Grilled Foil Packet Garlic Herb Potatoes

Making grilled foil packet garlic herb potatoes is easy. Simply wrap oil tossed and herbed potatoes in foil and cook them on the grill. You'll create deliciously crispy potatoes.

Do you love potatoes, like me? I like them every possible way, whether roasted, mashed, or simply boiled in their skins.

The Irish love of spuds is world renowned, and believe me, this reputation is definitely based on fact. My father requests a side of potatoes with lasagne. Now, that’s a true Irish man.

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Potatoes as a Barbecue Side Dish

When we barbecue during the summer months, my dad always requests potatoes as a side dish. No amount of delicious salad choices will ever lure him away from his beloved spud.

And so, my dilemma is, how to avoid boiling spuds when we’re focused on creating a delicious grilled meal.

The answer lies in cooking your spuds right on the grill.

That’s right! All you need is a simple foil packet to wrap seasoned potatoes, before tossing them on the barbecue.

Grilled potatoes are super easy to make and everyone in my house always asks for more when I serve them!

They cook a lot quicker than when baking potatoes in the oven. Slicing the potatoes before grilling helps them cook quickly. The foil packet seals them into their own homemade oven. It helps the potatoes attain a high temperature to promote crispiness.

These foil grilled potatoes are the perfect companion dish for steaks, burgers , and grilled chicken breasts.

Today's recipe shows how to cook potatoes on a barbecue, a lovely summertime side dish.

Foil packet potatoes are crispy, tender, and ever so delicious.

Best Potatoes for Grilling in Foil

I like to use Yukon Golds for this recipe. They’re not as floury and dry as a Russet potato, and they’re not as waxy as fingerlings.

Yukon Golds boast a golden flesh that is fairly firm and moist when cooked. They have a medium starch content and are richly flavored. They’re the perfect choice for this recipe.

In Ireland I would use baby or new potatoes when making roasties on the grill.

How Long To Grill Potatoes in Foil

Crispy potatoes on the grill can be achieved in about 30 minutes. Make sure the grill is not too hot since the potatoes will burn on the outside before the inside cooks.

A medium high heat is what is required rather than a searing hot grill.

Best seasonings for grilled potatoes

You may be wondering how to marinate potatoes for the bbq, but long marination is not required for potatoes. Although they are a hard vegetable when immersed in a liquid for a long time they tend to release their moisture. They then become soft and soggy when cooked.

Instead of marinating the potatoes, I recommend tossing them in oil and seasonings. As you experiment with how to cook potatoes in a foil packet you will come up with the best seasoning combination for you,

The choices are endless. For this recipe I chose a simple blend of garlic and onion powders, oregano and paprika, and of course our Irish “spices” salt and pepper.

Other suggestions include adding a Mexican flare by using a combination of cumin, chilli powder, and garlic powder.

You can stick with an Italian theme and combine garlic and onion powders, with dried basil and organo. Once you master this method of cooking spuds, you can experiment with the seasonings, to your heart's content.

The truth is that any combination of dried herbs that you like can be used.

Ingredients for Potatoes Cooked in Foil

Here's a quick list of the ingredients I use. You'll find exact quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post.

• small golden potatoes (scrubbed well and cut in half. If you can only find larger potatoes cut them into quarters.)
• olive oil
• garlic powder
• dried oregano
• onion powder
• paprika
• salt and black pepper as desired

Once your potatoes are cooked you can garnish your potatoes with any toppings you like. Good options include cheese, butter, bacon bits, sour cream, chopped chives, green onions or fresh herbs.

You can also add sprigs of fresh herbs to the foil packet for additonal flavor. Sprigs of thyme or rosemary work great.

Directions for Grilled Foil Packet Potatoes

These potatoes can be cooked on any grill. There are so many types of grills out there, I am simply going to advise you to heat up your grill according to the directions provided by the manufacturer.

You can use a gas or coal fired barbecue. I like the smoky flavor of a coal fired grill.

If you use Mesquite wood chips to grill then these spuds will be extra delicious.

Next prepare the foil you will use to create the cooking packets - no baking sheet required for these crispy grilled spuds.

Cut six rectangles of foil. You need roughly 12 inches wide by 18 inches long rectangular pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil.

Spritz the inner side of the foil where the food will lie, with nonstick cooking spray.

Add the potato halves to a large bowl. Make sure you only halve your potatoes rather than using potato slices.

Pour the olive oil over the potatoes and toss well to combine..

Mix the seasonings together in a small bowl and then sprinkle them over the potatoes. Toss the potatoes well to completely coat them in seasoning.

Divide the potatoes between the aluminum foil rectangles. Don’t place too many potatoes in each packet. If they are crowded together they will release too much liquid as they cook and become soggy rather than crispy.

The key to this recipe is creating a nicely sealed foil pocket. To do so fold the long sides of the aluminum foil so that they meet in the center over the potatoes. Fold the long sides over to create a seam.

Next move to the short ends and fold them in. Next make a double fold so that you create a seam.

Roll up the shorter ends of the aluminum foil at least twice to create a sealed pocket.

Place the potato packets on the grill and cover the grill. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the packets halfway so they each cook evenly.

The cooking time for potatoes on the grill is far faster than when baking potatoes in the oven.

Remove the packets from the grill. Open very carefully since there will be steam in each packet.

Serve as is, or garnish with freshly chopped parsley. Alternatively you can add your favorite potato toppings.

These baked potatoes on the grill are a great substitute for french fries or Irish chips, and are just as tasty as oven roasted potatoes.

This is summer grilling at its best. I hope you like this potato recipe. You can check out all of my potato dishes here.

Printable Recipe Card for Grilled Potatoes

Here's the printable recipe if you would like to add this one to your kitchen recipe files.

Happy grilling, and I hope you enjoy these delicious potatoes.

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