Here I share with you some game-changing tips for getting Oven Baked Potato Wedges that are crispy and crunchy on the outside, yet light and fluffy on the inside!
Life Changing Potatoes Wedges
I mean ever so sliiiiiiiiightly dramatic. BUT, they are seriously delicious. Crispy, crunchy, fluffy, flavoursome deliciousness. Here’s why you’re going to love them:
- Oven Baked – No faffing about with deep frying, these come out truly crispy straight out the oven.
- Parmesan – Secret ingredient that takes these wedges through the roof!
- EASY – Even the most beginner of cook can master these.
Okay, first things first, let’s talk potato. I tend to use 4 medium potatoes, which will get 8 wedges from them each (32 in total).
How to cut Potato Wedges
- Find 4 evenly sized potatoes (important so the wedges are uniformed size and cook at an even rate).
- Slice them in half, place them flat side down, slice in half again, flip them again then slice those 4 slices in half again. This will produce 8 wedges from each potato.
Parboiling Potato Wedges
In terms of preparing potato wedges, different people having different methods. Some soak in cold water, others coat them straight in the seasoning. I prefer to par-boil.
Removing Starch from Potatoes
Potatoes are stuffed full of starch, and when cooked that’s what makes potatoes go gloopy in the centre. So essentially we want to remove as much starch as possible before baking. By parboiling the wedges you do just this.
However…
After placing them in the water, the wedges will soak up some of the moisture. This is ironically what we don’t want. Potatoes that have too much moisture = soggy. So, what to do is after you’ve drained them, let them sit for at least 5 minutes and allow the steam to leave the wedges. This is the moisture that we don’t want escaping the wedges, which is good.
I don’t recommend soaking in cold water, you want the potatoes to be partly cooked so they’re not in the oven so long they burn the parmesan (more on that in just a sec). Plus, this way the salty water can help season the insides of the potatoes too.
How to Parboil Potato Wedges (quick summary)
- Pop wedges in cold water (important – if you place straight in boiling water they won’t cook evenly from the centre). Bring to boil for 3-4mins.
- Drain in colander and allow to steam for minimum 5mins (preferably until they completely stop steaming)
Parmesan Potato Wedges
Okay, here’s where things get intense. There’s a couple of reasons I add parmesan to potato wedges. First is flavour. Parmesan adds a gorgeous, salty flavour to potato wedges. Plus, potatoes and cheese is a match made in heaven. The second is texture. Baking potato wedges in parmesan enhances that gorgeous crispy outside.
In terms of other seasoning, here’s what you’ll need:
Potato Wedge Seasoning
- Paprika
- Garlic Powder
- Thyme
- Cayenne Pepper
- Salt & Black Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Parmesan
When it comes to baking the wedges, my number 1 tip is making sure you spread the wedges out. If you pile them on top of each other they are just going to steam and not get crispy. Use two trays if you have to!
How to make Parmesan Wedges (quick summary)
- Coat potatoes in oil and seasoning.
- Stir through freshly grated parmesan.
- Space out on a baking tray and bake!
Potato Wedges FAQ
Do I have to parboil the wedges?
Parboiling helps draw out starch, it reduces baking time so the parmesan doesn’t burn and also helps season the inside of the wedges. Whilst I don’t recommend soaking in cold water in favour of parboiling, soaking in cold water is better than nothing. If for whatever reason you don’t have access to a stove, you can soak the wedges in cold salted water for 20-30mins, then thoroughly dry.
Do I have to add parmesan?
The parmesan adds flavour and helps create a crispy exterior to the wedges, but if for whatever reason you can’t use parmesan then just go ahead without. They’ll still be delicious!
Can these be frozen?
They do freeze pretty well! Just allow to completely cool, then freeze for up to 3 months. I usually defrost then bake until hot and crispy again, but you could bake from frozen at a lower temp.
Serving Potato Wedges
Once the wedges are out the oven, that smell is going to melt your soul 😍 I like to let them rest for a few mins (just to let the final bit of steam escape) and then sprinkle a pinch of salt. The will extract any moisture from the surface. You know, just for extra crispiness.
From there, you can either serve them as a side, or even as an appetizer with dips! Here’s my faves:
Potato Wedges Dips
- Garlic and Herb Dip
- Sweet Chilli Mayo
- Sour Cream and Chive
- Roasted Garlic Aioli
- Blue Cheese Dip
- Cheese and Chive Dip
Or do it the Aussie way! When I spent 2 years in Australia it became apparent that the only dipping sauces for potato wedges were sweet chilli sauce and sour cream. Hey, it kinda worked!
Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these oven baked potato wedges shall we?!
How to make Oven Baked Potato Wedges (Full Recipe & Video)
The most INCREDIBLE Oven Baked Potato Wedges
Equipment:
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Pot & Colander (for par-boiling wedges)
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Large Greaseproof Baking Tray
- Fine Cheese Grater
- Small Pot/Ramekin (for seasoning mix)
Ingredients (check list):
- 4 medium sized White Baking Potatoes, approx 9oz/250g each (Russets or Maris Pipers work great)
- 1/2 cup / 40g freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp tsp Salt,
- 1 heaped tsp Paprika
- 1 heaped tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme (can sub Oregano)
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper, (adjust to spice preference, this gives a gentle kick)
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions:
- Slice your potatoes into 8 equal wedge shapes. I find this easiest by slicing in half, place flat side down and slice those in half, then flip again and slice in half again.
- Add to a pot of cold water with 1 tsp salt, then bring to boil. Once bubbling, allow to boil for 3-4mins. The edges should just begin to fray and you should only just be able to slice with a knife.
- Drain and give them a shake in the colander. Sit and rest to steam dry for at least 5 minutes, but preferably until they stop steaming. The longer the better (the more steam that escapes the fluffier the inside and crispier the outside).
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl/ramekin combine 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 heaped tsp paprika & garlic powder, 1/2 tsp thyme & salt, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste) and 1/8 tsp black pepper. Preheat the oven to 200C/390F.
- Combine the wedges with the oil seasoning and mix to fully coat. Sprinkle in 1/2cup/40g freshly grated parmesan and give a gentle toss. Don't overmix the parmesan or it'll clump up with the seasoning and fall off the wedges.
- Evenly space out the wedges on a large greaseproof baking tray (use 2 trays if you have to). Spacing out is important so they don't steam on each other and have room to crisp up!
- Bake for 25-35mins, or until deep golden and visibly crispy. Flip once after 15 mins. Timings will vary depending on your oven/size of wedges so just be vigilant after flipping. They will crisp up slightly more as they rest.
- Serve up and enjoy!
Quick 1 min demo!
Notes:
Your Private Notes:
Nutrition:
For more similar recipes check out these beauties:
Crispy Potato Recipes
- Crispy Roasted Baby Potatoes
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Crispy Oven Baked Fries
- Crispy Goose Fat Roast Potatoes
Baked Finger Food
- Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders
- Crispy Baked Avocado Fries
- Crispy Baked Jalapeno Poppers
- All finger food recipes!
If you loved these Oven Baked Potato Wedges be sure to Pin the recipe for later! Already made them or got a question? Let me know in the comments below and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!
62 Comments
Jo-Anne Lemaire
August 23, 2023 at 11:36 pmThis recipe sounds wonderful. Please, I’d like to know if I could also use the dried parmesan cheese for this recipe. and if so, how much to be equivalent with the fresh grated? Thank you.
Chris Collins
August 24, 2023 at 9:59 amI’m not sure it would stick as well, but you could certainly give it a go (might be a case of sprinkling more over the top of the wedges). Try the same weight, adding a little more to lightly coat the wedges if you need to. C.
Jo-Anne Lemaire
August 24, 2023 at 4:22 pmThanks for answering so quickly. 🙂 Have a great day.
Sally J
August 16, 2023 at 8:34 pmGreat flavor. I left out the cheese, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Added onion powder. They were great.
Chris Collins
August 17, 2023 at 10:39 amSo great to hear, Sally! Thanks for the review! C.
Nick
July 21, 2023 at 7:34 pmReally simple, really tasty as Always. My family are beginning to think I know what I’m doing in the kitchen! Thank you Chris
Chris Collins
July 24, 2023 at 10:41 amSo great to hear, Nick! Fake it ’til you make it is what I say Cheers for the review. C.
Geralyn Rohan
July 11, 2023 at 6:32 pmI have not made these yet. I just came across the recipe today.
I personally don’t think you can possibly go wrong.
I love all the photos and excellent explanation through each step.
I think that this will definitely be ago to recipe1 Especially that they can be made ahead and frozen.
Chris Collins
July 12, 2023 at 7:41 amHope you enjoy, Geralyn! C.
