Cheesy Breaded Potato Wedges

I know my way around a potato, let me tell you.

I guess you can blame it on my Irish heritage…I can do a thousand and one different things to a potato. Mashed, fried, pancakes, baked, twice-baked, Hasselback, foil pack, salad—I’m a wizard when it comes to a potato.

And don’t try to trick me with different types of potatoes. No, no. I know ALL potatoes very well. Fingerling, Idaho, Russet, Yukon gold, red, purple—I’ve used them all, y’all.

One of my go-to potato recipes to make on weeknights for dinner is the classic baked potato wedge. I usually roast them in the oven with a little bit of olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper. That’s all you need, really. It’s a simple yet wonderful weekly side dish staple in my household.

When I ran across this recipe in an old church cookbook, I was intrigued. It is a different kind of potato recipe that is sort of a hybrid between cheesy bread and potato wedges. It also incorporates the good ol’ fashion shake and bake technique that ensures you have little to no mess to clean up afterward. What could be better than that?!

Cheesy Breaded Potato Wedges

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp. hot sauce (I use Louisiana hot sauce)
• 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 TBS. vegetable oil
• 4 medium Russet potatoes
• 1.5 cups Panko breadcrumbs

1. Clean potatoes under cold water. Pat dry and then slice into wedges.
2. In a large bowl, combine potato wedges with water, hot sauce, and vegetable oil.
3. In a large Ziploc bag, combine cheddar cheese and Panko. Add a handful of the potato wedges and give them a good shake. Line a large baking sheet with foil and add potato wedges. Repeat shaking process with rest of potatoes until they are all well-coated.
4. Bake potato wedges for 40-45 minutes in a 400 degree oven until crispy.