Crispy Cottage Fries (Easy Oven Baked Recipe)

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Are Cottage Fries in your dinner side rotation yet? They should be! Cottage fried potatoes take about 30 minutes in the oven and are so worth the wait! Seasoned with smoky paprika and dried thyme, these yummy potato disks have all of the classic, homemade flavors you could want. 

titled: Cottage Fries Recipe


 

Forget about french fries, and give this simple side dish a try! There’s nothing like sliced potatoes to pair with your main course.

This easy recipe makes the best cottage chips, where the outside is crispy, with super-fluffy centers. You can vary the cook times to change the texture of the potatoes as well. 

I think that this is the ultimate comfort food, and I love making this recipe for game day or as a simple appetizer.

Pair with your favorite dipping sauces, and enjoy! It takes a minimal level of effort to make potato recipes like this, and it’s one that the whole family can enjoy. 

Don’t forget to top with some parmesan cheese or cayenne pepper for a little bit of heat! 

ingredients for cottage fries

Cottage Fries

Who doesn’t love a snack with a little dimension? Cottage fries are crispy around the edges yet soft in the center. 

They’re a nice break from the usual frozen fries and make a fantastic side for basically any lunch or dinner dish!

Plus they’re a blank canvas for seasonings. What do you like with your potatoes? 

Include your favorite herbs, seasonings, and spices into this cottage fries recipe and enjoy!

I’m always a little shocked at all of the kinds of fries out there. Grilledair friedpiled high with cheese and sour cream… Talk about loaded!

adding spices to sliced potatoes

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

  • Potatoes – Russet potatoes are great, substantial spuds with tough skin that crisps up deliciously when baked. 

    Yukon golds are buttery, flavorful, all-purpose potatoes with a thinner skin. Choose the potato for you based on personal preference!
  • Dried Thyme – I’d steer away from fresh herbs for this cottage fries recipe. They won’t really have the chance to crisp up and instead be little dots of soggy seasoning. 

    In addition to thyme, you can use dried garlic powder, rosemary, onion powder, or whatever else you’d like! 
  • Paprika – Pleasantly smoky without being too much, paprika is a really versatile seasoning you can use on basically anything.

    For more heat than it has to offer, you could use cayenne or chili powder. 
  • Olive Oil – This is my preferred oil. But vegetable oil, canola oil, or whatever your go-to kitchen oil is will work just fine. 

    Some really like to use peanut oil when they’re making fries!
  • Salt – Nice flaky sea salt sprinkled onto cottage fried potatoes is like the cherry on top! Regular table salt is well and good too. 
cottage fries ready to be baked

Tips for Totally Delicious Cottage Fried Potatoes

  • Want crispy cottage fries? Salt after frying!

Why? Because salt draws liquid from vegetables upon contact. 

So if you salt before frying, it’ll make those spuds leak out excess liquid, making them squishier and soggier.

To guarantee crisp perfection, salt just before serving!

  • Overcrowding is the enemy of good texture.

If you place too many potato slices too close to each other on the baking sheet, the amount of evaporating liquid from the vegetables will actually cause them to steam instead of bake in the oven. 

This will lead to soggy, not-so-good cottage fried potatoes!

Give at least half an inch of space between each round, and definitely don’t layer them to avoid this.

  • Don’t forget the dip!

Because what are cottage fries without a great sauce to go with them?

I’ve got 10 dipping sauces I’d recommend right off the bat, but top of my list are creamy and zesty chipotle mayo, a sweetly simple BBQ ranch, and classic ketchup. 

What do you like to dip your fries into? Let me know in the comments below!

unbaked cottage fries on a baking sheet

Storing and Reheating

Fries are always best fresh out of the oven. Once potatoes cool down, you’ll rarely get them to the same golden brown goodness they were when they were still hot.

Regardless, these can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. To reheat, throw ‘em back in the oven at 425°F until they’re warmed through. 

An air fryer would be best to bring them back to life!

But these spuds can also be frozen for up to 6 months! 

Go ahead and season them, throw them in a freezer safe bag, and then bake as you would any frozen fries — you don’t even need to thaw them.

Kitchen Tools You Will Need

Cottage Fries Recipe FAQ

What are cottage fries? 

They’re potato rounds that have been roasted until golden brown. Like little discs of crunchy, salty flavor!

Generally we cut them a bit thin so that they can crisp up in the oven. They’re salted and seasoned for a bit of heat with black pepper or cayenne (or both!). 

Why are potatoes soaked in water before fried?

To remove the excess starch! Too much starch in those spuds will make it hard for them to cook evenly — the center might be undercooked while the outside gets all gummy. 

If you’re short on time and need to skip this step, that’s okay! They’ll still come out fine. But it’s definitely worth doing!

What are thick potato fries called? 

You’re probably thinking of steak fries or wedges. They’re around ½“ thick and long, usually made with Russet potatoes to feature a thick, crisped-up skin on the exterior.
 
Want to learn more? Check out my steak fries recipe!

cottage fries on sheet pan

Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours. 

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cottage fries in dip

hand holding cottage fries

Crispy Cottage Fries (Easy Oven Baked Recipe)

Donna Elick
 Cottage Fries are way better than boring french fries! Serve my flavorful cottage fried potatoes recipe with burgers, sandwiches – anything!
5 stars from 1 review
Tried this recipe?Please comment and review!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
soaking time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Method Oven
Servings 4

Ingredients
 

  • 2 pounds potatoes, 4 large russet or Yukon gold potatoes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt. Add more to taste

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 425°F. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Set them aside.
  • Give the potatoes a good scrub to remove dirt from the skin.
  • Slice the potatoes evenly, about 1/4 inch thick. Next, soak the sliced potatoes with cold water for 30 minutes, this helps to remove excess starch, which can prevent the fries from getting crispy. Note: you can avoid this step if you’re in a hurry, the result will be good as well.
  • Drain and pat dry with paper towels or a clean tea towel. Then transfer the sliced potatoes into a large bowl.
  • Add dried thyme, paprika, and olive oil. Use your hands to coat.
  • Arrange the potato slices in a single layer on the baking sheets. I use 2 baking sheets so the slices won’t overlap. They will not crisp on the edges if they are touching.
  • Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes.
  • Flip the slices and bake for 10-15 minutes more or until the fries are golden and crispy.
  • Season with salt and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.

Donna’s Notes

To get crispy potatoes, season with salt before serving, as adding it before makes the potato to release excess liquid in the oven.
Choose the right potato: Russet potato holds great but it has a rough skin (it’s not an issue for most people tough!). Yukon gold is an all-purpose potato with thin skin which provide great results in this kind of recipe were we like to keep the skin on.
Don’t overcrowd the pan: Make sure there is plenty of space between the fries on the baking sheet. Overcrowding can cause the fries to steam instead of crisp up.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 238cal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 595mg | Sugar: 2g | Fiber: 5g | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 2mg

All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Cottage Fries Recipe - pin

Originally published August 2023, updated and republished August 2024

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One Comment

  1. 5 stars
    I am totally a french fry girl but after trying these I am now a cottage fry girl haha! They were DELICIOUS! Next time I will make a double or triple batch!

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