How to Make Herb Roasted Potato Wedges (plus 5 great ways to serve them)

Today, we’re talking all about How to Make Herb Roasted Potato Wedges This is my ultimate method for building great flavor and super crispy texture in some healthy roasted potato wedges, and I think you guys are going to LOVE them. I’ve been tweaking and playing around with roasted potatoes since I was tall enough to see over the kitchen counter, and it really all boils down to the time, temperature and type of potatoes you use. Plus, salt. Always salt. Read on to learn How to Make Herb Roasted Potato Wedges.

What are the best potatoes for roasting?

Ah yes. When it comes to learning how to make herb roasted potato wedges, the type you choose to roast makes a definite difference. The goal? Just choose potatoes that aren’t too much of anything – not too waxy, not too starchy. Just middle-of-the-road potatoes are what we’re looking for here. Potatoes are usually described as either starchy or waxy, by the way. 

• Super starchy Russets are best for mashing.
• Waxy, thin-skinned Red Bliss are great for potato salad.

For oven-roasted potatoes, you want to opt for potatoes that fall somewhere in the middle, and that means Yukon Gold. ALWAYS YUKON GOLD. The thin skin helps the potatoes heat up quickly and very evenly (not to mention gets them fantastically crisp in the oven), and the middles get creamy and luscious. In a word, they’re perfect. 

For everything you’d ever want to know about potatoes, check out this guy – Dr. Potato. I really just love that this exists. I love Dr. Potato.

What to serve with these Herb Roasted Potato Wedges

These potatoes tend to play nicely with just about any main course. I love to serve them as a show-stealing side dish with everything, but here are some solid ideas for you:

Monterey Ranch Unfried Chicken

Lemon Butter Chicken with Herbs

Blackberry Balsamic Pork Tenderloin with Veggies

Cook-off Winning Chili (this is great served over potatoes)

Try them as part of a breakfast salad.

When it comes to potatoes, the more seasoning the merrier

There is nothing sadder to me (at least when dealing in cooking discussions) than poorly seasoned potatoes. Some produce types are really delicious right out of the ground, or off the tree/bush/etc. Tomatoes are like that, fruits in general are like that. Peas and green beans are like that. Potatoes are NOT AT ALL LIKE THAT.

A well-seasoned potato is basically my favorite food. But remove the seasoning – be it just salt or a whole boatload of spices – and my interest plummets to almost non-existence. You need to really get your potatoes nice and coated in oil and then don’t be shy when it comes to seasoning them.

But first things first. Before I throw the potatoes onto a super hot sheet pan, I actually par-cook them in boiling, salty water. This kickstarts the cooking process and really gets that salty, seasoned flavor right into the very middle of each and every potato wedge. It’s an extra step, yes, but absolutely worth doing.  

What is the best temperature for roasted potato wedges? 

It took me a long time to learn the truth behind this question, but the definitive answer is this: a hot potato is a happy potato – the higher the cook temp, the better off they’ll be. As such, I like to advise my fellow home cooks to roast any and all potatoes (no matter the variety) at 425° to get them gorgeously golden brown and perfectly crisp on their outsides (as promised in this recipe’s title). We also want to achieve a creamy, mellow interior to our little wedges, and this higher-than-average temp assures that will happen.  

A few more Tips and Tricks for How To Make Herb ROASTED POTATO WEDGES

1. Make sure the cut side is down on the pan, giving it the greatest chance to crisp and brown.
2. Start the potatoes on a pan that has already had the chance to heat up in the oven. Cooking the potatoes (and any other roasted veggie) on a preheated pan will really kick-start their crisping and browning process, right out of the gate. 
3. Avoid the urge to mess with the potatoes during the cook time. I mean, this won’t ruin them by any means, and in some of my potato cookery I do this. But to achieve truly browned and crunchy taters, they need to sit still as little spud statues throughout ALMOST the entirety of the cook time – about ¾ of the time. So, roast them for 20 to 25 minutes undisturbed, and then go ahead and toss/flip them and send them back in for the remaining time (should be about 10 minutes). 

