French Fries.
They are my fried food kryptonite. The perfect storm of H.A.S.C., if you will. (Hot, addicting, salty and crispy.)
I never rarely order them as my accompanying side in restaurants because I will eat the entire serving, no matter how big it is. I simply can’t control myself!
Any style goes, too. Sweet, regular, seasoned or thick cut – I’ll eat it all.
What about the times when you’re feeling needy and crave sweet, regular, seasoned AND thick cut fries, but don’t want to pay the price of downing a big ol’ pile of grease?
You make Baked Parmesan Garlic Fries!
These oven baked fries contain all the qualities of the ultimate deep fried french fry – crispy outside, creamy inside, salty, savory and crazy crunchy – but don’t come with eater’s remorse!
First, thick-cut sweet and russet potatoes are soaked in water to remove some of the starch, then patted dry. This step ensures crispy oven baked fries.
Next they’re seasoned to the max with parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder, then given a crunchy boost by tossing in panko bread crumbs. Then the whole mixture is tossed in a bit of extra virgin olive oil.
30 minutes at 450 degrees, flipping half way though reveals…
The Ultimate Baked French Fry!!!!
Hot? Check. Crispy? Check. Salty? Check. Garlicky, cheesy and satisfying to boot? CHECK!
Baked Parmesan Garlic Fries
Serves 2
Slightly adapted from Babble.com
Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
1 russet potato
salt & pepper
garlic powder
parmesan cheese
panko bread crumbs
extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
1. Slice potatoes into 1/4″ slices (the thinner you slice, the crispier they’ll be!) and soak in water for at least 1 hour, and up to 8 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Drain potatoes and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Add the slices to a large bowl and season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, parmesan cheese and panko bread crumbs. Drizzle in extra virgin olive oil, toss to coat the potato slices in all the seasonings and bread crumbs, then lay the potato slices in a single layer on a non-stick sprayed baking sheet.
3. Bake for 20-30 minutes, flipping halfway through, until potatoes are golden brown and cooked through.
These fries were so good that Ben and I found ourselves standing over a piping hot pan shoveling sizzling garlic fries into our burning mouths while wailing, Why? Why can’t we just wait ’til these cool off? and doing the hot food exhale.
You know, when you can’t wait another second to taste something straight out of the oven, so you shove it into your mouth and do the “ha ha haaaawt!” exhale, as if it will make the food in your mouth cooler? Then you immediately go back in for another bite??
You’ve been there!
Ben said these were the best oven-baked fries he’s ever had, and I couldn’t agree more. Although it was literally all I could do to not smother them in melted cheddar cheese and salty bacon.
That’s another blog post. 
~~~~~
The best french fry I ever ate was from ______.
The best french fry I ever ate was from Neighborhood in San Diego. Can you say sweet potato fries smothered in steak, cheese and gravy, served in a meatloaf pan?!?!?!?! Runner up is from Arby’s. Right.
the best french fry i ever ate was from richard blais’s (top chef) flip burger in atlanta, ga. absolutely mouthwatering. your version look just as fantastic, though
Um, want these NOW!
Those look freaking amazing!
The best French fries are from Django (downtown) in the form of poutine. Basically that means crispy fries smothered in beef, gravy and salty white cheddar. Omg, so amazing!!!
I’m going to make these like right now.
Cheese fries from The Vine in Iowa City. With their homemade ranch.
These look SO good….I’m drooling!
Mmm, I was just going to ask if you could use sweet potatoes for this. Amazing!
Yumm!! I can’t pick the best fry I ever ate, I feel like I’ve had so many good fries, and I love them all!
The best french fries I’ve ever eaten are from the Lincoln Cafe in Mt. Vernon, IA. OMG. They are triple-fried and AMAZING. Worth every calorie.
I love this recipe and your blog!!! Ummm…Five Guys makes som pretty delicious fries!
I think I may have to make these tomorrow night, as I just so happened to buy a potato and a sweet potato on the way home tonight, but had no plans for what to do with them. And how do you pick your favorite french fries when there have been sooooo many good ones? At the moment, I am infatuated with the fries (plus a side of garlic sauce) at Dawali Kitchen, which is here in Chicago. They are the perfect blend of creamy and crispy, and the salt/seasoning they put on them is nothing short of incredible.
