Healthy Side-Dish Oven-Roasted Potatoes and Herbs Recipe (2024)

Need a quick side dish? These oven-roasted potatoes taste gourmet but are easy to make. They have a basic herbed flavor profile that’s a hit with everyone! Whether you’re serving a crowd or looking for a new family favorite, keeping your side dishes simple is always a good move.

Experiment with different herbs to find your perfect combination! Kitchens are the ideal place to get creative.

Customize Your Potato Side Dish

The best thing about this dish is that it is super versatile. I like altering it to include whatever we have on hand! Need some inspiration? Here are some tried and true combinations!

• Add minced garlic for extra flavor and added health benefits.
• Out of yellow potatoes? Try sweet potatoes! You may have to roast them a little longer, but they taste just as good.
• Create a flavor profile that matches the rest of your meal. Example: Use rosemary and thyme to flavor all of your dishes.
• If you have kids, you can cut your potatoes into wedges to make healthy french fries. Who needs the drive-thru?
• Add other vegetables to your tray to create a veggie-packed side dish! Carrots, Brussels sprouts, onions, and squash are my favorite additions.
• If fresh herbs aren’t in season, you can always use dried.
• If you want a pre-made dried herb mixture, I recommend using Herbes de Provence. It’s a delicious blend of thyme, rosemary, marjoram, and oregano. My favorite brand also includes lavender!
• Serve this side dish with a dip. My Homemade Ketchup is great with potatoes. For a zesty twist, try dipping your potatoes in my Honey Mustard. Dr. Z loves using our spicy variation, which features cayenne pepper.
• Top your oven-roasted potatoes with a sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese, chives, and parsley.

Healthy Potatoe Ingredients 101

You need just four simple ingredients to make this recipe. This is a wonderful recipe to try if you’re interested in adding more whole foods recipes to your diet. Here’s what you need.

Red or Yellow Potatoes: Potatoes have a bad reputation, but they can be an excellent source of nutrients. When paired with superfood ingredients, they too become nutritional powerhouses! Like many foods, their health benefits lie in how you prepare them.

Potatoes don’t have to be doused in canola oil to be delicious. In fact, you don’t need much oil at all to create a crisp, flavorful potato! When topped with healthy fats and bioactive herbs, potatoes are a great side dish that rounds out any meal.

Our research led us to avoid white potatoes and choose yellow or red potatoes instead. These potatoes have less starch than white potatoes and are easier on your blood sugar. Colored potatoes also contain more antioxidants, balancing free radicals and fighting inflammation. (1)

Mama Z Pro Tip: To remove some of the starch in potatoes, you can soak them for 1 hour after dicing. Rumor is, that doing so makes the potato fluffier on the inside!

Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: EVOO is a healthy fat with a high smoking point, making it ideal for roasting. Olive oil is full of fantastic health benefits, including the ability to balance unhealthy gut bacteria, which can boost your immune system! (2)

All olive oils aren’t created equal, though. Many EVOOs found on the store shelves are so contaminated that they don’t resemble the real deal nutritionally! We recommend purchasing the best olive oil you can. This is one area where you get what you pay for!

Herbs: Herbs make this dish extraordinary! I love using fresh herbs from my garden, and out of all the combinations I’ve tried, rosemary and thyme are the best.

Rosemary contains a compound that can prevent macular degeneration, and smelling this herb may jog memory. (3) (4)

Thyme is part of the mint family, and some say its aroma may boost serotonin levels. (5) It’s been used for ages to treat everything from arthritis to bronchitis.Fresh herbs taste best, but you can use dried as well.

Sea Salt: Traditional table salt undergoes a rigorous harvesting process that strips it of most nutritional benefits. While you shouldn’t overload your body with sodium, it does need a certain amount to thrive each day!

We recommend using Colima sea salt because it’s hand-harvested and minimally processed. This leaves the good stuff intact! Plus, it tastes incredible and adds a gourmet flair to any recipe. You can also use pink Himalayan salt.

Make Oven Roasted Potatoes

This recipe comes together in minutes and leaves your house smelling amazing. This side dish is excellent with casseroles, Thanksgiving turkey, or a breakfast quiche! Bonus: You can freeze any leftovers!

Step One: Cut the Potatoes

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Wash the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch cubes. Leave the peels on for an extra crispy treat. Unlike white potatoes with rough skin, colored potatoes have waxy, smooth skin that adds to this dish!

Step Two: Season and Add Olive Oil

Place the potatoes, olive oil, herbs, and sea salt in a large bowl and toss until the potatoes are completely coated. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. This step ensures they roast evenly.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until tender and brown. You can store leftovers in the fridge and reheat them in a bit of coconut oil. They are wonderful in omelets and salads!

Mama Z Pro Tip: Keep herbs fresh all week by placing them (stem-down) in a jar with a bit of water at the bottom.

Creating a lush garden doesn’t have to break the bank or take loads of time. The best way to ensure you always have fresh herbs on hand is to grow them yourself! Even if you’ve failed at gardening before, I believe you can grow delicious food of your own.

Gardening is for everyone! Sometimes, you need to drop the how-to-guides and get out in the garden with an experienced gardener. In Organic Gardening Made Easy With Mama Z, you’ll spend time with me in my very own backyard.

You’ll learn exactly what you need to do to create the garden of your dreams without the use of chemicals. See you there!

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