How to Make Herb Roasted Potato Wedges

If you’ve got a craving for garlicky, herbaceous potatoes, rather than just simply salted, then you can add a little poultry seasoning and some garlic powder to the potatoes, just before they go onto the preheated sheet pan.

For applications like this, I’m very pro garlic powder, as opposed to fresh garlic. It gets the flavor on MUCH more of the potato surface area, and won’t burn on you at that very high cooking temp, as fresh garlic would be apt to do.

Poultry seasoning is simply a mix of some herbs and spices (sage, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg) and it really makes potatoes taste incredible. With the punch of some garlic powder, it really makes a great blend to use when you want to flavor some potatoes in a hurry.

That said you can also use fresh herbs, but again, I find that they can burn and scorch on you more easily than the dried herbs. So, roasting is a great time to employ those dried herbs and spices that you’ve got waiting in the wings.

RECIPE DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the top position. Place a large sheet pan in the oven to preheat.
2. Add the potatoes to a large pot and fill with water to cover. Add enough salt to the water to actually make it taste like the sea (like you do with pasta). Add the baking soda, and bring to a boil and allow the potatoes to boil for 6 to 8 minutes; until fork tender. Drain them (keep them in the pot) and drizzle with a very generous coating of olive oil, enough to coat all of them (around ¼ cup is usually great). 
3. Season well with about 1 tablespoon crunchy sea salt (see NOTE), the poultry seasoning, and garlic powder. Toss to mix well, allowing some of the potatoes’ insides to sneak out and get a little mushy (this translates to optimum crunch/texture in the end). 
4. Remove the hot sheet pan from the oven and carefully spread the seasoned, well-oiled potatoes out in a single layer on the pan. Roast for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown and tender. Flip the potatoes and return to the oven to finish roasting, about 5 to 10 minutes more until very golden brown all over. 

How do I store leftover roasted potatoes?

While roasted potatoes are usually best fresh out the oven, they can still be reheated into some seriously satisfying leftovers. You just have to keep a few simple things in mind. 

• As with most anything you’re going to refrigerate, allow the potatoes to completely cool down before you pop them in the fridge. If you put them in your airtight container while they’re still hot at all, they’ll most likely just steam in there, totally ruining your efforts to achieve the ultimate crispiness. 

How to reheat herb roasted potato wedges

I personally like to reheat my potatoes in a little bit of hot oil in a large skillet on the stovetop. You can absolutely throw them back on the sheet pan from whence they came and simply warm them in a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes. But I’m telling you – the stovetop method will yield the best cripiness in less time. It only takes about 5 minutes of warming/recrisping in a large skillet set over medium heat to get your pre-roasted potatoes back into tip-top crispety crunchety shape.

How to Make Herb Roasted Potato Wedges: What You’ll Need

The secret to learning how to make herb roasted potato wedges really is twofold. The method is massively important, but so are the ingredients we choose. From the type of potato to the variety of salt, there are small-but-mighty choices we can make that will ensure our herb roasted potato wedges come out better than all the rest.

INGREDIENTS

Yukon Gold potatoes: washed and cut lengthwise into wedges (not the baby variety)

Baking soda: This helps to alkalize the water, altering the potato’s chemistry and literally priming them to become the very best – the very crunchiest – versions of themselves.

Olive or vegetable oil: We’re looking for a neutral flavored (with the exception of olive oil) oil with a high smoke point. So, no fancy finishing oils here.

Flaky sea salt: The flakier the better. I like Maldon here.

Poultry seasoning: I love the way this blend lends so much herbaceous flavor to the potatoes, in just a single ingredient. You could swap Italian seasoning if you like. Or, Herbs de Provence would be great as well.

Garlic powder: I like to roast potatoes with garlic powder, as opposed to the fresh stuff. This is because it won’t burn on you like fresh chopped garlic would.

Black pepper: Lots of it, and freshly cracked. Always and forever!

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