COOK: Lemon-Herb Roasted New Potatoes
Roasted potatoes are one of those basic, wholesome no-fuss recipes every cook should get comfortable with making. These lemon-herb roasted potatoes are an everyday menu basic you’ll come back to again and again… They’re so easy, and they go with so many things, and are a budget-friendly whole-food side dish that requires minimal mess and very little prep time.
Tossing and roasting them with thinly sliced lemon, garlic, and fresh or dried herbs takes your roasted potatoes from ho-hum to hummina hummina! The citrus adds brightness and acidity that cuts through the rich olive oil and starch, and the herbs are an accent that livens up the flavor and adds complexity. You can vary the herbs to pair with the flavors of your main dish (see our pairing suggestions below for different cuisines and proteins).
We love these as a simple dinner side with Greek lemon roasted-chicken, Swedish meatballs, pan-seared steaks or venison roasts, salmon or cod fillets, baked trout, pork chops or roasted loin… I mean, really just about anything… we have a hobbit-like love of the humble potato around here (say it with me, PO-tay-TOES)!
But don’t stop at dinner! They’re great hot or cold in lunch salads (like a salad Nicoise, with pickled green beans, fresh greens, olives, and good-quality canned tuna), or paired with an omelette or slice of quiche for breakfast or brunch (or Second Breakfast, or even Elevenses, of course).
Bake leftover roasted potatoes into a frittata, or slice them and bake into casseroles or as Mediterranean pizza or flatbread toppings (especially nice on a white pizza with caramelized onions and olives, or with smoked fish). Or, just eat them cold right out of the fridge (dipped in tzatziki sauce or ranch, I won’t tell if you won’t).
Lemon-Herb Roasted Potato Ingredients
Potatoes:
Any new or waxy-variety potato will work in this recipe. Baby or fingerling potatoes are particularly tender and delicious, but you can also use halved or quartered red-skinned waxy potatoes, blue, or Yukon Gold potatoes.
You can roast russet potatoes like this as well, but with their floury starch they are better suited to either fluffy baked jacket potatoes, mashing, or in recipes like gnocchi, potato pierogi, or boxty potatoes.
For crispy and tender roasted potatoes that hold their shape, you want new or waxy potatoes. If you have small baby or fingerling potatoes, you can roast them whole. If your potatoes are larger, cut them into halves or quarters after washing them. They don’t all need to be the same shape, but they should all be approximately the same size, so that they roast evenly in the same amount of time.
Oil/Fat:
You’ll have the most delicious roasted potatoes if you use a good quality extra virgin olive oil. You can substitute other kinds of oil, and your potatoes will still crisp up nicely, but a good quality olive oil will give you the most delicious flavor. You can also use high-quality animal fats (duck-fat roasted potatoes are DIVINE).
Seasonings:
You can vary these to pair with your entree. Roasted new potatoes are versatile, but it’s hard to go wrong with lemon, garlic, and fresh herbs, accented with freshly ground black pepper and flaky sea salt.
What herbs pair well with roasted potatoes?
We served these lemony roasted potatoes with Swedish meatballs and green beans, so fresh dill was a perfect pairing. There are very few bad options when it comes to pairing potatoes with lemon and herbs, but here are a few of our favorites!
- Parsley – It’s hard to go wrong with fresh parsley!
- Dill – Especially nice to pair with Greek or Scandinavian cuisine
- Chives or Chive Blossoms – sweet, subtle, and oniony with a pop of color, another neutral pairing
- Mint – A hint of mint (with parsley, or chives) is great with lamb or goat
- Rosemary – Another classic potato pairing, goes with most Mediterranean dishes, and turkey, chicken, or pork
- Chervil – This little known French herb is sweet and subtle, with a hint of licorice? Nice with fish and chicken
- French Tarragon – Pair with chervil and thyme, or by itself- this one is assertive. Try with chicken or veal.
