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Parmesan Crusted Potatoes make the perfect side dish. They bake open face down in parmesan cheese creating a delicious buttery, cheesy crust.
Parmesan Crusted Baked Potato Halves
I got this recipe from a friend when I was back in college. She insisted that I give it a try because it was a favorite in her family. I was blown away! The potatoes were so much better than I imagined! I now whip up a fresh batch of these potato halves whenever I get the chance. I personally love to eat these with a side of sour cream, as it provides a nice cool balance to the savory, piping hot potatoes.
These Parmesan Crusted Potato Halves are a perfect side dish for all kinds of meals. The outer crust is buttery and cheesy and the inside is tender and flaky and so full of flavor. Try these as an alternative to quick baked potatoes. They cook up fast on a baking sheet and are always tender on the inside, while crisp and buttery on the outside. This is a terrific side to make when you need to use up leftover potatoes. Dress them up with green onions or chives. Delicious!
The Parmesan Cheese
I rarely use the powdery grated parmesan cheese from a canister. When it comes to pastas and other Italian dishes, I always use fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano. It’s just a high-quality choice. However, with this recipe, the powdery kind is the only way to go. It gives the potatoes a nice crispy crust. Fresh parmesan will melt differently and you won’t get the golden crispness these potatoes need. So for this recipe, embrace the plastic container of parmesan. The flavor is great and you will get perfect results every time.
Additions and Substitutions
These potatoes are fantastic as they are, but if you want to incorporate some additional flavors, try sprinkling any of the following on with the parmesan cheese before baking:
- red pepper flakes
- cayenne pepper
- onion powder
- thyme
- rosmary
- basil
- oregano
- fresh parsley
Tips for Parmesan Crusted Potatoes
- You can use parchment paper to cover the sheet pan but I have never needed it. With all the butter, the potatoes don’t stick.
- Place baking pan in the oven with the butter while the oven is pre-heating, until the butter melts.
- Place the potatoes cut side down on the baking dish.
- Sprinkle a little kosher salt over the skin side.
- Use a fork or a sharp knife to test if the potatoes are done before removing from the oven. The bottoms should be golden brown.
- Let the potato halves cool for at least five minutes before removing them from the pan. If you take them off the pan right out of the oven, the parmesan crust on the potato comes right off. Just give it a little time and then take them off – the crust sticks to the potatoes beautifully.
- Serve with a side of sour cream or Ranch Dressing in a bowl. Toss on some fresh chives.
How to Serve Parmesan Crusted Potatoes
Parmesan Crusted Potatoes are great on their own, but I especially love dipping them in a side of sour cream sprinkled with a little dried basil. Ranch dressing is also REALLY good! You can also make these with potatoes other than russets. I have made them with red potatoes and gold potatoes, and both turned out really good. Try these out for yourself and decide how you like them best!
Frequently Asked Questions
No, these cook up perfectly in the oven. No need to pre-boil.
Sure. If cutting potatoes ahead of time, be sure to store them in cold water in the fridge until ready to use- then thoroughly pat dry. This method will also get out some starch and increase crispiness but isn’t necessary.
Yes! No gluten in this recipe.
Store any leftover potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Re-heat in an air fryer, oven, or microwave.
What To Serve With Parmesan Crusted Potatoes
My husband always requests these crispy Parmesan Potatoes as a side dish to go along with whatever meat he is grilling. It’s nice because I can throw these in the oven while he is grilling and all the food is ready at the same time. Some of our favorite grill recipes that we serve up with the Parmesan Crusted Baked Potato Halves are our New York Steaks and our Kansas City Baby Back Ribs. Both are so yummy. And if you like grilled chicken you should definitely try our Grilled Malibu Chicken, Grilled Balsamic Chicken, and Grilled Coconut Curry Chicken.
The Best Potato Recipes
These Parmesan Crusted Potatoes have been such a huge hit with our readers, that we have included them in our “Best Potato Recipes Straight From Idaho” post! You will find ALL of our top reader favorites in this post as well. Try them all!
More Potato Side Dishes
If you love potatoes as much as we do, you should definitely try some of these other potato sides. Similar to how we make the Parmesan Crusted Potato Halves, we have our Coconut Pecan Sweet Baked Potato Halves. These are loaded with coconut and pecan pieces and have a scrumptious cinnamon marshmallow dip. In the savory potato category we have our Broccoli Cheese Stuffed Potato Skins and Cheesy Bacon Potato Skins. Both are awesome for appetizers and parties! If you like potato wedges and fries we have traditional Potato Wedges, Loaded Potato Wedges and Sweet Potato Fries with a Tangy Chipotle Lime Dip. If you are a potato salad lover, we have you covered! Both our Homestyle Potato Salad and Bacon Gorgonzola Potato Salad are so incredibly good.
