When my grandma made Greek potatoes, there wasn't a leftover potato in sight. Greek potatoes are lemony, garlicky, sticky potatoes to die for. So that would explain why leftovers at grandma's house didn't happen. But, grandma's potato recipe was full of chicken broth and oil and braised, so the potatoes absorbed all the flavors. Although it tastes like grandma's, my Greek potato recipe is vegan and oil-free.
Recently, I learned a little trick that brings citrus to life. I also learned how to make an incredible garlic lemon sauce to accompany my potatoes. Combining these two goodies is how these tasty Greek potatoes disappear at my house.
The secret to delicious citrus for recipes
My latest passion is roasting citrus until the juices caramelize and the edges brown. So, to get the deepest lemon flavor for my Greek potatoes, I roasted my lemons with garlic. The results will amaze you. Be careful, however, to allow the lemons to cool before handling them to avoid burning your hands.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Cut the lemons in half and then cut the bottom of each rind, so the lemons lay flat cut side up.
- Place all the garlic cloves in an aluminum foil bundle
- Roast for 15 minutes
Once roasted, allow the lemons to cool before handling. Beware, the lemon juice and rind juices quickly, so don't be surprised.
Making the garlicky lemon sauce
Using a small food processor or a high-speed blender, add all the ingredients:
Ingredients:
- Lemons
- Garlic
- Trader Joe's Chicken-less Seasoningor any poultry seasoning of choice
When the garlicky lemon sauce is made, set aside and prepare the potatoes.
How to parboil potatoes for the best roasting
Parboiling is a blended word "partial" and "boiling," which means partially boiling potatoes. It involves boiling potatoes until they are partially cooked, but not all the way.
First, make sure to cut the Yukon Gold potatoes into equal-sized pieces to promote equal cooking.
To parboil, place the cut potatoes in salted water and boil for 7–8 minutes or until almost cooked (they will still feel firm when pierced with a knife). Drain thoroughly using a colander, then rinse in cold water to stop cooking.
Once cooled, the potatoes, partially cooked, act like little sponges for any flavors they marinate in.
The lemony garlic sauce is the marinade for the parboiled Yukon gold potatoes for this Greek potatoes recipe.
Marinating overnight and how to cook Greek potatoes
Now, place the cooled parboiled potatoes into a large Ziplock bag or similar container for marinating. Then, pour the lemony garlic sauce into the bag, shake gently, and place it in the refrigerator for at least a few hours. I prefer overnight marinating for maximum flavor.
Once marinated, drain the excess marinade into a small bowl and reserve for later use. One to do this is to cut the corner of the bag for easy draining. Or, scoop the potatoes from the container.
Removing the extra marinade allows the potatoes to brown to get crunchy, crispy potatoes. Then add back the excess marinade after cooking for additional flavor.
Skipping this step results in soft, baked potatoes rather than crunchy ones.
Sprinkle with Italian seasoning before roasting in a 400-degree oven for 30 minutes.
Once roasted, remove the potatoes, place them in a serving dish, pour the excess lemony garlic sauce over the top, and toss. Serve with extra lemon slices (raw) and parsley for beautiful color.
Oil-free, crispy, crunchy Greek potatoes are easy to make, and you won't have any leftovers. They are that lemony good!
FAQs
Do you love potatoes? Try these oil-free potato recipes you will love!
- Mexican Potatoes
- Spanish Potatoes
- Cajun Potato Salad
- Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Vegan Scalloped Potatoes
- Potatoes with Pesto
- Sweet Potato Salad
- Greek Potato Salad
- Sweet Potato Cakes
Greek Potatoes
Ingredients
Greek Potatoes
- 1 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes cut into similar sized pieces (skins on), or potatoes of choice
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
Lemony Garlic Sauce
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 large lemons cut in half (remove the bottom of each lemon to allow the lemons to sit flat on the baking sheet)
- 2 teaspoons Trader joe's chicken-less seasoning or poultry seasoning of choice
Garnish
- 1 lemon cut into slices
- ¼ cup parsley
Instructions
Parboil Potatoes
- Wash and cut Yukon Gold potatoes into sized pieces, leaving the skin on.
- Place potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water; add 2 teaspoons of salt
- Bring to a boil and cook for 5-8 minutes until potatoes are slightly softened but not soft.
- Drain and rinse in a colander with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- When cool, place potatoes in a Ziplock bag or comparable container.
