Ultra Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
Everyone loves these ultra crispy baked potato wedges! This recipe is easy and turns out perfectly every time. Make these potato wedges whenever the French fry craving strikes!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
Let’s make homemade crispy potato wedges. Yessss. These potato wedges are impossibly crispy and crackly on the outside, with tender, pillowy potato insides. They’re the perfect homemade solution any time the French fry craving strikes.
These wedges are generously seasoned with pepper, garlic powder and onion powder before baking, which makes them mysteriously and utterly irresistible.
Since these potato wedges are baked in heart-healthy olive oil, rather than deep-fried in canola oil, they are far more redeeming than your average French fries. They’re as healthy as fries can be, basically.
Here’s the secret to making ultra crispy potato wedges: Soak your raw potato wedges in hot water for 10 minutes before baking. This step releases some of the starch in the potatoes and lets them absorb moisture, which leads to crisp outsides and moist interiors.
In fact, with this method, the outsides almost seem to have a double layer of crispness. It’s magical. Granted, you could skip the soaking step if you’re in a hurry, but your potato wedges will be about 80 percent as awesome. (I’ve tried.) We owe a thank you to the geniuses at America’s Test Kitchen for this little trick.
Tips to Make the Best Potato Wedges
Start with quality Russet potatoes, preferably organic since they’re on the dirty dozen list for produce highest in pesticide residue. Look for smooth, firm potatoes. You’ll need about four medium potatoes.
Slice the potatoes into even wedges so they bake evenly. You’ll find instructions below. The last cuts are the most important, when you’re slicing the quartered potatoes into wedges.
Soak the potatoes for 10 minutes. I’ve used hot tap water, but readers warned that pipes leach impurities into hot water, so you maybe better off using water warmed on the stove, or in your tea pot. (Warm it just until it’s hot to the touch, not boiling.)
Season generously with garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper. Garlic and onion powder are magical with potatoes, offering a more complex but subtle flavor. I’ve used them in my recipes for mashed potatoes, roasted breakfast potatoes and hash browns.
Arrange the potatoes evenly across the pan, so each wedge has a flat side against the pan. You’ll need a legit half-sheet pan (affiliate link) to make them all fit. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to divide them across two pans.
Flip halfway through baking. This is a little tedious, but essential to achieving evenly golden, crispy edges all over. You should be able to flip a few wedges at once with a spatula, then scoot them around a bit so they’re in an even layer again.
Don’t pull them out of the oven too early. They should be deeply golden. Crispy potato wedges or bust!
Sprinkle with parsley for bonus points in the looks department. And don’t forget the ketchup. Or mayonnaise, mustard, cheese sauce, whichever strikes your fancy.
Watch How to Make Potato Wedges
Potato Wedge Serving Suggestions
Potato wedges are a great snack on their own, with ketchup, mayonnaise or aioli. Or, serve them as a side with:
- Burgers: Try these sweet potato and black bean veggie burgers.
- Chili: My go-to vegetarian chili or butternut chipotle chili.
- Falafel: Serve crispy homemade falafel on sandwiches or salads. Just be sure to soak your chickpeas for 4 to 24 hours in advance.
- Grilled cheese sandwiches: My go-to grilled cheese, or balsamic roasted veggie-stuffed grilled cheese.
- Mac and cheese: Classic stovetop mac and cheese or creamy vegan mac and cheese.
More Potato Recipes to Make
If you love this recipe, you definitely don’t want to miss my crispy baked sweet potato fries. Here are more irresistible potato recipes to try:
- Best Baked Potato
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Delicious Crispy Hash Browns
- Perfect Roasted Potatoes
- Roasted Breakfast Potatoes
Please let me know how these potato wedges turn out for you! I always work so hard on my recipes and I’m so eager to hear how they turn out for you. If you get a chance, share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #cookieandkate!
Ultra Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
Everyone loves these ultra crispy baked potato wedges! This recipe is easy and turns out perfectly every time. Make these potato wedges whenever the French fry craving strikes! Recipe yields 6 servings.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Russet potatoes (6 smallish or 4 medium), scrubbed clean (I didn’t peel mine)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.
- Cut each potato in half lengthways, then in half lengthways again to make quarters, and then cut each half in half lengthways on the diagonal to make two wedges (you’ll end up with 8 wedges per potato; make sure they are about the same thickness and size).
- Place the sliced potatoes into a large bowl and cover them with hot water (I used hot water from the tap, but others have suggested that pipes can leach impurities into hot water, so it may be best to use cool tap water that has been heated on the stove). Let them soak for 10 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and lightly pat them dry with a lint-free tea towel. Place the potato wedges on the prepared pan and drizzle them with the olive oil. Sprinkle the garlic powder, onion powder, salt and a generous amount of pepper on top.
