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They’re full of rich, lemony flavour, they’re soft and creamy on the inside and lightly crispy and caramelized on the outside. I rarely claim a recipe is ‘the best’, but I really can’t imagine better Greek potatoes than these!
Potatoes done the Greek way are a mainstay of the average Greek kitchen. If you’ve never tried them, you truly are missing out.
Some of the best Greek dishes are cooked slowly, and these potatoes are no exception.
They take about an hour and a half to cook, but they are EASY. Simply cut potatoes into thick wedges, tip into a baking dish and pour over stock, olive oil, lemon juice and oregano. Bake for 45 minutes, stir well, then bake for another 45 minutes.
Pour garlic, stock, olive oil, lemon juice and oregano over chunky potato wedges and BAKE
An hour and a half later and this is what you get
I think the only other recipe I’ve dared to call ‘the best’ was another potato recipe – cheesy roasted cauliflower mashed potatoes, if you’re interested. They’re a perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas side!
Generally I’m a bit afraid to claim that something is ‘the best’. But these potatoes… wow. I didn’t hesitate.
So what makes them so delicious? One secret is a common one used by the Greeks – olive oil, and lots of it. So don’t be shocked by how much oil is in this recipe. Remember you won’t be eating the whole pan by yourself. But I won’t judge you if you do. And anyway… HEALTHY FATS!
The next little secret is in the stock. Because the potatoes bake in some liquid, they are beautifully soft and creamy inside. But because you don’t completely cover the potatoes with liquid, they still end up quite crispy.
There’s also garlic and lemon juice, and we don’t hold back on these either. Just throw generous amounts of both in. Combined with a bit of salt, all this gives you a gorgeous umami flavour.
Besides these Greek potatoes being the tastiest potatoes you’ll ever eat, they go with so many things as a side. I often make them alongside Greek meatballs (recipe coming soon!), salad and Greek yogurt – just because I’m too lazy to make tzatziki!
Another easy and delicious Greek meal, this time with chicken and potatoes!
BUT the possibilities are endless. Supermarket rotisserie chicken goes really well as does any grilled or baked meat, easy moussaka, fish, or vegetarian options like this favourite baked eggplant.
I also find these potatoes can be casual or fancy. They’re easy to prepare on a busy weeknight, but they also make a fantastic side to serve to guests. Go on, get them on your Thanksgiving or Christmas table!
Oh, and rule number one – don’t forget to scrape the pan to get the super dark and crispy caramelized bits. Trust me, it’s criminal to leave those behind!
Scroll down to below the recipe to watch the handy how-to video (at top of post on desk top!)
The best Greek potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes peeled and chopped into chunky wedges (I used 5 medium potatoes)
- 6 garlic cloves crushed
- 1/2 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 lemon juice of (medium to large)
- 1 tablespoon oregano dried
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- parsley for sprinkling at the end (completely optional)
Instructions
- Grease a large baking dish or tray with olive oil and preheat the oven to 400F / 200C.
- Pour the potato wedges into the dish/tray in an even layer.
- Combine the garlic, stock, olive oil, lemon, oregano and salt and pepper. Stir well, then pour over the potatoes.
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Then stir well, turning all the potatoes and spooning over the liquid. Bake again for another 45 minutes or until the potatoes are well browned.
- Scatter with parsley (if using) and serve with some of the delicious juices. Don’t forget the burnt crispy bits on the bottom of the pan. Mmmm!
Notes
Nutrition
Clare says
Thank you for putting metric quantities in too! I live in the UK and we don’t use cups so it’s super helpful! I’m looking forward to trying these later :).
Helen says
Hi Clare! Oh, you’re so welcome! To be honest I’m from the UK originally too and I switch between the 2, sometimes using cup measurements and sometimes grams. So glad you find this feature helpful too!
lasesana.com says
Even you gave the warning, I ate the whole pan, it was absolutely good, I like how it was crispy, I couldn’t make it crispy before but follow your recipe I did it, thanks a lot.
Helen says
Haha, sorry about that! But as you say, I did warn you… 😉 So glad you enjoyed them, and that they did turn out nice and crispy!
Carol brewster says
Absolutely delicious. Will make them agsin. So easy too.
