So happy you all enjoyed this one Marsha! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
I love potatoes but these are out of this world good. Crispy and fluffy, just as you said, but the flavor. Wow!
Cant wait to make this soon cant wait to try this in my air fryer i never had crispy greek roasted potatoes before perfect for my office snacks