- Toss until the potatoes are evenly coated in oil and spices, then arrange them in even columns across the pan so each wedge has a cut side against the pan. (If they don’t all fit in an even layer across your pan, you’ll need to use two pans for this recipe—divide them evenly across both pans, and rotate the pans when you flip the potatoes halfway through baking. They may be done baking earlier than specified below so keep an eye on them toward the end.)
- Bake for 30 minutes, then flip the wedges over (use a spatula and you should be able to flip several at a time). Arrange them in an even layer and return the pan to the oven.
- Bake until the wedges are deeply golden, crisp and easily pierced through by a fork, about 25 to 30 more minutes (the fries near the outside of my pan were done at 25, so I removed them and put the pan back in the oven for 5 more minutes to finish off the rest).
- Sprinkle with parsley, if desired, and serve while hot.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my crispy baked French fries.
Change it up: These potato wedges make great cheese fries, too. Once they’re done baking, sprinkle generously with shredded cheddar cheese. Return them to the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until golden and bubbly on top. I like to sprinkle them with thinly sliced green onion before serving.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Good blog post. I definitely love this website. Keep writing!
Thank you!
These are perfection! In Australia we eat potato wedges dipped in sour cream and sweet chili sauce. If you’ve never tried it I highly recommend it, it’s like a national staple! Also, some smoked paprika added with the other spices is a must! I’ve tried so many wedges recipes but this is definitely the best. Soaking the wedges first is a game changer! I boil water in my kettle and then mix it with a bit of cold water to get the perfect temp, because as you mentioned in the post using hot water from the tap is a bit icky.
Sounds delicious, Gianna! Thanks for sharing.
These are great! Thank you for a great recipe. A note on salting the potatoes: I used two smaller pans and added salt only at the end to one pan to promote crisping. That tray was indeed crispier, but the interior texture of the potatoes that were salted earlier was exceptional. My tasters could tell the difference but did not have a clear preference and thought the difference seemed like it was due to different brands of russet potatoes.
Thanks for sharing, Dawn!
Superb recipe! Placing wedges in water made all the difference! Used these wedges for poutine using a Demi glacé as the sauce. It was awesome. Thanks so much!
Thanks for your review, Jeff!
I made these for dinner tonight. It was a fun, easy one to make with my 13 year old daughter. Even my picky husband loved them and asked me to make them more often! Thanks for sharing!
That’s fun! Making this with your daughter. Thanks for sharing, Lea.
Kate,
Can this recipe use Yukon Golds? Or does Russett taste better for this? Please advise! And thank you!
Hi Karen, you could try Yukon Golds (they are more starchy) but I believe Russets will produce the best results.
The family was having a serious craving for poutine, but I really wasn’t in the mood for deep frying a huge batch of fries. I am a fan of potato wedges, so found this recipe.
I did use non-stick aluminum foil and oiled and seasoned the wedges in a gallon zip-lock bag before arranging on the sheet. My stove unfortunately gets a bit psychotic at 400 degrees, so extended the bake time and did them at 380 and kept a close eye on them.
What can I say? Simply lovely! The seasoned wedges added another layer of flavor and complexity to an admittedly comfort food dish, but since the potatoes are the base of the poutine covered with that glorious gravy and cheese curds, hard to go wrong! This is definitely the way I will make the dish from now on.
Great to hear, Glory! Thanks so much for your review.
These are amazing! I told all my friends about the soaking in water trick.
I made them twice, first following the instructions, and they were great. The second time I cut them into narrower slices, thinking they’d be crispier… but those ones weren’t as satisfying.
Thanks for another great recipe!
Soaking works! Thanks for your comment, Natalie.
Would this work with red potatoes?
Russet really works best here, Miranda. :)
I go a step farther and boil the potato wedges for about 5-8min, this helps release more starch and ensures that they are light and fluffy in the middle. After boiled I spread them on a kitchen towel and pat them dry. Then proceed with seasoning.
Thanks for sharing your version, Greg!
These wedges are so good and that tip about soaking them made them really crispy. I tossed them in a bowl before cooking and I used the leftover oil mix in a salad. I’ll never make wedges any other way from now on!
WOW! I tried these last night. I baked them at 375 because I don’t like to use 400. (I didn’t have to leave them in the oven any longer) Put some finely grated cheese on them and baked for 5min more and topped them with chopped green onion. They were fantastic with our chili
Thanks SO much for an awesome recipe!