Helen says
So happy to hear this, Carol! 🙂
habitat says
They look really attractive. Best of all, the recipe is great, it makes me do it very easily.
Thanks, Marissa.
Helen says
Thank you, Marissa. I really hope you enjoyed them!
Gary says
We tried the recipe last night for dinner, it was excellent. Definitely 5 stars for flavour and ease to prepare.
However, I do have one big concern – we’re trying to eat healthier and at first glance your calorie count looked fine, but this morning when I went to print the recipe, I looked at your Nutritional Facts panel and noticed it doesn’t make sense. It shows a serving to only be 35g (30g of fat and 5g of carbs)? The actual calories are seriously understated.
The site I use (happyforks.com/analyzer) shows a serving as having 430 calories, about 50% higher than you state.
We loved it and thought we’d make this a regular side dish, but for my wife, one serving is about 1/3 of her total daily calorie target. I’ll need to tinker and see if I can figure out a way to reduce the calories (which really that means reducing the oil level) while keeping the taste to have this as a regular dinner item.
Thanks again for the great recipe.
Helen says
Hmmmm…. thanks so much Gary for the 5 star rating despite your concerns about the calories! Also thank you for bringing this to my attention. Clearly as you say something is not quite right with the calculations. I’ll take a look and see if I can get it reflecting the actual calories in a serving….
It’s actually quite difficult to calculate the nutritional info for a recipe containing a lot of oil because you don’t actually ingest all of the oil in the dish. Greek food is generally quite olive oil-heavy – they don’t hold back!
Thanks again and check back soon to see if I’ve managed to correct the info 🙂
P.S. You might also like my Greek chicken and potatoes recipe? There’s less oil in that one but you end up with similar potatoes. Also it’s very easy to reduce the oil a bit if you like without affecting the final result too much. Good luck!
Helen says
Hi again Gary! I just took a look at the nutritional info and reset it (without changing any of the amounts in the recipe) and it looks like the info has changed. Goodness knows why/how, but it is now reporting 390 calories in a serving, 27g of fat (3 saturated) and 33g total carbs.
Is this a bit closer to what you would expect??
If this still seems unacceptably high for your wife, it might be worth reducing the amount of oil by about half (maybe addd a little more broth to compensate for the lower amount of liquid) and see how you go?
sanchez says
Both the video and the picture make me craving. I have to make greek potatoes as soon as possible! Thank you for your tips.
Helen says
Please do make them, Sanchez! You won’t regret it! 🙂
Susan Dubose says
I tried these potatoes after trying lots of different lemon potato recipes online and WOW. Just WOW. I don’t want to have potatoes any other way! Thank you so much.
Helen says
Aw thanks, Susan! So so happy you liked them! In fact I must make them again soon. They go with so many things, but especially other Greek dishes! Have you tried my Greek chicken and potatoes, too? The potatoes turn out similar, but with the addition of chicken of course. Wonderful meal with a traditional Greek salad (you can also find a recipe for this on the blog). Thanks so much for leaving your review!
Dominique Kent says
I can’t find a link to the video for this delicious recipe. Help!
Helen says
Hi Dominique! Oh, that’s strange! I’ve just moved the video to just below the recipe, so hopefully you’ll be able to see it now (or if you’re using a desktop computer it’ll be at the top of the post).
Good luck!
Ken says
Thanks for the recipe. We just came back from Tinos and Naxos and are hosting a dinner party for friends with a Greek theme. These sound delicious and just like some of the potatoes we had in the islands.
Helen says
Hi Ken! Oh, how wonderful! I lived in Greece for many years and loved Naxos. Sadly I never got to visit Tinos – maybe sometime in the future!
I really hope you enjoy the potatoes as much as you enjoyed the ones you had in Greece. I LOVE these and we make them all the time. Thank you for the review!
Janice says
I made your recipe for Greek Potatoes tonight and they ARE the BEST! Thank you for this simple and delicious recipe, I’ll be making it regularly from now on.
Helen says
Hi Janice, thank you so much for letting me know! I’m so glad you liked them as much as we do! Have you tried any of my other Greek recipes? These are perfect with the baked eggplant! 🙂