The best fries I’ve ever eaten were from a small local restaurant, The Hills City Grill in Troy, MI. I don’t know what they do to them; they’re not seasoned, they’re not coated, it must be the type of oil they fry them in. Nice and crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. I don’t even need to add ketchup, they’re that good. Nothing worse than a soggy fry.
B-Bops in Ames! BEST EVER!
OH my goodness. My roommate and I are both drooling. This is embarrassing.
Best french fries are B-bops. Hands down.
Love french fries! I think my favorites – come from Runza!!
YUM!! you’ve had Runza – right?!?!
Oh, my! These potatoes look SO good! I am definitely going to have to try it!!!
My favorite fries are sweet potatoes from this restaurant not too far from me. They are perfectly crisp. I love them.
The best fries I’ve ever had have been from Thurman’s in Columbus. Thick & hand-cut. DELISH!
Sweet potato fries at “The Penguin” in Charlotte, NC. Guy Fieri went there w/ Diners, Drive-Ins and Drives and it truly was the most amazing little dive. Since leaving Charlotte I believe they changed ownership or something and they now have a place called “Pinkys” …
I love the idea of doing russet and sweet potatoes. I think my favorite fries are from five guys.
These look great!
Sweet potato fries from Ember’s with an amazing glaze. SO GOOD.
The best fries I ever had were on the boardwalk, in Ocean City, Maryland. So crispy and good.
I die. These look amazing.
The best fry I ever ate was a waffle fry from Granite City. OR a regular fry from Spangles. OR. Yeah. I just love fries…
*drool* I love that they’re round too, rather than sticks, more novel!
I’m a sucker for the fries at Cactus Bob’s. I just love those! They remind me of the fries my mom makes, and mom-made fries always win.
Silly quEstion but did u grate your own parmesan cheese or use pre bottled?
Pre-bottled!
The fries at Zombie Burger are super awesome!
I think I love Poutine more than regular fries but I love making my own “mojos” at home with Greek Yogurt dip!
I could easily eat these for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Truly, those fries look so darn good.
Being crispy is mandatory for my fries. I hate mushy fries… unless they got that way from being covered in cheese haha! These look pretty yum! I have fond fry memories from a place in Kutztown, PA called Spuds… they do fries smothered in all kinds of ridiculous things, like pulled pork!!!!
Wow do these look divine
Best fries I ever had was from a local fair near me! I probably need to branch out a bit more haha
You could easily change these up and soak them in vinegar, toss with some dill, garlic and salt. HOLY DELICIOUS!
I can’t believe you made those in the OVEN, that is awesome! Maybe I can finally use my mandolin!
waffle fries from scotty’s (an indiana college town chain). yummm!
oh my gosh these look so amazing!!
Natural fries that Whiskey River had when I worked there in college…the waffle fries were pretty BA too!
Um I am making these tonight! It seems I have found a fav fast food fry in just about every spot I have lived. I love runza fries (with a side of honey mustard.. ), the sweet potato fries from Burgerville, In & Out fries (animal style), and Chick Fil A’s waffle fries. I guess this explains why I need to lose weight. : )
These look so good! I love french fries, I’m a complete addict
Let’s see – the best fries I’ve had…Steuben’s in Denver has sweet potato fries that are amazing, and Comedy Works also has really good fries – both are made better by the coarse sea salt on top of them!
And, bc I’m such a fry addict – I forgot the fries at Fuddruckers! They’re more like potato wedges and you HAVE to eat them with honey mustard. Ketchup just won’t do.
These look wonderful! I never would have thought to soak them first – I can’t wait to give this a try!
Amazing! I’m trying these tonight!!!! My favorite fries were some homemade “chips” in La Cala, Spain at this litter English breakfast/lunch spot. they were thick but not too thick and seasoned to perfection with sea salt.
These look awesome~!
Canfield Fair
i made these yesterday. i burnt my mouth…but they were sooooo worth it! (and yes i did the whole breathe out shenanigans as well!)
Yuuum! Those look amazing. Good snack for a football Saturday!
Greetings from an Iowa girl living in CA!! I just had some Chili Lime Sweet Potato Fries at Karl Strauss in Carlsbad and they were amazing! They were served with a spicy ranch!
I’m making this recipe as I type!
Love your blog!
These look yummy! I love garlic and potatoes. This looks like my kind of appetizer.
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