Enjoy restaurant-quality potato wedges in the comfort of your own home! This simple recipe creates the most sought after combination in the world of fries: extra crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. Ready in under 20 minutes and no soaking required!
To me, potato wedges are the ultimate comfort food - warm, crispy, pillowy on the inside and seasoned to perfection. They make for the perfect hearty side dish to almost any entrée and can easily be enjoyed on their own as an appetizer or snack.
I recently set out to make potato wedges from scratch and quickly discovered that the air fryer works wonders! I had a hunch it would work given my success with these air fryer sweet potato fries and crispy air fryer hash browns, but had no idea just how mouth-watering these air-fried wedges would be.
Think of this recipe as the lazy way of making french fries without compromising at all on the results. Plus, the air fryer uses significantly less oil and takes less than half the time.
So forget about soaking, peeling and deep frying potatoes and savor the deliciousness of these perfectly seasoned, freshly-cut crispy potato wedges. This is how potatoes are meant to be enjoyed!
Why You'll Love these Air Fryer Potato Wedges
- Quick and easy: just 15-20 minutes from start to finish.
- Simple ingredients: just potatoes, a little olive oil and a few seasonings.
- Healthier: uses significantly less oil than deep frying.
- Addictive: first come, first serve!
- Kid-friendly
Ingredients
I'm willing to bet that you have all of these ingredients in your pantry already, so these potato wedges are an option whenever the mood strikes! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Yukon Gold potatoes: I give Yukon Gold the slight edge over russet potatoes, but both are great options and you really can't go wrong with either. Yukon Gold potatoes yield smaller wedges but have a more buttery texture and are not as dry in the center. Russet potatoes are the more classic choice and will yield bigger wedges. My kids loved this recipe with sweet potatoes as well!
- Extra virgin olive oil: The oil is what allows these wedges to crisp up. Just one tablespoon in the air fryer goes a long way! Avocado oil can be used instead if desired.
- Seasonings: fine salt, sweet paprika, garlic powder and black pepper. My kids love it when I add bit of maple sugar as well (optional).
How to Make these Air Fryer Potato Wedges
1. Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F. Preheating allows for more even cooking and reduces the overall cooking time. Prepare the potatoes while it preheats.
2. Prepare the potatoes. Wash and dry the potatoes. Cut each potato in half lengthwise, then in half lengthwise again to make quarters. Continue to cut these quarters lengthwise until you have 16 wedges total per potato. Results are best when the wedges are the same thickness and size.
3. Season the wedges. In a large bowl, toss the potato wedges with the oil and all seasonings except the salt.
4. Load up the basket. Once fully and evenly coated, transfer the wedges into the air fryer basket in one single layer. Cook in batches if you cannot fit all of the wedges at once without overlapping.
5. Air fry. Cook for 10-12 minutes, flipping each individual wedge onto the other side halfway through. Use tongs as the wedges will be hot!
6. Salt the wedges. Remove from the air fryer and sprinkle each side with salt. Salt naturally draws out moisture during cooking, so salting immediately after cooking ensures maximum crispiness.
7. Serve. Enjoy while hot with ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce such as vegan honey mustard or herbed tahini.
Recipe Tips for Crispy Potato Wedges
Dry the individual wedges. After cutting the potatoes into wedges, lay them across a towel (or paper towels) and then use another towel wipe off any excess starch. This is much more efficient (and effective!) than soaking potatoes in ice water, something that many recipes recommend.
Do not overcrowd the basket. I cannot overstate the importance of placing wedges in a single layer to get them nice and crispy. Overlapping will cause them to steam and make them soggy, which we definitely do not want! There are many different air fryers which come in various sizes, so if you have a smaller air fryer basket then make in two batches.
Slice the wedges evenly. Each wedge should be a similar size as thick wedges will take longer to cook than thinner ones, resulting in uneven cooking. Regardless of the size of the potato, aim for 16 wedges each.
