Accompany those summer burgers with these crispy and healthier Oven Baked Parmesan Fries. You won’t believe the crunch!
ME BEFORE THE RECIPE…
Well I hope everyone’s Easter was as happy and hoppy as ours was. It couldn’t have been a better weekend with friends and family and food. Can I just say how much I love the fact that virtually every holiday involves delicious eats and treats?! Seriously, my favorite.
So our weekend started out pretty crazy busy, like any typical weekend in our household does. Braelyn had dance classes to attend, I had errands to run, and my main squeeze held down the fort and tackled most of the chores around the house.
To be honest, sometimes I save “errands” for Saturdays because there is nothing like returning home to a tidy house dressed with fresh linens. Haha! Thanks babe. But really, someone has to be the one to take Braelyn to dance, and I gotta take advantage when I’m out and about, right???
After errands, I frantically dolled up Braelyn for a dance performance and then packed the kids and myself for an Easter weekend getaway at my brother’s. Talk about running another marathon!
First of all, Braelyn smashed her dance performance with killer moves and ultimate sass. She kept asking us afterwards, “Did you see my moves?! I crushed it out there!” Haha! That kid is not lacking in confidence.
And second of all, as tired as we were from a whirlwind weekend vacation, we loved every minute of family time and soaked up all the springtime sunshine with family in Tucson. Where else can you go swimming for Easter than in Arizona?!
By far, the most exciting part of the weekend was attending the Pima County Fair. It was like most typical fairs where you close your eyes, hand your credit card over to purchase tickets, and then get charged an obscene amount of money to ride some extremely sketchy rides. But hey, you only live once!
Next to the rickety rides, the most nostalgic part of county fairs is the food: cotton candy, shave ice, turkey legs, hot dogs, you name it. And let’s not forget fried EVERYTHING. No literally, they fry everything at a fair: Twinkies, Oreos, Snickers bars, cheesecake, you name it. And I’m sure it all tastes delicious!
HERE COMES THE RECIPE…
Although we didn’t treat ourselves to any of the fried food, seeing as how none of it was gluten free, it did get me craving some french fries…and apparently Braelyn too because she requested these Oven Baked Parmesan Fries the very next night for dinner. I think subconsciously she was trying to fill the void of missing out on all the fried fair food.
But here’s the extra good news: these oven baked parmesan fried as just as nutritious as they are delicious! Yep, no deep fried guilt looming over a batch of these babies.
Now I know the myth of fries not getting crispy in the oven. In fact, I believed that myth for years after having numerous batches of oven baked fries come out limp and soggy. But no more! These fries come out piping hot and crispy with an extra crunchy layer of parmesan cheese. They’re perfect.
There are a few pro tricks to getting extra crispy fries that will satisfy your deep fried cravings:
- Pat your potatoes completely dry. In fact, leave them in between layers of paper towels for a good 30 minutes before baking to draw out excess moisture.
- Give them a good drizzle of olive oil. The oil is what gives them that extra crunch. If you skimp on the oil, the fries will get more of a dried out kind of crispy in a way that breaks your teeth.
- Season right before baking. If you season your fries and let them sit around, they will become wet again. Remember, salt draws out moisture.
- Bake at a high heat. The hotter the oven temp, the crispier the fries will be.
- Cook close to the heat. You want that pan close to the coils to reinforce browning and crisping. If you have a double oven, I recommend using both ovens so you can bake both pans of fries close to the heat source the whole way through instead of rotating.
- Give those fries a good toss about 2/3 way through cooking to encourage even cooking. You don’t want one side of the fry crispy and the other side soggy. That’s not fair!
These oven baked parmesan fries are such a hit with kids that we actually made these during my spring break kids cooking club. The kids loved them and never made any kind of comments suggesting these weren’t as good as “regular fries”. They were a success indeed!
Now you know that a fry just isn’t a fry without some dip. But that’s where I put you in charge. Whip up some lemon garlic aioli, creamy barbecue sauce, or plain old ketchup. Whatever floats your boat. These fries are tasty dipped in nearly anything…even a chocolate milkshake. I know you’ve all tried the fries and shake combo. Don’t lie.
Now it’s time to bust out those grills for summer burgers. And with those char-grilled patties, throw some oven baked parmesan fries on the side. You won’t regret it.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY…
- Homemade Ketchup
- Creamy Cucumber Avocado Dill Dip
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Gluten Free Cilantro Ginger Turkey Burgers
- Honey Mustard Sauce
Oven Baked Parmesan Fries
Ingredients
- 2 pounds russet potatoes 4-5 potatoes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- Arrange baking racks in top and bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. If you have a double oven, bake pans separately in top third of ovens. They will crisp better if baked on top the entire cooking time.
- Cut potatoes into ¼ inch sticks. Pat potatoes completely dry with paper towels. If time permits, allow to sit in paper towels for 30 minutes to reduce moisture.
- Place cut potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder until evenly coated. Keep any leftover oil in mixing bowl.
- Arrange potatoes in a single layer on baking sheets. Bake for 25 minutes, switching pans halfway through.
- Remove fries from oven and dump into mixing bowl. Toss with parmesan cheese and parsley.
- Return fries to oven and bake about 10 mins more until cheese is melted and fries are crispy, turning on the broiler for the last 5 minutes and rotating the pans again.
- Remove from oven and season with a bit more salt. Serve with desired dipping sauce.
