These roasted grilled potatoes rival any crisp, tender, golden brown roasted potatoes in the oven. Even better, you can rely on this technique when it’s sweltering outside and you crave roasted potatoes but want a respite from turning on the oven—and, by extension, heating up the entire kitchen.

It also means no running back and forth between stove and grill for the side dish next time you’re grilling. And it’s done without foil, which means no waste. (We thought you’d like all that.)

david caricature

Why Our Testers Loved This

Our recipe testers have these roasted grilled potatoes on repeat and for good reason. They found them to be “nice and crisp with an amazing garlic and herb flavor” and love that it is a “delicious and easy way to cook potatoes.

Sofia Reino joined in with her comment, “Wow, wow, wow! The very best roasted potatoes I’ve ever had.”

What You’ll Need to Make This

Ingredients for roasted potatoes on the grill--waxy potatoes, oil, rosemary, garlic, and salt and pepper.
  • Garlic–To crush garlic cloves, press on them with the flat side of a knife until they break. Don’t use minced garlic here as it will burn.
  • Waxy potatoes–Choose red or yellow waxy potatoes, or use a mixture. Don’t use russet potatoes, as they don’t hold up as well as waxy potatoes.

How to Make This Recipe

A person pouring oil into a skillet with garlic and a skillet of potato wedges on a grill.
  1. Preheat the grill to 500°F. Combine the oil and garlic in a flameproof roasting pan or large skillet.
  2. Heat the roasting pan or skillet on the grill until the oil begins to shimmer. Carefully add the potatoes and stir to coat the potatoes with oil.
A skillet of roasted grilled potatoes with a dish of chopped rosemary and a dish of salt and pepper beside it.
  1. Cook the potatoes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and tender. Season with salt, pepper, and rosemary, if desired.
  2. Transfer the grilled potatoes to a serving bowl or platter and serve hot.

Common Questions

What are waxy potatoes?

Waxy potatoes are generally the first choice for potato dishes where you want your spuds to keep their shape—roasted, grilled, potato salads, or gratins. This category includes fingerlings, new potatoes, and red-skinned potatoes. But if you’re at the grocery store and you can’t remember a specific name, here’s a little trick—a waxy potato has a thinner skin that can be easily pierced or scratched with your fingernail.

How can I make sure my potatoes are crispy?

To get crispy potatoes on the grill, make sure your oil is hot before adding the potatoes to it, and stir to coat them well. Also, don’t crowd the potatoes in your pan or skillet. If you have more potatoes than will fit in a single layer without being crowded, use a second pan or prepare them in batches.

What should I serve with these grilled potatoes?

Take advantage of the hot grill and cook something alongside it, such as grilled trout, honey lime chicken breasts, or vegetable and halloumi skewers. Add a side salad, and voilà, dinner!

Helpful Tips

  • Be very careful when adding the potatoes to the hot oil, as it can splatter.
  • Stir the potatoes regularly to help them crisp evenly.
  • This recipe is suitable for gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan diets.
A platter of quartered roasted potatoes on the grill, seasoned with pepper and rosemary.
: Frank Pellegrino, Jr.

More Great Roasted Potato Recipes

Write a Review

If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David

A cast-iron skillet filled with roasted grilled potatoes and two sprigs of rosemary on a wooden table.

Roasted Potatoes on the Grill

4.82 / 16 votes
These grilled potatoes are a cinch to make–simply potatoes, garlic, oil, and rosemary—that turn crispy on the outside, blissfully tender on the inside.
David Leite
CourseSides
CuisineAmerican
Servings6 servings
Calories311 kcal
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 6 unpeeled waxy potatoes, quartered lengthwise
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 sprigs rosemary, chopped if desired (optional)

Instructions 

  • Prepare the grill for direct cooking over high heat so it maintains a steady temperature of 500º F (260ºC).
  • Pour the oil and garlic in a large flameproof roasting pan or cast-iron skillet. Place the pan on the grill grate, close the lid, and let it heat until the oil begins to shimmer, about 2 minutes.
  • Carefully add the potatoes to the pan and gently stir to coat with the oil. Close the lid on the grill and let the potatoes roast, keeping the lid closed except to occasionally turn the potatoes with a thin metal spatula, until they're golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Season the potatoes to taste with salt and pepper and, if desired, a sprinkle of rosemary. Using a slotted spoon, move the potatoes into a bowl or platter and serve hot.

