Perfect Oven Fries

It feels a little misleading to call these fries, because they aren’t fried. But wrap these puppies in paper and serve them up with ketchup, and no one will ever be the wiser. Plus, calling them “oven baked potatoes” sounds incredibly dull and doesn’t do justice to a baked french fry that is crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, and could pass as its traditional deep-fried cousin any day of the week.

I started making these on burger nights a few years ago for a few reasons – first, because I’m not a big fan of deep-frying. Second, there’s no arguing that baking isn’t far, far healthier than frying, and it always seemed odd to pair a veggie burger chock full of nutritional value with potatoes straight out of the oil vat. Keep in mind that I have also used the veggie burger argument to justify “real” fries (“well, the burger is so healthy it cancels out the fries!”) – isn’t it great how you can make that work either way? Regardless of whether you’re cutting calories or avoiding the mess of the fryer, these oven fries will definitely do the trick.

Perfect Oven Fries
 
Oven-baked French fries - all of the flavor, none of the grease.
Category: Sides
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs Russet potatoes
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tinfoil (if using foil, spray lightly with cooking spray).
  2. Scrub potatoes thoroughly and peel if desired (I leave the skins on). Cut each potato in half lengthwise, then slice into ½-inch strips. Combine potatoes, olive oil, paprika, parsley, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and toss until thoroughly combined. Pour into a single layer on the baking sheet.
  3. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip potatoes and bake for another 15 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through. If the potatoes brown too quickly, lower the oven temperature to 375 and increase cooking time by a few extra minutes. Serve hot with ketchup or other dipping sauce.

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15 Responses to Perfect Oven Fries

  1. I’ve been looking for a nice baked french fry recipe for the big sack of potatoes I bought… these look great!

  2. These look awesome! The timing of your post is serendipitous because I just bought a bunch of potatoes and was trying to figure out what to do with them..

  3. Aaaand, you were right… DELICIOUS! I just made 3 big potatoes worth (minus the cayenne pepper and paprika because I didn’t have any and substituting a big of extra seasoned salt) and they turned out great! Tonight: burgers and fries!

  4. Oven-baked fries are the best. Don’t get my wrong, I love fried foods but I just don’t like making them at home either. Something about boiling oil on my stovetop makes me very nervous.

    Can’t wait to give these a try!

  5. they turned out really good, a little burned though. I have a fan assisted oven so maybe I should have decreased the heat settings a little. Still really good though thanks for the recipe 🙂

    • Yep, convection ovens generally need to be reduced about 25 degrees – sorry they burned on you a bit, but glad they were still good!

      • I just cooked them again but this time with the reduced heat, they were absolutely delicious. Definitely my new go to recipe for oven chips.