Thank you for sharing, Margaret!
Im trying these tonight with copycat kfc chicken…I’ll let you know how they turn out. Chicken is soaking in the buttermilk right now, wedges are soaking in the water. Do you recommend convection bake or just regular?
I did this regular.
Fabulous!
Thank you!
I have made this recipe twice this week and they are delicious!! The first time, added crumbled bacon, melted cheese to make a “healthier” version of potato skins. My 19 year old son was very happy!! Tonight we made them as the chips in fish ‘n chips! Thank you…easy and delicious! I’ll post a photo on Instagram (dajanis) cheers! :)
That is a great idea, Janis! Thanks so much for your review.
I’ll need a little practice but first try were delicious.
Thanks for sharing, Ernie!
Is there a nutrition label for this recipe?
Hi Samantha! It’s below the notes section of the recipe. You need to click to expand and make sure you enable your cookies as it is a plug-in. I hope this helps!
Wow, kids loved them , I paired them with some apple juice boxes and cheese stringers. Best ever.
Great snack for the kids! Thank you for sharing, Jason.
Made these last week and they were amazing! So crispy and love the hint of onion and garlic. Could I do sweet potatoes the same way?
I should add that I’ve seen your sweet potato fries recipe but I was hoping to make wedges over fries
I have a crispy sweet potato recipe! You’re in luck. Check it out here: https://capital-fly.pro/2018/baked-sweet-potato-fries/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Has anyone used hot tap water even tho it says not to? So excited to make these!
I used hot water from the tap. I think it depends on your water source.
I don’t usually do this but I’m hopping on to the comments because these wedges are AmaZiNg!! Seriously easy, a crowd pleaser for our family, yummmmmy!! Thanks for the recipe idea!
ps I have also tried spicing the wedges with a pouch of onion soup mix and the same ratio of oil you recommend. Perfection. Especially the little toasted onion bits that crust the wedges….mmmmmm
And we like to dip ours in a Thai sweet chilli sauce.
Thanks again!
I’m happy you loved them! Thanks for sharing how you served them.
Made these to go with fish on Good Friday. They were amazing.
Happy to hear that, Denise!
can i use normal vegetable oil instead of Olive oil?
I don’t prefer vegetable, but it would likely work. The nutritional value will change if doing so.
I made these to go with a london broil that I made for mothers day dinner for my wife. They were fantastic. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome! Thank you, Jim.
Followed it to a “T”. Very good fries and fairly quick (compared to home beer battered fries) to make, easy clean up. I’ve come back to this recipe probably 6 times now.
The last time I made them into garlic fries, I added 4-6 cloves of fresh minced garlic a handful of grated fresh Parmesan and some chopped fresh parsley
Thanks for sharing, Tarah!
Very Good! I put Old Bay Seasoning on as well. A big hit with my kids. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Kim!
Recipe was perfect . I subbed Avocado oil and went perfect ! Thank you
You’re welcome, Monika!
Hi Kate! I love all of your recipes. I’m wondering – do you have a good ketchup recipe?
Hi Abby, I don’t have a ketchup recipe, sorry!
These are my new favorite fries! Thanks for all of your hard work.
You’re welcome, Meg!
I’m using your recipe, and my crinkle cutter tonight. Sounds delicious with seared scallops and slaw.
Thank you for sharing, Robin!
Baked per instructions. Excsopt use a crinkle slicer. Delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Robin!
I made the for the 4th. They were yummy and easy to make. Thanks.
You’re welcome, Rhonda!
Making them as we speak. They are in the soaking processes right now! Will update when dinner is over!
What did you think, Angela?
Made these tonight to go with some fish. Maybe a bit long on the baking time though, but still came out ok for the first try.
I’m sorry you didn’t love them! Thank you for your feedback.
Kate, I will never do my fries any other way again. I have done them in the oven for years but the extra step of soaking in hot water made these so-o-o great..
Next time I will try them with your cheater’s aioli.
That’s what I love to hear! Thank you for sharing, Nancy. I appreciate your review.
Made them on holiday but used paprika instead, as had limited spices in our property. Yummy. I will always use the hot water trick in future as that made them so more crispy than usual. Thanks!
You’re welcome! Thank you for your review.
second time I am making these, first time was a hit! Very simple and tasty, and my son (a french fry critic) gave ’em a big thumbs up! No leftovers is the big test, and there were none the first time…anticipating an encore performance. Serving them with some grilled chorizo tonight, your wedges instead of patatas bravas…
thanks!
alan
Yes! It works great. Finally, my wedge fries didn’t taste gummy and under cooked.
