These are perfectly crispy rosemary baked fries. Just a quick soak of 10 minutes leads to the best baked fry I’ve ever tasted.
The elusive perfectly crisp baked fry. I’ve been chasing it for years.
There was the slice into circles and spray both sides with cooking spray phase, the spend far too long cutting into matchsticks phase and most recently, giving up on the “fry” look altogether and just roasting in cube form phase.
They all had their downfalls for one reason or another and none really tasted like a legit fry with that perfect crisp exterior and soft inside.
I had pretty much all but given up on hopes of finding a simple recipe that didn’t require hours of soaking or a deep fryer. I’ll pan-fry, hence this portobello fry recipe, but I draw the line at deep frying – such a mess!
And then, I saw this post.
It’s like the clouds opened up and beams of sun came out.
10 minutes of soaking? I can handle that. Parchment paper, oil for tossing and a low rack in the oven? Simple!
I think I was one of the first comments on that post saying I was going to try it out.
And I did.
About 5 times over in the 10 days since it was published.
In my defense, I had 2 CSA bunches in that timeframe both with potatoes that came with the disclaimer “they’re from last year so once they see light, they’ll start to sprout”.
Using them immediately seemed like a better option than finding a dark, damp place for them to hide out in my house.
Despite the smoke alarm going off 3 out of the 5 times and Ginger hiding in the laundry room each and every time, these are hands down the most perfectly crisp baked fry I’ve ever tasted.
For a grilled option, check out these simply seasoned grilled potato wedges.
While the plain are pretty amazing themselves, I opted to spice things up a bit with some seasonings and fresh rosemary.
I know most people think of rosemary as a winter herb, but it’s growing like a weed in a pot on my front steps to point where it’s approaching the size of a small toddler.
Something had to be done.
There’s so many possibilities: parmesan truffle fries, rosemary and parmesan, scallions, masala spiced fries, even cheddar would be amazing.
I use it on my rosemary garlic parsnip fries and these crispy baked purple sweet potato fries too and it’s just as delicious on those as well!
Give me a week and I’ll probably have tried them all.
The only disappointing thing about these was running out of ketchup midway through and having to use salsa instead.
Not the same.
MORE FRIES LIKE THESE CRISPY ROSEMARY BAKED FRIES
Jicama Fries
Italian Spiced Eggplant Fries
Green Bean Fries
Lemon Dijon Asparagus Fries
Zucchini Fries
Perfectly Crispy Rosemary Baked Fries
Ingredients
- 3 small russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into “fry-like” slices
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oi, divided
- salt & pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon rosemary + more for garnish, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475°F degrees and adjust a rack to the second slot from the bottom.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil and a pinch of salt & pepper.
- In a medium bowl, cover potato slices with hot water and let soak for 10 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and pat dry.
- Toss potatoes with remaining tablespoon of olive oil, cayenne, smoked paprika, cumin and additional salt & pepper.
- Spread out into an even single layer on the baking sheet and cover with foil.
- Bake for 5 minutes and then remove foil.
- Bake for another 10 minutes then rotate the pan.
- Bake for another 5 minutes then remove pan from oven, flip each fry individually and bake for 5 more minutes.
- Remove from oven, sprinkle with more salt & pepper to taste and garnish with additional rosemary.
- Enjoy immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Soak the potatoes! Duh! These look so crispy for being baked! Love it!
I have never soaked it in water…this is new to me. Yours look so beautiful….baked fries are my fav:) Came here thru twitter….you have a great blog:)
Thanks, Nina!
Aren’t baked fries the best!? I like to sprinkle mine with herbs, especially if they’re fresh from the garden. I don’t know why people fry them when they’re so good baked!
I can handle 10 minutes of soaking – beautiful pictures, you have my mouth watering!
This is the kind of recipe that I’d set off the smoke detector with over and over. And my dog would go nuts! Totally worth it though.
Love the ‘enjoy immediately’ note at the bottom, which I’m pretty sure you said didn’t exactly happen. Although… I’m sure one or two made it straight from the oven to your mouth and you enjoyed the crispiness.
These look perfectly CRISPY and the photos are almost edible! Fantastic!
Yummy! These look delicious. I have a huge box of potatoes so I have plenty of opportunity to try them too.
I saw Kathryne’s post too and was so curious about the soaking method. I have been baking my fries and because they taste good anyways, I have given up on trying to make them crispy. But now that there’s two proofs that they can turn out crispy in the oven, I will have to give this a try. So glad to know that you’re enjoying your CSA. I should sign up for it… but am always afraid that I won’t ever get to use up everything.
There’s no problem using it up over here. I’m splitting a share with someone but they say it’s enough to feed 4 ppl and since we’re only 2 it technically should be enough. I end up needing at 50% more stuff though for the week. I think they underestimate the amount of fruits & veggies we eat!
Dear Hubby will love these!!! (Do you think the whole “soak” method would work for sweet potato fries as well?)
Not sure, but I plan on trying it out with sweet potatoes very soon!
Nice. Well, keep me posted :)