Alternative Seasonings
Feel free to adjust the spice blend depending on your liking! This recipe gives the classic potato wedge taste (plus I love the color the paprika gives it) but any seasonings will work. Here are some variations:
- Italian seasoning: Whisk together ¾ teaspoon fine salt, ¾ teaspoon maple sugar, ¾ teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.
- BBQ seasoning: Whisk together 1 tablespoon maple sugar, 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder and 1 teaspoon fine salt.
- Taco seasoning: This seasoning mix is so good the recipe has its own home on the blog!
- Cajun seasoning: I don't have my own blend but love this spice mix from Frontier.
Sauces for Potato Wedges
My kids love these simply with ketchup, but I love taking them to the next level with these delicious sauces:
Serving Suggestions
Serve these crispy golden brown wedges as an easy side dish for your favorite entrées. Some of my favorites are:
Burgers: Try these grillable quinoa black bean veggie burgers or portobello mushroom burgers.
Cauliflower steaks: I love serving potato wedges with cauliflower steak Marbella or cauliflower steak with lemony mashed peas and mint.
Hearty salads: Potato wedges pair wonderfully with this spinach arugula salad or beet and kale salad.
Finger food meals: Serve alongside these sweet potato quinoa tots or vegan fajitas!
Storage and Reheating
Store leftover potato wedges in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. While they can certainly be reheated, they are at their best when fresh as they will lose some crispiness once refrigerated. Therefore, I do not recommend prepping ahead of time.
For best results when reheating, pop them back in the air fryer at 400 degrees F for 3-5 minutes.
Health Benefits of Potatoes
People often think of potatoes as unhealthy because of how they are typically prepared, usually soaked in oil and deep-fried or smothered with butter and sour cream. However, the vegetable itself is actually incredible underrated in terms of its nutrition!
Potatoes are a rich source of dietary fiber, vitamin C and potassium and also provide magnesium and vitamin B6. They are also fat-free, cholesterol-free and sodium-free.
These potato wedges do contain some fat due to the olive oil, but these are mostly monounsaturated fatty acids which help lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol (source).
More Potato Recipes
More Air Fryer Veggies
I love using the air fryer to quickly cook fresh vegetables while focusing on the main dish. Try any of these delicious air fryer recipes:
I hope you love this ridiculously quick recipe for crispy air fryer potato wedges! If you give it a try, please comment below or tag @eatingbyelaine as I always welcome your feedback!
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Crispy Air Fryer Potato Wedges
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Enjoy restaurant-quality potato wedges in the comfort of your own home! This simple recipe creates the most sought after combination in the world of fries: extra crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. Ready in under 20 minutes and no soaking required!
Ingredients
- 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (or russet potatoes)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon maple sugar (optional)
- 1 teaspoon fine salt (add after the wedges cook for crispier results)
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F. Preheating allows for more even cooking and reduces the overall cooking time. Prepare the potatoes while it preheats.
- Prepare the potatoes. Wash and dry the potatoes. Cut each potato in half lengthwise, then in half lengthwise again to make quarters. Continue to cut these quarters lengthwise until you have 16 wedges total per potato. Results are best when the wedges are the same thickness and size.
- Season the wedges. In a large bowl, toss the potato wedges with the oil and all seasonings except the salt.
- Load up the basket. Once fully and evenly coated, transfer the wedges into the air fryer basket in one single layer. Cook in batches if you cannot fit all of the wedges at once without overlapping.
- Air fry. Cook for 10-12 minutes, flipping each individual wedge onto the other side halfway through. Use tongs as the wedges will be hot!
- Salt the wedges. Remove from the air fryer and sprinkle each side with salt. Salt naturally draws out moisture during cooking, so salting immediately after cooking ensures maximum crispiness.
- Serve. Enjoy while hot with ketchup or your favorite dipping sauce such as vegan honey mustard or herbed tahini.
Notes
For the crispiest results: After cutting the potatoes into wedges, lay them across a towel (or paper towels) and then use another towel wipe off any excess starch. This is much more efficient (and effective!) than soaking potatoes in ice water, something that many recipes recommend.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 12
- Category: Side dishes
- Method: Air Fryer
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