- Oregano – Bold flavor, good with Greek, Italian, and Latin flavors
- Marjoram – Oregano’s sweeter, shy cousin. Less assertive but very nice. Good with white beans, pork, and poultry
- Thyme – Another fairly neutral versatile herb. Especially nice with lamb, chicken, or fish. I use dried thyme in most of my roasted potatoes, unless I’m doing the next variation:
- Cilantro – Good to pair with Latin American and Indian dishes (substitute sliced lime for the lemon and add a teaspoon of smoked paprika, cumin, chipotle, or chili powder, or curry powder)
Equipment & Method
Cast Iron Skillet or Sheet Pan:
You can roast your potatoes in just about any oven-safe dish, but I always use a big cast iron skillet. These pans are naturally-nonstick (without worries about toxic coatings flaking off in your food) and retain heat well to get a nice, golden crunchy sear and a crisp crust on the potatoes. You can also use a sheet pan or roasting dish.
Avoid crowding your potatoes in the pan- if they’re stacked up or too close together, they’ll steam instead of crisping. Spread them out in a nice, even layer in the pan (use a larger pan if you have one, or divide them between two skillets if you need to make a bigger batch than your pan can hold).
Baking Stone (optional):
If you have a baking or pizza stone, a nifty tip is to place your roasting pan on your preheated baking stone. You can totally make this recipe without a baking stone, but it can help your potatoes roast and get crispy faster.
The stone conducts heat directly to the baking pan, and helps the oven maintain a consistent temperature. This is especially helpful if you will be opening the oven during the bake. If you don’t have a baking stone, no worries, but if you do (and you totally should if you bake bread or pizzas at all), use it! We basically leave our stones in our oven all the time.
Storage & Serving Ideas
If you end up with leftover lemon-herb roasted potatoes, store them in the fridge in an airtight container or bag for up to three or four days (you can probably safely store them for a day or two longer if you refrigerate them promptly, but a generally cautious guideline is to use most cooked leftovers within that time frame).
To reheat your roasted potatoes, you can microwave them (quickest reheating method, but your potatoes will be soft), or reheat them in the oven at a moderate temperature (350 F is fine) or your air-fryer to re-crisp them somewhat.
There are creative suggestions for using up your leftover roasted potatoes at the beginning of this post (so if you skipped it, go back to the fourth paragraph, k?). While you can safely freeze roasted potatoes, the texture changes when they’re thawed, so I don’t recommend it, unless you’re planning to use them in a casserole where that doesn’t matter.
Lemon-Herb Roasted New Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs new potatoes, baby yukon golds, or fingerling potatoes scrubbed
- ¼ cup olive oil (can sub duck fat or other heat-tolerant oil)
- ½-¾ tsp kosher or sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper (freshly ground if possible)
- ½ tsp thyme leaves (fresh or dried)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder (or a clove of peeled sliced garlic)
- 1 small lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed (⅛-¼" slices) (or half a large lemon)
- 2-4 tbsp chopped fresh herbs to garnish dill, chives, or parsley are nice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 ℉. If you have a baking or pizza stone, place that on the oven rack as well (this is optional but can help your potatoes crisp up faster).
- Wash your potatoes and trim any green parts or sprouting eyes if needed. If your new potatoes are very small (an 1 ½" in diameter or less) you can leave them whole. Otherwise, halve or quarter them into uniform pieces.
- Place your potatoes in a large cast iron pan, in a single layer if possible. A 10" pan should hold up to 2 lbs of potatoes. You can also use a sheet pan with a rim if you don't have a cast iron pan. See recipe notes for adjustments if needed.
- Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil and add the dried herbs and seasonings and one tbsp of the fresh herbs. Stir or toss & shake the pan to coat the potatoes evenly with the oil and seasonings. You can also do this in a large mixing bowl, but I generally skip making the extra dish! Top with the thinly sliced lemon.
- Roast the potatoes for about 30 minutes, then stir and turn them to brown them more evenly and make sure all sides are coated with seasonings.
- Roast for another 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and nicely browned. Total roasting time will depend on how large your pieces are, how crowded the pan is, and what kind of pan you used. You can increase the oven temperature to 425 ℉ if you need them to finish faster (the lower and slower roasting temperature ensures they're evenly done and cook fully without burning, but you can increase the heat to brown them faster once they're soft on the inside).
- Garnish with the rest of the fresh green herbs and serve.