You’ll love these easy Roasted Pesto Potatoes! This recipe yields crispy and tender roasted potatoes with lots of flavor for the best simple side dish on a busy weeknight.
These potatoes are tossed in a delicious fresh basil pesto, then roasted to golden perfection. The addition of lemon brightens up and balances the distinct flavors!
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💚 Why You'll Love This Recipe
With only 3 main ingredients, it's hard to get any easier than this delicious and simple potato side dish! Baby potatoes combine with flavorful pesto and refreshing lemon to create an easy but tasty side that goes well with all of your favorite meals!
After only 5 minutes of prep, you'll roast these pesto potatoes until they're crispy and golden. These oven roasted baby potatoes are super satisfying and healthy for you!
And for more easy potato side dish recipes, try these Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes, Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes, or quick and simple Air Fryer Baby Potatoes! Or if you want another dish featuring pesto, try 20 Minute Creamy Pesto Pasta.
For another fun take on pesto, try my Zucchini Pesto without Pine Nuts!
🧂 Ingredients Needed
- baby potatoes - I like to use a variety of colors to add some visual interest to my pesto potatoes.
- pesto - can either be store bought or homemade, whatever works for you!
- lemon - you'll mostly need the juice, but slices of lemon can also be served on the side for garnish and extra juice.
- salt and pepper - to taste.
🔪 Instructions
- Cut baby potatoes in half, wash and dry, then combine with lemon juice, pesto, salt, and pepper.
- Baked for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees F until they're crispy on the outside but fork tender inside.
❔ FAQs
Not necessarily! If you find that the skins are a bit tough and you'd like a much crispier potato, it can help to parboil for about 5-7 minutes, then dry and continue with the recipe as instructed. For these pesto potatoes there's a good amount of oil in the pesto, which should crisp up the potatoes pretty well even without parboiling.
Absolutely! If you want a super fresh flavor, making or using your own pesto for this recipe is a great option. I even have a recipe for Easy Broccoli Pesto that might be a bit healthier than classic pesto and introduces a nice broccoli flavor!
Pesto is great to serve with seafood or chicken, as a sauce for a pasta dish, or as a dressing for salads. It has a garlicky and slightly grassy flavor and tends to be on the saltier side, so it's a great way to quickly and easily add flavor to lots of dishes!
In moderation, yes! It has lots of great healthy fats that will fill you up and keep you full longer, as well as vitamins and minerals from ingredients like basil, olive oil, and nuts. It may be slightly higher in calories than some other sauces, which is why it's important to enjoy it in moderate amounts.
💭 Expert Tips and Tricks
- You can use either nonstick spray or foil on your pan if you don't have parchment paper.
- To ensure the skin will be extra crispy, parboil the potatoes for 5 minutes or so before baking. Just be sure to dry them well after boiling, which will allow the pesto and other ingredients to adhere to the potatoes well.
📌 You'll love these oven roasted baby potatoes as a quick and healthy side dish that even the pickiest of eaters will enjoy. Flavorful pesto and sharp, refreshing lemon juice are all you need to pack these mini potatoes with flavor!
💡 Substitutions and Variations
- Multi-colored baby potatoes can be a bit difficult to find (or they can run on the expensive side) so feel free to use either Yukon gold or red baby potatoes.
- Bottled lemon juice can be used instead of fresh. Use about 2 tablespoons if you're using the bottled kind.
- If you want to add some cheese, Parmesan is an excellent option. You'll want to sprinkle it over the pesto potatoes about 5 minutes before they're done baking, and you can add additional cheese and pesto afterwards as well.
🥫 Storage and Reheating
Your leftover pesto potatoes will keep in an airtight container stored in the fridge for 3-4 days or so. To reheat, you can pop them in the microwave, or use an oven, toaster oven, or air fryer if you want to ensure that they'll stay nice and crispy.
🍴 What To Serve With This Dish
These roasted pesto potatoes make for a great side dish with a wide variety of main courses! Serve with Easy Thai Salmon or Air Fryer Chicken Leg Quarters, pair with Sous Vide Ribeye Steak, and for a super healthy meal, serve up your potatoes alongside some Baked Avocados!
🥔 More Potato Recipes You'll Love
- Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes - Another simple but reliable potato recipe that will change the way you eat breakfast!
- Chicken Potato Bake - This is a favorite in our house; simple and incredibly simple to prepare.
- Chocolate Covered Potato Chips - Homemade potato chips dipped in melted chocolate? What could be better!
- Yukon Gold Potato Fans - A fun and crispy way to serve potatoes, courtesy of Weelicious!
Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes
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📋 Recipe Card
Roasted Pesto Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds baby potatoes
- ½ cup pesto
- ½ lemon, juiced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wash and dry the potatoes. Cut each in half and add to a large bowl.1.5 pounds baby potatoes
- Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and toss until coated.½ cup pesto, ½ lemon, juiced, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper
- Spread the potatoes into an even layer on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Notes
- Use store-bought pesto or make your own!
- Use nonstick cooking spray or foil on the sheet pan if you do not have parchment paper.
- If you can’t find a bag of colored potatoes, you can use red or Yukon gold potatoes instead.
- Substitute 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice if you don't have a fresh lemon.
- Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate. The nutritional values for your final dish may vary based on measuring differences and products used.
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Happy cooking!
Holley says
I love how flavorful and cripsy these potatoes are! The perfect side dish to any meal!
Qashang says
Omg I love anything potato and this was the perfect way to use up leftover pesto from my fridge. Turned out great!
Mirlene says
My favorite pesto drenched over oven roasted potatoes was amazing! I need to double this next time so my family can enjoy!
Ieva says
Soooooo good! I would have never thought to pair potatoes with pesto and lemon (!), but it works so well! Delicious side dish to chicken 🙂