Making the Lemony Garlic Sauce
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Cut the ends off each side of each lemon and cut the lemons in half
- Place the cut side up on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper
- Put all the garlic cloves into an aluminum foil bundle.
- Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Allow cooling completely before handling.
- Gently squeeze each lemon piece into a small food processor or a high-speed blender using a hand juicer.
- BE CAREFUL: The roasting makes them juicy and fragile.
- Now add the roasted garlic and chickenless seasoning.
- Blend until smooth.
- Pour the lemon garlic sauce into the container with the potatoes.
- Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
- Before roasting, drain all the excess lemon sauce from the container with the potatoes and set it aside.
Roasting the potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
- After draining the excess marinade and setting it aside, place the potatoes on a silicone baking mat or parchment paper in a single layer.
- Sprinkle potatoes with Italian seasoning.
- Roast for 30 minutes
- Remove from the oven and transfer the roasted potatoes to a serving platter.
- Pour excess lemon garlic sauce on the roasted potatoes and toss.
- Add lemon slices and parsley as garnish.
Notes
- First, make sure to cut the Yukon Gold potatoes into equal-sized pieces to promote equal cooking.
- To parboil, place the cut potatoes in salted water and boil for 7–8 minutes or until almost cooked (they will still feel firm when pierced with a knife). Drain thoroughly using a colander, then rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Once cooled, the potatoes, partially cooked, act like little sponges for any flavors they marinate in.
- The lemony garlic sauce is the marinade for the parboiled Yukon gold potatoes for this Greek potatoes recipe.
- Now, place the cooled parboiled potatoes into a large Ziplock bag or similar container for marinating.
- Then, pour the lemony garlic sauce into the bag, shake gently, and place it in the refrigerator for at least a few hours. I prefer overnight marinating for maximum flavor.
- Once marinated, drain the excess marinade into a small bowl and reserve for later use. One to do this is to cut the corner of the bag for easy draining. Or, scoop the potatoes from the container.
- To get crunchy, crispy potatoes, removing the extra marinade allows the potatoes to brown. Then add back the excess marinade after cooking for additional flavor.
- Skipping this step results in soft, baked potatoes rather than crunchy ones.
- Freeze cooked potatoes for up to 4 months. Thaw completely before reheating. To reheat, place thawed potatoes on a baking sheet and cook in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂
Anna
Hi Kathy,
These look absolutely wonderful. I'm definitely going to try them. Have you by chance ever completed the cooking on the stove top rather than the oven? I would love to be able to take these camping and cook them on a camp stove. It seems that the sauce and parboil could be done ahead of time and they could be cut and marinated the night before cooking.
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Anna, you can cook them on the stovetop. I would recommend parboiling the potatoes and marinating them before you go camping. Then, drain before adding to the pan, like the directions for the oven, and as they cook, slowly add the marinade to the pan and the potatoes will crisp up while absorbing the marinade. Just make sure you do it slowly, and wait until the fluid dissipates before you add more fluid. Continue until all the extra marinade is gone.
Lorraine
I can’t find the vegan chicken less spice... is there something I can replace it with
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Lorraine, you can use any poultry seasoning. Poultry seasoning is actually vegan regardless of its name 🙂
Elizabeth Knight
I printed this recipe about 10 days ago and then procrastinated (for no good reason). Yesterday I finally made them. They are every bit as good as claimed. Just a wonderful lemon garlic flavor. I marinated for only 4 hours because I knew that if I left them in the fridge overnight, I would again procrastinate. The 4 hours seemed fine. Thanks for this great recipe!
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Elizabeth. I'm so happy you enjoyed the Greek potatoes. Thank you for the feedback.II appreciate it.
Leni Liakos
When you blend the lemons, does that include the rinds? Or do you juice them first? Thanks
Kathy Carmichael
Leni, you do not include the rinds. Once the lemons are cool use a hand juicer and juice into a small blender. See the pictures in the post to help 🙂
Karen Corbett
I really enjoyed this recipe. The lemon flavor was fantastic. Thanks for the tip about roasting the lemons first, I'd never done that before.
Kathy Carmichael
Hi Karen, I'm so glad you liked the Greek-style potatoes. You can also roast oranges and limes for the same deep flavors. Thank you so much for your feedback. I appreciate it. Let me know if you try any other recipes.