Toots
July 6, 2023 at 11:29 pmReally good! I may have overmixed when I added the cheese cuz I did get a few small clumps of seasonings. They were overall coated very well, though. Flavor is great and they were so crisp on the outside and really soft inside. Definitely going to make again
Chris Collins
July 7, 2023 at 3:45 pmThanks so much for the review, Toots! C.
Victra
April 9, 2023 at 9:33 pmThis was absolute perfection! Thank you very much for your detailed recipe. I’ve tried a similar recipe b4 but it was a hit and miss. The details u provided helped narrow down the pit falls. This is my go to potato wedges recipe from now on.
Chris Collins
April 10, 2023 at 10:25 amGreat to hear they went down well!! C.
Yelitza
March 30, 2023 at 3:31 pmCan I make part of this ahead? Maybe up to where the potatoes were boiled?
Chris Collins
March 31, 2023 at 9:51 amYou could probably parboil them then let them completely cool and tightly store them in the fridge and continue. You could also fully make them then reheat them in the oven at 180C until hot and crisp again! C.
Claudia
February 24, 2023 at 12:09 amWe’ve made these many times already. It’s such a delicious recipe, always makes crispy wedges and my family love them. Thank you for sharing.
Chris Collins
February 24, 2023 at 10:22 amThat’s so great to hear, Claudia! Thanks so much for popping back for a review 🙂 C.
Michele Burrell
August 3, 2022 at 8:44 pmThis man is amazing all of his good is delicious. Had these wedges tonight crispy on outside fluffy within .
Chris Collins
August 4, 2022 at 11:18 amThanks so much Michele 🙂
Crispy
July 31, 2022 at 11:31 amWow what a winner thanks. I did them last night as addition to BBQ and we both loved them.Well explained recipe and method.
Chris Collins
July 31, 2022 at 5:50 pmThanks so much for popping back for a review 🙂 C.
Cathy
July 10, 2022 at 3:30 amNice addition boiling potato wedges before baking. Potatoes were nice and fluffy.
Dipping wedges was too time consuming for me. I placed dipping sauce in a gallon ziploc, added wedges mixed them up, placed on baking sheet baked family loved them!
Chris Collins
July 10, 2022 at 7:47 pmGreat to hear they went down well, Cathy! Thanks so much for the review 🙂
Elaine
July 9, 2022 at 5:53 pmJust made these wedges and they were divine everything you said they would be.
Chris Collins
July 9, 2022 at 11:49 pmGreat to hear, Elaine! 🙂
Heather
January 24, 2022 at 9:54 pmLooks fantastic! I am write about to cook them…. I can’t find the temp to set the oven… It has to be somewhere?
Heather
Chris Collins
January 25, 2022 at 11:44 amHey Heather, at the end of step 4 you’ll see ‘preheat the oven to 200C/390F.’ 🙂
Stephanie
October 10, 2021 at 8:19 amHi! Is it possible to make these without the Parmesan?
Chris Collins
October 14, 2021 at 2:22 pmYou could, you’ll just lose out on flavour and crunch!
Magpie Girl
May 12, 2022 at 3:59 pmTry a dusting of polenta
The Crazy Scot
June 14, 2021 at 4:56 amI always thought knowing math was needed in cooking but I guess not. “I tend to use 4 medium potatoes, which will get 8 wedges from them each (24 in total)”. Care to try again?
Chris Collins
June 15, 2021 at 9:15 amGood spot!
Mama Pedey
December 10, 2021 at 5:57 pmYikes. No need to be rude. People make mistakes. Just kindly point it out and move on.
Just added these to the menu for this weekend. They look delicious!
Gloria
January 30, 2023 at 6:21 pmIt’s still 32
Lea
November 14, 2020 at 4:31 amcan this way of cooking the potatoes be done with sweet potatoes?
Chris Collins
November 14, 2020 at 11:24 amSweet potatoes are a little different, because they’re more densely packed with water parboiling them will turn them too soggy, even after steam drying. I’ve got an awesome Crispy Sweet Potato Wedges on my second blog though which you might like!
Caroline
July 30, 2020 at 11:23 pmThese were absolutely perfect. I had to stop myself from eating the whole pan. A bonus that I had all the ingredients at home already!
Chris Collins
July 31, 2020 at 10:59 amThat’s awesome to hear! Thanks for popping back for a review 🙂
Tiff’s Twisted Kitchen
June 18, 2020 at 6:10 pm1st off this is a “5 Star” recipe, but it would only allow me to rate 3, and even that was a struggle.
