Peri Peri potatoes are roasted to perfection and coated in a deliciously aromatic Portuguese spice mixture that makes a great side dish to any dinner.

I stumbled into a potato phase when I started tracking macros a few years back.

To my surprise, they fit perfectly into my post-workout dinner and as someone who always prefers to eat her carbs rather than drink them, I loved how many of these little guys I could roast up and eat alongside whatever lean protein and vegetable I had planned for the meal.

We’ll get back to the potatoes in a second. Firstly…

Have you guys heard of the peri peri thing?

Per usual, living in suburban NY without fun places like Nando’s to try their famous peri peri sauce, I felt like the last person on the planet to get in on this delicious little spicy secret when Julie took Brandy and I there last fall in D.C.

I had listened to the two of them rave about Nando’s chicken with peri peri sauce for months (years even?) and I will say, it was worth the wait.

What is Peri Peri?

This spice mixture called peri peri that’s said to hail from Portugal is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted.

A weird statement because if you look at the spice list on the recipe, I guarantee they’re all spices you’ve had before.

Peri peri, however, is a unique combination of pungent savory, spicy and even a few sweet spices along with citrus and while most recipes you see have it on meat of some sort, I decided it’d make a terrific coating for potatoes and roasted peri peri potatoes became a thing!

Are These Portuguese Potatoes Healthy?

On my weekly BJ’s shopping list among other priorities such as their insanely cheap organic lettuce containers, pitas, coffee, yogurt and chicken sausage you’ll pretty much always find: “bag of baby potatoes” somewhere on there.

Along with being a very affordable starch, potatoes are incredibly nutrient dense.

A medium sized potato (about 5.2oz) provides more potassium than a banana (with the skin on), 30% of your daily vitamin C and no fat, sodium or cholesterol in just 110 calories.

It even has a bit of protein packed in there too at about 3g per serving.

After a workout, your body needs to refuel.

You need protein to help rebuild muscles you just broke down and you need carbohydrates to refill the glycogen stores you just depleted.

Carbohydrates are the primary fuel for your brain and important for optimal physical and mental performance.

With that in mind, it’s a no-brainer for me that I’d rather refuel with a complex carbohydrate like potatoes than a piece of sugar packed candy.

Not to mention, a serving of potatoes goes a lot further from a satiety standpoint than a piece of candy does.

The other great part about potatoes is the variety to choose from!

From Russet (which I love to use for air fryer hasselback potatoes) to fingerling to petite and even purple sweet potatoes, you can definitely find one that works for you and they all boast the same nutrient profile.

No matter which you choose, make some roasted peri peri potatoes with them and refuel in a tasty way!

Ingredients Needed for Portuguese Roasted Potatoes

• small white, red and/or purple potatoes
• olive oil
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• kosher salt
• paprika
• freshly ground black pepper
• smoked paprika
• oregano
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• cayenne
• chili powder
• ground ginger
• cardamom

How to Make Portuguese Peri-Peri Potatoes

If you have a convection oven, preheat to 400 degrees, otherwise preheat to 425.

Toss the potatoes, oil, lemon juice, and peri peri spices in a large bowl until the potatoes are completely covered.

Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, shaking the pan a couple times throughout.

Alternatively, you can roast baby potatoes in the air fryer too.

Tips for Making

• To reheat leftovers, place them back in the oven and heat until warm. If you choose to microwave them, they will lose their crispiness.
• If you are making these in an air fryer, cook in batches depending on the size.
• Use parchment paper to line your baking sheet (or air fryer) to make clean up easier.
• You can dice potatoes for this recipe, but I really like using baby potatoes.
• If you love the peri peri flavor combo, be sure to try my sheet pan peri-peri chicken recipe.

Looking for more easy side dishes like these peri peri roasted potatoes?

Try roasted pesto potatoes, roasted radishes or hummus stuffed roasted potato cups.

These crispy roasted turnips, however, are probably the absolute closest thing to roasted potatoes. Their texture and flavor is almost identical and they’re lower in carbohydrates if that’s a concern for you.

Another great easy side dish is this garlic balsamic roasted potatoes and asparagus – starch and vegetables all in one!

And if you happen to have leftovers, try making potato tacos out of these!