Parmesan Crusted Potatoes
Video
Equipment
- Conventional Oven
- 9 X 13 inch Pan
Ingredients
- 6 small potatoes russet potatoes or yellow potatoes
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- garlic powder
- other seasonings to personal preference
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and pour into a 9×13 inch pan and spread evenly across the bottom.
- Scrub potatoes and cut into halves along the widest part of the potato.
- Generously sprinkle Parmesan cheese and lightly sprinkle other seasonings all over the butter.
- Place potato halves face down on the butter and seasonings. Place in preheated oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
- Cool for at least a FULL 5 minutes before removing from the pan, otherwise the parmesan crust won't stick to the potato.
- Serve on a plate with a side of sour cream or Ranch dressing for dipping.
I have made these a few times since finding your recipe on Pinterest and we absolutely love them. Thanks for the great recipe
hello, found you on pinterest and i’m trying these tonight. will let you know how they turn out 🙂 they are in the oven ‘as we speak’
i made them last week and my husband loved them, si i’ll make them again tonight….thank-you for this idea!
I make these all the time and they are so wonderful and easy! Great side dish with steaks! Thank you!
SO glad I found these. They are by far the best way to do potatoes at home. So quick and easy and so delicious. I make them at least once a week. The more cheese and garlic the better. And I always leave them in for about an hour for that extra crispness.
I have made these several times now, they are a permanent recipe in my book, the family loves them. Very Good
400 degrees for 40 minutes seemed too long and too hot for me! I was baking something else at a lower temp, and put them in together. <400 and <40 minutes later, the tops of the potatoes were dry and shriveled up and the cheese was very dark brown–not the lovely golden color in the photo. I'm not sure what is happening here, but this recipe needs some adapting to work for me!
Try following the recipe exactly and then decide if you need to modify. Also, use an oven thermometer to make sure you have The correct heat.
these look wonderful and easy..I plan on making them tonight …thank-you
These are absolutely to die for! We’ve made these four times since I found them on pinterest and every time they’ve gotten raves! The also could not be more simple to make!
Thanks I look forward to following you via email!
What kind of camera did you use to take this crisp photo? Amazing job.
Thanks! I use a Cannon.
They were a hit! OMG it’s a good thing I made a double batch lol. We had a few left over and Our son Mark and his Daddy were fighting over them (in a playful way). This is definitely the beginning of a new holiday addition :-). They were delicious!
Donna
My Hubby & I are making them now. We wanted to try them on Christmas day. So far so good! there in the oven now. I’ll write back and let everyone know how it went :-).
Merry Christmas!
Donna
I’ve been making this recipe at least once a week for the last six months… just wanted to thank you for posting one of the best, easiest side dishes ever! (The rest of your recipes are also amazing — especially the knockoff Alice Springs Chicken from Outback — but this one is the one I use the most.) I’ve shared this recipe with numerous family members, and all of us are equally addicted!
Do you know nutritional value amounts? calories/carbs?
I don’t know the breakdown for this recipie but TGI Fridays makes parm steak fries that have 660 calories for about 6 potato wedges.
These were amazing………just like the recipe………..I will do this again……..
This recipe is a hit with the family. Used the parm cheese with a hint of seasoned salt, but cut the potatoes into thirds. Excellent.
So its 2:38am. I got a craving for something potato-y. i made these potatoes and they are SO GOOD. I sprinkled the top of potatoes with salt, garlic powder and brushed with melted butter. 400 degree oven for 40 minutes. i had to come back to say thank you, it was an absolutely awesome snack. It tastes so yummy and it’s so quick to fix. A must try.
Mine are in the oven now!! They smell amazing!
I want to make these tonight but im all out of parm could i use mozz instead??
Absolutely love these potatoes!!! Only problem is I’m having a hard time with them sticking to the pan. I’m using a cookie sheet lined with foil. I’ve tried spraying with PAM, adding EVOO to the butter and they still stick. What am I doing wrong????
The only thing I could suggest is using a glass 9×13 pan instead, don’t line with foil, and wait the FULL five minutes before removing.