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One of the best sides to accompany any meal are these Crispy Greek Lemon Smashed Potatoes! Crispy and golden on the outside, while soft and fluffy on the inside. Better than any roast potato!
The BEST thing about smashed potatoes is that they have the perfect balance between crispy French fries and fluffy roast potatoes, only they’re NOT dry as roast potatoes tend to be. These Crispy Greek Lemon Smashed Potatoes disappear in seconds!
My house seems to be full of citrus this week. Between this Honey Lime Garlic Butter Salmon, and Chicken Scallopini with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce, we are loving the smells coming out of our kitchen.
Traditional Greek roast potatoes may not come in ‘smashed’ style, but with these Garlic Parmesan Smashed Potatoes STILL going nuts all over the place, I know that THIS little invention will become your new favourite!
All of the flavours of Greek roast potatoes are packed into these golden Greek lemon smashed potatoes…. BUT these are SUPER CRISPY and extremely addictive!
Usually with Greek potatoes, they are baked in a lemon/broth mixture with oregano and garlic….or sometimes sprinkled with semolina for an added crispy finish. The difference here is….I’ve minimised the traditional recipe to suit the cooking requirements needed for smashed potatoes to guarantee a super crispy and golden edge, while keeping all of those important flavours packed into these potatoes.
They are so versatile you can serve them with absolutely ANYTHING! The One Pan Lemon Chicken recipe comes to mind.
A few tips:
- I used butter in this recipe, because garlic butter is unbeatable in flavour. However, you can substitute with olive oil if you wish!
- I’ve added a lot more garlic in these than traditional Greek potatoes. Feel free to reduce the garlic down to 2 cloves instead of 4.
- Semolina is optional. If using, sprinkle a light coating over your potatoes before baking.
- For even crispier potatoes, remove potatoes form the oven half way through baking, spray with a little extra cooking oil, and continue broiling (or grilling) in the oven until nice and golden brown.
More Potato Side Dishes to try:
Cheesy Mashed Sweet Potato Cakes
Hasselback Herbed Garlic Butter Sweet Potatoes
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Crispy Greek Lemon Smashed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 6 potatoes medium-sized, Yukon Gold or Carisma
- 3 tablespoons butter melted, or 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice juice of half a lemon
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano divided
- 1 pinch salt to taste
- 1 pinch pepper to taste
- 1 spray olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon semolina optional - for crispy potatoes
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to broil (or grill) settings to medium-high heat (about 200°C | 400°F).
- Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water. Bring to the boil; cook, covered for 30-35 minutes or until just fork-tender. Drain well.
- Lightly spray a large baking sheet or tray with cooking oil spray. Arrange potatoes onto the sheet and use a potato masher to LIGHTLY flatten the potatoes in one piece (not too hard or they will end up mashed).
- Mix together the butter, lemon juice and garlic. Pour the mixture over each potato. Sprinkle with half of the oregano, salt and pepper. Lightly spray with olive oil spray, and sprinkle with semolina (If using).
- Broil (or grill) until they are golden and crispy (about 15 minutes). Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining oregano.
- To serve, season with a little extra salt and pepper; serve immediately.
Notes
*For even crispier potatoes, remove potatoes from the oven half way through cooking, spray with a little extra cooking oil, and continue broiling (or grilling) in the oven until nice and golden brown.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent recipe!!!!
I absolutely adore this recipe. I made it for my darling 5 children so they could eat it after soccer practice (you know how kids are). I quite like the lemon, since my father has a terrible memory and keeps buying lemons despite us having cartons full of citrus. One thing though, every time I make it I have to shovel down as much as I physically possibly can because seconds after adding the final touches they disappear! Science is weird 🙂
Well….I pricked 2 yellow potatoes and put them in a dish of water ( for moisture) into the microwave to cook. After removing them,( fork tender) I made a cross in the skin and peeled the tops away easily. I smashed them on a lightly sprayed sheet pan and brushed them with a combo of melted butter, garlic & lemon juice/zest,salt & pepper. I then topped it with real bacon bits, grated Parm & green onions.
These sat there and waited for my Instant pot ribs, which I placed next to them and did them with an amazing mixture of honey, garlic ,lemon juice and zest.
Had oven on at 400 to heat the potatoes thru and then turned on broil for a short time…sorry..didnt time it…just kept an eye on it. 🙂 Yummy….Have made greek lemon potatoes before, but really enjoyed the ” smashed version”.
Loved these, they will become a new favourite. I peeled my pots as they are red but be ok not to if you’ve a thin-skinned spud.
They go really well with the Greek lambs chops.
They look delicious. Are you cutting your potatoes or leaving them whole?
No one has answered the most important question I think of this dish. Are the potatoes peeled or not peeled before boiling?
Please can someone answer this.
I didn’t bother peeling them and they turned out great. Yukon Gold potatoes have very tender skins.
Definitely peeled. It adds to the crispiness!!!
absolutely unpeeled but washed I would think…
Great addition to my meal. I normally make Greek lemon potatoes, these were less time consuming, less cost and better tasting. Served with grilled butterflied lamb, cucumber salad, Greek salad and tzatziki. Just broiled an additional few minutes, since I can’t consume semolina. Thanks Karina.
This potatoes are worth the work. They are so delicious.
Would you be able to boil the potatoes & smash ahead of time? I wanted to make this for a dinner party and do most of the work in the morning?
Yes, of course! That sounds delicious! I hope you enjoy them with all your friends!
I love these & cook them up as a side to a BBQ, I use baby red potatoes YES PEPS with the SKIN ON & some grated cheese then GRILL ( I’m Australian } but am going to try your Greek style for Dinner tonight with your Greek Lamb Chops … YUMMO
Nice! That sounds fantastic! You are a true Australian!! Enjoy! Thanks so much for sharing!