Crispy Tomato Potatoes

Why you’ll love them

Tomato potatoes are inspired by (but by no means an exact copy of) Spanish ‘patatas bravas’. Finally potatoes to rival this long-time favorite Greek potatoes recipe!

Here’s what I love and what I hope you’ll love too:

• They’re so easy to make: These look and taste quite fancy, but this is actually a no-fuss roast potatoes recipe. 10 to 15 minutes to prep, then it’s over to the oven to work its magic. No pesky par-boiling of the potatoes or pre-cooking of the sauce. Just roast the potatoes, toss with an easy grated tomato sauce, then roast again just long enough to heat through.
  
• They use ingredients you probably already have. We usually have potatoes and tomatoes in our fridge, and the other ingredients in our pantry. I bet you do too!
  
• They taste restaurant quality! They really do. This is one of those dishes that you keep going back for ‘just one more spoonful of’. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t love crispy potatoes, and the tomato sauce tastes fresh and vibrant, smoky from the paprika, and mildly sweet from a touch of honey. It’s scrape-out-the-pan delicious.
  
• It’s potatoes and sauce all in one. Just pair with meat or fish (try baked chicken skewers, Greek lamb chops, air fryer chicken legs, 1-hour air fryer rotisserie chicken, any kind of sausages, or baked chicken with feta), and simple green vegetables such as sautéed frozen green beans, for an easy and balanced dinner. If you prefer to keep dinner vegetarian, try serving with crustless zucchini quiche, or with a few slices of pan-fried halloumi on top!

About the ingredients

You’ll find a full list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But here’s a summary of what you need to know.

• Potatoes: Really, you can use any potatoes for this dish. However, types with a high starch content, such as Russets, Yukon Gold, or creamy blue/purple potatoes, make for roast potatoes with the crispiest outsides and fluffiest insides!
• Olive oil: This is a non-negotiable ingredient both for roasting the potatoes and for flavor, richness and texture in the tomato sauce. If possible, go for a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
• Fresh tomatoes: You may be surprised that the delicious sauce in this potato dish is made from grated fresh tomatoes! You might be just as surprised how quick and easy it is to grate them into a smooth and juicy pulp. There’s no skin – that gets naturally left behind in your hand as you grate. The resulting sauce when mixed with the other ingredients is fresh, bright and smooth. Can you use a can of chopped tomatoes instead? Sure! In fact, this might be the best idea when tomatoes aren’t in season.
• Tomato paste: It’s the concentrated kind you’re looking for. Around a tablespoon to intensify the tomatoey flavor in the sauce.
• Crushed garlic: It’s only lightly cooked in the tomato sauce, so 2 or 3 cloves are enough for plenty of punchy Mediterranean flavor.
• Smoked paprika: I love the smoky flavor this adds to the dish. However, regular or sweet paprika is also fine if that’s all you have.
• Dried oregano: This gives a distinct Mediterranean vibe to this delicious potato and tomato recipe. But of course feel free to experiment with different dried herbs! Basil, cilantro, thyme, marjoram, or mixed Italian herbs would all be great options.
• Lemon juice: A squeeze or two adds brightness, balance and freshness. If you don’t have a lemon, lime will do the same job. You can even go with a tablespoon of vinegar if you don’t have either.
• Honey or sugar: I didn’t include this in the photo above, but I think a touch of sweetness balances out the acidity of the tomato sauce.

How to make tomato potatoes

I worked hard to make these tomato potatoes a very simple recipe. At first I tried parboiling the potatoes, then roasting them together with the tomato sauce. However, I found that the sauce completely dried up and the potatoes were not that crisp.

The solution is to roast the potatoes first (no parboiling needed), and then add the tomato sauce for just the last 10 to 15 minutes of cook time – just long enough for the sauce to heat up.

So the first step is to cut the potatoes into roughly 1.5 inch square pieces. I don’t bother peeling the potatoes first, but you can if you like.

Drizzle them with a few tablespoons of olive oil, then roast for about 50 minutes. I usually toss them around half way through, to stop sticking and for even cooking.

Meanwhile, you can make the quick tomato sauce. All you have to do is grate the tomatoes – either into a container or over a bowl, depending on what kind of grater you have.

Then add the other sauce ingredients. If you have a small food processor, you can pulse a few times for a really smooth sauce. Otherwise, you can use a small whisk or a fork, to combine the ingredients well.

Now toss the sauce through the crispy golden potatoes.

Roast for an additional 10 or 15 minutes.

Sprinkle over some fresh parsley to serve (if you like!).

More favorite potatoes recipes

• You just can’t go wrong with these lemony Greek potatoes. They’re everyone’s favorite!
• These parmentier potatoes are the ones you make when you really want dinner to be simple!
• These truffle mashed potatoes are the easiest luxury mash!
• Air fryer smashed potatoes are perfect when you don’t want to turn on the oven (or you want to save oven space!).