Notes

  1. Use caution with hot oil–Be very careful when adding the potatoes to the hot oil, as it can splatter.
  2. Stir regularly–Stir the potatoes regularly to help them crisp evenly.
  3. Dietary–This recipe is suitable for gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan diets.
Rao's on the Grill Cookbook

Adapted From

Rao’s on the Grill

Buy On Amazon

Nutrition

Serving: 1 servingCalories: 311 kcalCarbohydrates: 34 gProtein: 4 gFat: 18 gSaturated Fat: 3 gSodium: 599 mgFiber: 4 gSugar: 3 g

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

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2012 Frank Pellegrino Jr.. Photos © 2023 Angie Zoobkoff. Photo © 2012 Frank Pellegrino, Jr.. All rights reserved.


Recipe Testers’ Reviews

Why have I not made roasted potatoes on the grill before? Wow, wow, wow! The very best roasted potatoes I’ve ever had. Seriously, these were amazing—nice and crisp with an amazing garlic and herb flavor. It all just worked amazingly well.

We served them with grilled red snapper and they were simply perfect. Oddly enough, there were some leftovers and we had them the next day, both cold and warmed up in the microwave, and though not as crisp as the day before, they still tasted just as good.

Oh my. These grill-roasted potatoes are delicious and an easy way to cook potatoes.

While the potatoes were roasting, I snipped some rosemary and added it to the pan, which I shook every now and then to sauté the potatoes, and voilà! I had roasted potatoes, easy peasy.

I grilled fish alongside them during the last few minutes and made a salad and everything was ready for alfresco dining. This will become a favorite. The only note of caution is to stir the pan or shake it to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn.

What a great recipe for roast potatoes on a grill. Easy, minimal ingredients, and super taste and texture.

I let my potatoes grill a few minutes longer to get a bit crisper. I used a combination of Yukon golds and red potatoes—I liked the red potatoes better. Be careful when adding the potatoes to the oil and do layer on the rosemary sprigs.

Use the leftover oil from these roasted potatoes on the grill to fry up any remaining potatoes for breakfast.

This recipe for roasted grilled potatoes is fabulous. If you’ve ever made roasted potatoes in the oven, you’ll really like this method. I followed the recipe exactly, and the potatoes turned out to be the most beautiful brown color. I wanted to eat them all myself!

My only caution is to watch the garlic and oil at the very beginning, as the garlic can turn black right before your eyes if you’re not careful. The only thing I’d change next time is to season the potatoes with salt, pepper, and rosemary at the beginning rather than the end. Other than that, this recipe is great! We’ll be making it, again and again, this summer.

A perfect addition to any summer meal that keeps the mess and heat out of the kitchen. My son did the grilling and the potatoes came out perfect—soft in the middle and crisp on the outside.

I put the potatoes in one of those large grill pans that has all the holes and hoped this would still work well. The only problem we had was with the oil causing the grill to flame up a bit, but that was fine.

I wondered if the garlic would be too much—3 cloves for 6 potatoes seemed like a lot—but it was very good. Next time, I may cut back a bit just for personal preference.

This technique for BBQ potatoes was a nice way to have crisp roasted potatoes in the summer without the heat of the oven.

I’d definitely play around with the seasonings and herbs, though I did enjoy the crisp bits of garlic. I didn’t have a flameproof roasting pan, so I used a wide stainless steel sauté pan instead and was able to fit all of the potatoes snugly in there.




About David Leite

I count myself lucky to have received three James Beard Awards for my writing as well as for Leite’s Culinaria. My work has also appeared in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Yankee, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and more.


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Recipe Rating




24 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I LOVE roasting potatoes on the BBQ grill! This will be a summertime standard from now on! Didn’t have to turn on the oven on a hot day, and the potatoes looked Gorgeous! Tasted great too. Just make sure to watch/stir them regularly. I wish I had taken a picture. I used butter, oil, and fresh rosemary. I used garlic granules, so I didn’t have to worry about burnt garlic, and a generous amount of seasoning salt.

  2. 5 stars
    These roasted potatoes are wonderful! They turned out as described, crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. Used a cast iron skillet to which I added the oil and garlic. The garlic burned however which I kinda thought it would since the grill was at 500. I removed it as soon as I noticed it had burned.

    No matter, the potatoes were still delish. I’m still left wondering though about the garlic…just add it later in the roasting? But that wouldn’t flavor the oil which seems necessary.

    1. Thanks, Ann. I’m so happy that you enjoyed these. The garlic can be a little tricky. The testers found that shaking the pan or stirring the garlic helped to keep it from burning. If it does start to burn, pull the garlic out, as you did, and then add it back to the dish right at the very end.

  3. 5 stars
    Used my cast iron frying pan – these are more like a fried potato – but damned delicious. And simple!

    1. They certainly are, Miles! We’re delighted you love them as much as we do. Thanks for taking the time to let us know.