Perfect Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
This is my go-to recipe for perfect crispy potato wedges baked in the oven – restaurant-style. They are crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. You’ll need only a few simple ingredients and they are ready in no time. Plus: They only need a small amount of oil.Spice substitutions:If you do not have some of the spices on hand, no worries. You can basically use any spices or spice-mix. No chili powder spice blend? Add a pinch of ground cumin or coriander, garlic powder, or use a taco/chili/Cajun seasoning instead. No smoked paprika? Chipotle chili powder works great as a substitute. No paprika? Simply use a little more of the other spices. You see where I’m going with this?
Yield: 2 -3 servings (or 4-5 sides)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (900 g - 1 kg) potatoes, preferably medium to small ones (see note below)
- 1.5 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or sunflower oil (I recommend oils with a high smoke point)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder spice blend (see note below)
- 1 teaspoon paprika (regular or sweet/Hungarian)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- Optional: fleur de sel (flaky sea salt) for sprinkling the baked wedges
Instructions
- Thoroughly scrub the potatoes. No need to pat them dry. Cut the potatoes into even-sized wedges lengthwise – depending on the size of the potatoes, between 4 and 8 wedges. It’s crucial that all have about the same size, otherwise they will bake uneven.
- In a large bowl, add oil and all the spices except salt. Whisk with a fork until well combined. Add potato wedges to the bowl and toss well to coat.
- Line a large baking sheet (or two smaller ones) with parchment paper and evenly spread out the wedges. I use 2 sheets with 14x11 inch, 28x36 cm – it’s important for perfect crispy potato wedges that the baking sheet is not crowded. Make sure to place the wedges cut side down on the sheet, the tips shouldn’t point up, or they might burn.
- Sprinkle the potato wedges with fine salt.
- Bake potato wedges in a 390 °F (200 °C) preheated convection oven. If using an oven with top and bottom heating elements, use 425 °F (220 °C). Bake for 15 minutes, then take the sheets out and flip the wedges. Now it doesn’t really matter if some tips are pointing up. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the potato wedges are crispy and golden and baked through, depending on their size. Ovens are different so this might take a few minutes longer/shorter.
- Serve immediately when hot or they’ll lose their crispiness. Sprinkle with additional fine salt or flaky salt, if desired.
- I love them with homemade ketchup or a quick BBQ sauce, and a good movie. Enjoy!
- If you have leftovers: They taste great as an addition to salads (try this potato wedges salad). Also: They freeze well.
Notes
Potatoes:
For potato wedges I recommend using waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold. A lot of people are using starchy Russets for wedges though, so it definitely works if you only have those on hand. I always use organic potatoes since I don’t peel them.
Chili powder:
Chili powder spice blend refers to a blend of spices like ground chili peppers, garlic, cumin, and oregano. In supermarkets, they are often sold as 'chili powder' – so make sure not to end up with pure ground chilies. However, even that would probably work, at the cost of extra fierceness. You can certainly substitute some kind of Cajun/taco/chili seasoning or rub too. They usually taste pretty similar.