Wow ! These wedges were everything you promised! I’ve made potato wedges many times over the years; but have never found a recipe I was in love with. I used Russet Potatoes & parboiled for 4 minutes (while keeping my fork standing-by). I transferred the potatoes with a large spider scoop, when done to a colander (to avoid breakage). After cooling the potatoes for about 15mins. I mixed up with oil & seasoning, in a large bowl. I baked as directed, but I I initially forgot to add that beautiful Parmesan; so I added over the top after I flipped at 15 minute mark. My wedges had to sit for a while before serving, but they were still crisp, nicely seasoned, fluffy, slightly sweet, and had a perfect crispy Parmesan crust. Served with “TheCozyCook” Longhorn Steakhouse Parmesan Crusted Chicken. It was a Wow meal. Thank you
Chris Collins
June 18, 2020 at 8:13 pmThanks for flagging up the star issue! I’ll go ahead and change that to a 5 (woo hoo!). So happy to hear they went down well! Can imagine they went down a treat with the parmesan crusted chicken. Thanks so much for popping back and leaving a review 🙂
Laura
May 13, 2020 at 8:48 pmI was looking for a recipe that didn’t require me to soak potatoes because I wanted them now (lol). I ended up parboiling them a tad too long, but they were forgiving enough to still be super crispy. It’s the first time I’ve successfully made potato wedges so I’m psyched to add this recipe to my regular rotation when the craving strikes.
Chris Collins
May 13, 2020 at 9:07 pmWoo hoo! Glad they went down well Laura 🙂 Thanks so much for popping back and leaving a review! Chris.
Julia
February 28, 2020 at 1:30 pmDelicious recipe Chris, any dish which has potato in it is my favorite and potato wedges top the list. This time I had prepared them as per your recipe and they were delicious. They were crispy, enriched with flavors and healthy. Thanks for sharing. Keep sharing.
Hannah
December 3, 2019 at 4:36 pmCan you make these ahead of time before baking? Parboil, let sit, season then refrigerate until ready?
Chris Collins
December 3, 2019 at 9:43 pmHey Hannah! I couldn’t say for sure as I’ve never done this, but I imagine it’ll be fine. Whilst you might lose a tiny bit of fluffiness/crispiness, you could also make them fully, allow them to cool and freeze them until needed. Just give them a light spray of oil and pop back in the oven for half the time stated in the recipe 🙂
Janice. Morris
June 19, 2019 at 10:23 pmI don’ t have white potatoes. Can you do this with red potatoes?
Chris Collins
June 20, 2019 at 5:59 pmWhite potatoes such as Maris Pipers or Russets work best for this recipe. I haven’t used red potatoes before, but imagine it’ll work just fine 🙂
Kristin
February 21, 2023 at 12:53 amI made them with red potatoes and they were superb!
Amy
February 18, 2019 at 7:56 pmOven temp? Just a thought
Chris
February 18, 2019 at 7:59 pmHi Amy! It’s in the recipe card on step 4. Just incase you missed it – ‘Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine your Olive Oil, Paprika, Garlic Powder, Cayenne Pepper, Thyme, Salt and Black Pepper and preheat the oven to 200c/390f.’
Carren
May 29, 2018 at 7:56 pmPar-boil, seasoning, parmesan. Crackerjack!!
Chris
May 29, 2018 at 9:49 pmCrackerjack indeed!
Emma
April 8, 2018 at 10:05 amYour seasoning looks amazing!!! Totally agree that parboiling makes all the difference!
Chris
April 8, 2018 at 11:06 amSo glad you agree, I truly think it makes the difference!!
Jeanette
April 8, 2018 at 9:19 amLove it! Need to try this 🙂 Love crispy potatoes.
Chris
April 8, 2018 at 11:05 amCrispy potatoes for life!!
Emily
April 8, 2018 at 8:35 amOoh I love that you added parmesan to the seasoning, these look so delicious and crispy!
Chris
April 8, 2018 at 11:05 amThanks so much, parmesan is a game changer! 🙂
Rebecca
April 8, 2018 at 3:19 amYou can never go wrong with potato wedges!
Chris
April 8, 2018 at 11:05 amYou’re so right!!
linda spiker
April 7, 2018 at 11:19 pmThat crispy goodness is making me swoon! Yum!
Chris
April 8, 2018 at 11:04 amAll about the crispy goodness right!?