Yes, these were very good.
Your “secret tip” of the water soak (which I do for my shredded hash browns) proved a great idea and had me kicking myself for not trying that years ago. I could tell by the turning over point after 30 minutes in the oven that the wedges were already forming a nice surface crust.
And, like your experience, they needed just a little more time in the oven. We were making these to accompany our home made Friday Night Pizza so the oven was already populated with our pizza at 500 degrees, way too hot for root veggie wedges. So we were using our Oster toaster oven. Your wedges turned out perfect with simply killing the heat and leaving them in the closed toaster oven.
Dipping them in Heinz Ketchup was the perfect side dish for our Friday Pizza and Movie Night.
Thank you, thank you. We truly enjoyed your wedges and will do that again soon. And like ELIZABETH’s comment suggested here, we too like to “mess with” your recipe by adding smoked paprika.
Helper tip: I would change the process to toss in the bowl instead of the rimmed cookie sheet. Or did I miss something?
Thanks so much for sharing, Stu! You can toss how you see fit if you like!
Hi Kate! I really BUTCHERED the recipe, it took me not 1 but 2 hours, I used aluminium baking foil (I think that’s me following wrong? what do you put below the potatoes when cooking?) and when I tried to flip potatoes, they failed to flip and were already stuck to the aluminum foil. :( Plus, I think I overshot olive oil and a lot of potatoes came out nastily oiled. Basically for me they came out 1.5/5 stars vs 3.5/5 result which is baseline I get when I bake potato wedges w/o anything (simply cut them up, no nothing, bake, never flip).
I trust your recipe can be better than bare potatoes so I need to know 1)what do you put below them when cooking? 2)how much olive oil, exactly, if I bake 1kg of potatoes? 3)how do you spread / pour the olive oil? On potatoes or below them? 4)Do I flip them exactly at 1/2 overall baking time spent or faster / later?
Thank you! :)
Oh no! Yes, aluminum foil can change it, for sure. You want to use parchment paper on a baking sheet. You only want 3 tbs per 2 pounds of potatoes. Yes, flip them halfway through. But, if you feel like your oven cooks hot, try to shorten the time of cooking some.
I’m looking for a healthy potato option to serve for my grandkids this Sunday. These look yummy!
I just found your website about a week ago when I was looking for gluten-free vegetarian recipes for family dinner- usually a difficult quest that makes meal planning take hours and feel exhausting. Meal planning this week has been a breeze thanks to you! I have used one of your recipes six nights in a row now and I am just over the moon with how easy they have been to find and follow. You have made it really easy to get nutritionally balanced, varied, interesting, delicious, filling meals that aren’t complicated or stressful to make, and don’t require outrageous ingredient hunting.
We’re having friends over tonight and I am planning to make your spicy sweet potato and black bean burgers! I realized this morning that I hadn’t planned any side recipes, so I hopped online to find a good potato wedges recipe. I read through this one, (my first Google search result) went to book mark it, and *then* realized it was yours! I actually said out loud “Of COURSE it’s Cookie and Kate!”
I just wanted to share with you my extreme gratitude for the fun and ease you’ve brought to my kitchen this week. I can’t wait to snag a copy of your cookbook!
Thank you for your comment! I’m happy you have been enjoying the blog so much.
My husband has been after me for years to make roasted potatoes – but the times that I tried, they never came out good. Well, I made these this past Sunday – and WOW!! They are out of this world. I will definitely be making these again.
I’m happy these were a hit, Vicki!
Thanks for great recipe. You got me back on the homemade fry train and my grandson is loving it.
You’re welcome, Deb!
Great the first time. Second time I went rogue and coated them with a mix of flour, cornflour, Cajun seasoning and extra smoked paprika… they came out spicy and [slightly more] delicious.
Thank you for sharing!
Made these for dinner. DELICIOUS! I chopped up some leftovers for breakfast ! Yum. Hubby loved them .
Wonderful, Sue!
Delicious! I mixed up the oil and spice in the baking sheet and then added the wedges to ensure better coverage. Will be making them again soon!
These are the best! This is my go-to recipe for French fries! So good.
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing, Ally.
I found using a cast iron pan helps with the crispy-nessedness. These are outstanding! I like sprinkling with Parmesan prior to baking.
So in the pictures of the potatoes cut up on the sheet pan it looks like you pour oil on the raw potatoes but this is not mentioned in the recipe. Is the oil to be used like one would do with roasted veggies?
Hi Dennie! See step 4 :) I hope this helps!