Oil-free Roasted Potatoes and Onion with Cumin, Garlic and Chili Powder

Fluffy and full of flavor, these dry roasted diced potatoes and onion with cumin, garlic and chili powder are baked without oil. Make potato tacos with them or serve them as a side dish drizzled in salsa or ketchup.

These roasted potatoes and onions are whole food plant-based no oil, gluten-free and nut-free, as is.

🧄 Very useful ingredient notes

• Russet potatoes - One of the cheapest and most filling foods you can buy, russet potatoes are a staple to keep around. They also stay good for a long time, if you store them in a cool, dry place in your house. Look for potatoes that don't have dark spots, cuts or blemishes. And make sure the bag doesn't have moisture inside or a foul smell coming from it when you buy them (rotten potatoes are one of the absolute worst smells!)
• Yellow onion - Look for sweet yellow onions when shopping. They roast up and caramelize slightly in the oven.
• Chili powder - a blend of spices used to make Texas Chili and other TexMex-inspired recipes. Chili powder should not be confused with chile powder (with an "e"). Chile powder is typically one type of chile pepper (for example, chipotle, ancho, guajillo, arbol, etc.), dried and ground.
• Ground cumin - Cumin seeds ground into a powder is a key aromatic and warm spice in TexMex cuisine.

📋 Substitutions and variations

Here are some suitable substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:

• Potatoes - instead of russet potatoes, you can use gold potatoes (which have a slight buttery flavor - YUM), red potatoes, white potatoes or purple potatoes. This recipe also works to roast sweet potato cubes with cumin, garlic and chili powder.
• Yellow onion - instead of yellow onion, you can use purple onion or white onion.
• Chili powder - instead of chili powder, you can use taco seasoning (reduce the salt if using this, since taco seasoning is already salted), smoked paprika or sweet paprika. You can also use ancho chile powder, chipotle pepper powder or other chile pepper powder you have, but may want to reduce the quantity since these will produce a spicier result since they are 100% chiles.
• Granulated garlic - use garlic powder instead of granulated garlic, but may want to reduce the quantity a little bit since garlic powder is a finer consistency
• Dried parsley or cilantro - use finely chopped fresh parsley or cilantro instead and use ¼ cup instead.
• SOS-free - make this SOS-free by omitting the salt

Switch things up with these variation ideas!

• Spicy - add cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to increase the spice level
• Italian-inspired - make these to go with an Italian meal by using an Italian blend of herbs (basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, parsley) and garlic
• Greek-inspired - make these to go with a Greek meal by using Greek oregano, onion powder, garlic powder and finishing them with a drizzle of red wine vinegar or lemon juice

🔪 Instructions

Step-by-step instructions for how to make dry roasted diced potatoes and onion without using oil in the oven.

🥡 Make ahead and storage tips

These TexMex potatoes and onions can be made ahead or meal-prepped and then stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

This recipe does not freeze well.

❓ FAQ

🗺 Cultural influences

This recipe is inspired by my mixed ethnic background and heritage as a native of Houston, Texas, where the flavors of this dish (chili powder, ground cumin, garlic and cilantro) are abundant and common. The spice combination is based culturally in Mexican cuisine and Southern or Texan cuisine.

See About for more information on my cultural influences and how I attribute recipes.

📖 Recipe