Lemon Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
on Nov 21, 2022, Updated Dec 18, 2023
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Few things compare to the perfection that is a potato side dish, especially an easy one that has just 7 ingredients and only requires a sheet pan and the oven. These lemon rosemary roasted potatoes turn out golden and crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. With fresh herbs and citrus, you will want to eat them as soon as they finish roasting.
Looking for another potato recipe? You can also try these garlic herb roasted fingerling potatoes.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Go ahead and use a colorful mix of potatoes. You don’t have to stick to one type. The most important considerations when selecting potatoes are size, smaller potatoes are best, and starch content. Some potatoes are better for mashing than they are for roasting.
You don’t have to boil the potatoes because the oven does all the work. There’s no need to fill a big pot with water. By slicing the potatoes in half and giving them enough time to roast in the oven, they will have crisp edges and be soft and cooked in the center.
Rosemary and lemon are ingredients that are bright and fresh and go with other flavors. A good side has personality, but it shouldn’t compete for the spotlight that’s reserved for the main dish. Also, this recipe is easy to make, so you won’t have trouble fitting it in when you are prepping an entire meal.
The Best Potatoes for Roasting
I love pretty much any type of potato, but the best ones for roasting are small, specifically fingerling potatoes. Skip russet potatoes and save them for baked potatoes or mashing.
Available in lots of different colors and varieties, most fingerlings are short and stubby. At the grocery, I buy them in assorted bags, but when I’m at the farmers market, I pick them out one by one to create my own mix.
From yellow to purple to red potatoes, typical fingerling potatoes include Russian Banana, Rose Finn Apple, French Fingerling, Swedish Peanut and Purple Peruvian.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Potatoes: Choose potatoes that have smooth skin, don’t have any soft spots and haven’t sprouted. You can pick one specific type of fingerling potato to keep things uniform or include a few different ones.
- Rosemary: Along with lemon, olive oil and seasonings, I stir the potatoes with chopped rosemary. For the best taste, use fresh herbs and don’t substitute with dried rosemary.
- Lemon juice is wonderful with anything roasted because citrus adds something zesty and bright.
- Olive oil: Use extra-virgin olive oil for these potatoes.
- Salt & pepper: Potatoes always need lots of seasoning, so be generous with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Parsley: Once the potatoes are out of the oven, I sprinkle them with chopped parsley.
Variations
These rosemary potatoes can be your blank canvas even with their beautiful lemon and herb flavor. The base recipe is vegan; so keep that in mind if you do one of these additions:
- Parmesan cheese: Finely grate the cheese over the hot potatoes when they come out of the oven.
- Pesto: Stir a tablespoon of basil pesto into the roasted potatoes to make them even more herby.
How To Make Lemon Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
1. Combine the potatoes with the rosemary, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
2. Spread the potatoes cut side down across a baking sheet. It’s best if they are in a single layer. They will be snug on the pan. Try not to have them overlapping.
3. Roast the potatoes until they are golden brown on the outside and fork tender on the inside, about 40-45 minutes. Flip them over in the last 5-10 minutes of roasting.
4. Sprinkle the potatoes with fresh parsley.
Serving
One of the many things so wonderful about roasted potatoes is that they go with pretty much any main dish. It can be something as formal as a holiday meal like Thanksgiving and dry rubbed turkey, or any weeknight and roasted chicken. I also love adding these potatoes to a salad with hearty, sturdy leaves like kale.
Leftovers & Storage
These rosemary roasted potatoes are best served warm right after they have finished roasting. If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. You can warm them in a 350-degree F oven. Keep in mind they won’t be as crisp as when you first roasted them.
Leftover potatoes are also good in egg dishes like frittatas and scrambles. Just dice them into bite-sized pieces, so they heat up faster and combine better with the other ingredients.
Recipe Tips for Oven-Roasted Potatoes
- Do not line the pan. There’s no need to put parchment paper or aluminum foil down. You want the potatoes to make direct contact with the hot metal of the pan, so they can brown and turn crispy.
- You don’t have to boil the potatoes before your roast them. The heat of the oven will do it all, and the potatoes will be tender in the middle.
- Make sure to roast the potatoes cut side down for the majority of roasting. Since this is the flat side, more of the potato will sit on the pan than if you put the curved side down. This is important to get that crisp crust on the outside. Wait until the final 5-10 minutes of roasting time to turn them over.
Recipe FAQs
No. This would be impossible because potatoes are never identical. When you are slicing the potatoes in half, it does help to slice them lengthwise through the side where they will be slightly thinner. You should be able to see this right away when you are cutting them.
Yes, potatoes do not contain gluten and neither do the other ingredients.
More Roasted Potato Recipes
Smashed Roasted Potatoes
Garlic Herb Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Roasted Sweet Potato Chickpea Kale Salad
Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Roasted Corn Red Potato Salad
Roasted Tomato Potato Salad
Roasted Potatoes and Carrots
Simple Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes
If you love roasting vegetables, don’t miss my seasonal recipe guide for fresh ideas all year long.
I hope you love these herby roasted potatoes. Please leave a rating and comment below. Thanks!
Lemon Rosemary Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fingerling potatoes halved lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with rosemary, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Arrange the potatoes cut side down on a sheet pan. Spread them out in a single layer, so the potatoes are not overlapping, and they are making direct contact with the pan.
- Roast the potatoes for 40-45 minutes until they are brown and crisp on the edges and soft in the middle. In the final 5-10 minutes of roasting, flip them over to the other side. You should be able to easily pierce them with a paring knife.
- Sprinkle the roasted potatoes before chopped parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published October 3, 2019. Updated: November 21, 2022.
Made these for my family & a dinner guest. Loved them! I also love your instagram page!
That’s so great to hear your enjoyed them!
Or I can eat leftovers like a cookie.
One here. One there. Mmmmm…
🤷🏼♀️Just sayin.
Love these potatoe recipes.
Thanx!