Quick and easy Parmesan Baked Potatoes halves have a creamy center and a crispy Parmesan cheese crust with butter and garlic—perfect for steaks or chicken dinners.
Easy to adjust both in number and serving size. With a skill level of 2/10, follow these easy step-by-step photo instructions.
🥔Ingredients
Potatoes—Russet, red potatoes, or Yukon Gold potatoes
Parmesan cheese—grated - fresh if possible
Butter
Pantry ingredients—Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and other seasonings.
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Featured Comment from Cindy D.:
"5 stars—I have made this recipe many times. It is so tasty as a side dish to many proteins."
With an incredible crust of Parmesan cheese, butter, and garlic, it's a near-perfect side dish that goes with almost any meal. But it is filling enough to be the main dish.
👨🍳How to Bake Parmesan-Crusted Baked Potatoes
Preheat oven to 400° convection (425° in regular ovens).
Melt butter in a microwave (about 30 seconds). This is 4 tablespoons in a five-by-nine glass baking dish.
Spread the butter over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of coarse salt with ¼ teaspoon each of granular garlic and pepper. Sprinkle ½ cup of grated parmesan.
Scrub and cut in half lengthwise. I used russets, but red potatoes or Yukon Gold are good choices.
Lay the cut potatoes flat on the Parmesan mixture, cut side down.
Bake the potatoes to an internal temperature of 200°-210°—about 40 minutes for these medium-sized russets, but for thinner potatoes, it will be 30-35 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes to let a crust form. Then, run a sharp knife around the potatoes, cutting the crust so it does not pull off.
Remove from the pan carefully and serve. They will stay hot for a while.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
✔️Tips and options to make it right every time
Potatoe choice
Any potatoes should be fine. Potatoes will all cook the same. I chose to use russets, but red potatoes or Yukon Gold would be excellent choices. The size of the potatoes will determine the baking time.
You will find that half of a large baking potato will be plenty for a serving size. These are very filling.
Parmesan and seasoning tips
Good Parmesan cheese will go a long way to making this dish spectacular. A cheap cheese will give inferior results.
The seasoning is to your taste. Use herbs and spices like thyme and rosemary. Seasoning salt with paprika or specialty seasonings like Cajan, Italian, or any seasoning blend you like or matches the meal.
Baking tips
The glass baking dish will help prevent this from sticking. Parchment paper will help if you have sticking issues.
The potatoes must fit flat in the dish. Pick a dish size that fits the amount you need and adjust the crust ingredients to cover the bottom well.
↕️How to make this a "for two" or "family size" recipe
This is a relatively easy recipe to adjust to exactly what you need, but it differs slightly from other recipes.
To adjust the size of this recipe, a little math is needed. You want the "topping" to be about the same thickness. Just close is fine; exact is not needed.
- Choose the potatoes, amount, and size you want to bake.
- Pick a pan size that allows all the potato halves to sit flat on the bottom.
- Adjust the crust ingredients to the pan size. The recipe uses a 9X5 dish, which is 45 square inches. To use a 9X9, which is 81 square inches, double the topping ingredients, which is close enough. A 9X13 is 117 square inches, about 2.5 times the area of a 9X5, so increase the ingredients by that much.
- To make smaller amounts is dependent on the cookware size you have available. You may end up using a bigger baking dish than you truly need and "wasting some topping.... but it makes a crunchy snack.
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Serving
These baked potatoes are perfect with Seared Filet Mignon, Seared and Baked Strip Steaks, Baked Parmesan Crusted Chicken, and Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin.
Other great potato recipes
Check out some other great potato-sided dishes that will work with most meals—like Oven Roasted Red Potatoes, Smashed Potatoes, Cheesy Potato Casserole from raw potatoes, and Baked Parmesan Potato Wedges.
❄️Leftover storage and reheating
Seal leftovers airtight and store them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Or freeze for 3 months.
Leftovers, while good, will never be as good as freshly baked. If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave. They can also be reheated in a 350° oven.
FAQs
The final internal temperature for baked potatoes should be over 200° and 205° to 210° is better for creamy results.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
📖The Recipe Card
Parmesan Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 medium russet potatoes - or other potatoes like red or Yukon Gold
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese - grated - fresh if possible
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° convection (425° in regular ovens).
- Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a 5 by 9 glass baking dish. Adjust the size and amount of ingredients to fit your needs.
- Spread the butter over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of coarse salt with ¼ teaspoon each of granular garlic and pepper. Sprinkle ½ cup of grated parmesan.
- Scrub and cut in half lengthwise. I used russets, but red potatoes or Yukon Gold are good choices.
- Lay the cut potatoes flat on the Parmesan mixture, cut side down.
- Bake the potatoes to an internal temperature of 200°-210°—about 40 minutes for these medium size russets, but for thinner potatoes, will be 30-35 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes to let a crust form. Then run a sharp knife around the potatoes, cutting the crust, so it does not pull off.
- Remove from the pan carefully and serve. They will stay hot for a while.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- Use russet, red, or Yukon Gold potatoes.
- A good quality Parmesan is a must.
- Cooking time will vary by the thickness of the potatoes, your pan, and the oven. Cook to a final internal temperature of 200- 210°.
- We use our All Purpose Seasoning - 7:2:1 and 7:2:2 instead of individual seasonings. As always, season to your taste, not mine.
- Glass or ceramic baking dish is recommended.
- It may be cooked at different oven temperatures, but the time will need to be adjusted.
- Be sure to wait 5 minutes after removing from the oven for the crust to firm up, or it will just come off. Do not short the time. And be sure to cut through all the coating just before removing it from the pan.
- To adjust the size of this recipe, a little math is needed. You want the "topping" to be about the same thickness. See the discussion in the post, but the adjustment is by the size of the pan you are using instead of the number of potatoes used.
- This reheats very well in a microwave.
- Nutrition calculation includes only half of the topping since there is a lot of waste.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's Note: Originally Published May 18, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Marie L Windhorst says
I have made thse so many times since I first saw the recipe. Husband (who is picky) would eqt these almost every night if I let him! Always compliments when I serve them. So I keep copies of the recipe to hand out :).
Thank you!
Marie