COOK: Cajun Crispy Potato Wedges (Easy Oven Fries)
- Cajun Crispy Potato Wedge Recipe Ingredients
- Equipment Needed for Oven Fried Potato Wedges
- How to Make Cajun Crispy Oven Fries
- Storage & Serving Ideas for Easy Cajun Potato Wedges
Now this is classic comfort food- perfectly seasoned, Cajun crispy potato wedges are so easy to make from scratch, and a lot cheaper than buying bagged pre-cut fries or getting take-out.
They’re made with seven simple pantry ingredients and go from pantry to plate in less than 45 minutes… most of that is hands-off time that you can spend doing other things, like making a fresh dipping sauce, cooking up some burgers, or just catching up on your favorite show.
It only takes a few minutes to prepare these easy homemade oven fries, and then one quick flip during their trip to the oven. You can even skip that step, but you’ll get the crispiest fries and most even browning in a regular oven if you take a minute or two to do the flip. Or, pop the seasoned potato wedges in your air-fryer and just give them a shake halfway through!
Cajun Crispy Potato Wedge Recipe Ingredients
Potatoes:
Russet potatoes, scrubbed, trimmed, and cut into 1/8th’s. You need to use russet, or another variety of starchy baking potato (not waxy red-skinned or golden potatoes) to get the best browning and texture on your crispy potato wedges.
Oil:
Extra virgin olive oil will give you a great flavor, but any good quality olive oil will do. You don’t need to use your best quality cold-pressed salad oil here, but avoid the low-grade chemically-extracted pomace oils. Peanut oil or avocado oil are also good substitutes.
Seasoning:
Five easy pantry ingredients- Cajun seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper. We usually use Tony Chacheres Creole Seasoning (“Tony C’s” in our household parlance), though you can substitute a homemade Cajun seasoning blend or your favorite brand. Be aware of the salt content in the Cajun seasoning, and adjust the salt quantity accordingly if you increase or decrease the spice level!
Optional, for Extra Crispy Potatoes:
If you want an extra crispy coating on your seasoned potato wedges, try adding a tablespoon or two of cornstarch or arrowroot, or a few tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese to your dry seasoning mix. This extra starch will help give you a browned, crispy coating on your fries while they’re still soft and creamy inside.
Equipment Needed for Oven Fried Potato Wedges
sheet pan:
A flat baking sheet. I use an uncoated half-sheet pan, but you could also use a cookie sheet. Avoid air-bake insulated cookie sheets as you *want* your potato wedges to brown on the bottoms.
How to Make Cajun Crispy Oven Fries
step one:
- Scrub your potatoes, and remove or trim any eyes, green parts, or bad spots.
- Cut the potatoes in half along the longer side, then cut each half in half again into quarters and then again into eighths with diagonal cuts (see photo).
- Preheat your oven to 400 F.
step two:
- Place the cut potato wedges in a mixing bowl and add the dry seasonings.
- If you like, you can mix those together first in a small bowl to make it easier to get even coverage of all the seasonings.
step three:
- Toss the potato wedges well to coat with the seasoning mix.
step four:
- Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes and toss well to combine and coat the slices evenly.
- You can use your clean hands or tongs for this.
step five:
- Spread your seasoned potato wedges out on a sheet pan, arranging them evenly in a single layer.
- Don’t crowd the pan- this is key to getting crispy potato wedges instead of soggy steamed ones!
step six:
- Bake for 15 minutes in a 400 F oven.
step seven:
- Remove the pan and flip the potatoes using a thin metal spatula. This helps the potatoes brown and crisp evenly on all sides without burning or drying out.
step eight:
- Return to the oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the potato wedges are crispy, golden brown, and beginning to puff.
Storage & Serving Ideas for Easy Cajun Potato Wedges
Your freshly baked Cajun potato wedgies will be at their best served hot from the oven. You can refrigerate and reheat any leftovers. You can microwave leftovers, but they will be soggy. For best results, reheat these in an air fryer or a medium-hot oven until they are warmed through (about 10 minutes in the oven).
These are a fantastic side dish for grilled or pan-seared burgers or steak, patty-melts, reubens, or other sandwiches. Try them at brunch instead of hash browns or home-fries, with steak and eggs or omelettes. Or just enjoy them on their own for a snack or light lunch with some homemade ranch, aioli, or a flavored mustard, like this cranberry mustard.
Cajun Crispy Potato Wedges (Easy Oven Fries)
Ingredients
- 4 medium russet potatoes (or 3 large)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cajun seasoning (Tony C's or homemade blend)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 ℉.
- Wash, trim and slice the potatoes into 8 wedges each (cut in half, then quarters, then split the quarters).
- Mix the dry seasonings, and toss them together in a mixing bowl or large ziploc bag with the cut potato wedges.
- Drizzle the oil over and toss again until the potatoes are evenly coated.
- Spread them on a half sheet pan, leaving space between the wedges.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and flip the slices.
- Bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are puffed and evenly golden brown. Serve hot.