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.

Roasted Portuguese baby potatoes with peri peri seasoning on a white plate with a fork.
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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!

Roasted peri peri potatoes on a white plate next to a baking sheet.

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 red potatoes in the air fryer 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!

Rinsing baby potatoes under water in a colander.

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
Small red, white and purple potatoes with peri peri spice before being roasted.

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.

Roasted Portuguese potatoes on baking sheet.

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.
Peri peri potatoes on a baking sheet with a small spatula.

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!

4.44 from 16 votes

Roasted Peri Peri Potatoes

Servings: 4 servings
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
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.

Ingredients 

  • 1.5 pounds small white, red and/or purple potatoes
  • 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon, about 1 tablespoon
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon cardamom

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400°F on convection roast if you have that setting. Otherwise, 425°F.
  • Place potatoes, olive oil, lemon juice and all the spices in a large bowl. Toss until all the potatoes are well coated in the spice mixture.
  • Spread potatoes out into a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes, shaking the pan 1-2 times during roasting.
  • Remove from oven and serve hot.

Nutrition

Serving: 1SERVINGCalories: 193kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 3gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 583mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Side Dishes
Cuisine: Portuguese
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Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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Recipe Rating




4.44 from 16 votes (15 ratings without comment)

9 Comments

  1. Easy and delicious, this one is a keeper. I know I’m going to make it over and over again!

    1. I don’t post nutrition info on my recipes. You can plug it into one of the many online calculators to find out the information you need.

  2. I’ve never heard of peri-peri, but I LOVE trying new recipes and flavors! Bonus that I already keep those spices on hand!

  3. I’m a huge fan of peri-peri, so I’m glad you’ve infused their lovely flavors in these little spuds! I already love potatoes, but these I would love even more!