TikTok Is Obsessed With These Viral Parmesan Potatoes, and They're the Perfect Holiday Side

Another week, another irresistible TikTok recipe on your For You Page. And usually, these popular recipes are viral for a reason—they’re affordable, easy to make, and delicious. This time, it’s #parmesanpotatoes, i.e. Parmesan-crusted potatoes, a quick and easy cheesy potato recipe that will make the perfect holiday side, no ring light or video skills required (unless you want to, of course). All you really need are small potatoes, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil or butter to make a dish that’s crunchy, soft, and wholly comforting. Of course, plenty of variations exist, so you can stick to the basics or reinvent the trending dish as your own. Here’s how to make them! 

How to Make TikTok's Parmesan-Crusted Potatoes

Just like any TikTok recipe, Parmesan potatoes are more of an art than a science. That is, there are several ways to make these delicious potatoes, but here’s a tried and true method to get you started.

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. The heat is essential to getting the potatoes crisp. Then, put a stick of unsalted butter in a casserole sheet, and let it warm in the oven, until melted.
2. Meanwhile, wash, dry, and slice potatoes in half. Small potatoes, like new potatoes or baby potatoes work well for this. Score the potatoes slightly so that the Parmesan will stick.
3. Once the butter is melted, stir in garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, and enough shredded or grated Parmesan cheese to form a paste. Spread the mixture around the dish.
4. Then, place the potatoes cut side down in the mixture. Some people like to dip the marinated cut sides of potatoes in extra cheese and return to the dish, others will drizzle the skins with olive oil and sprinkle salt and cheese on top. You do you.
5. Return the dish to the oven for 30 minutes (the cooking time will depend on potato size), or until you can pierce the potato with a fork. Garnish with fresh parsley, shredded cheese, and cracked pepper to serve.  
   

How to Customize Parmesan-Crusted Potatoes

If the basic Parm potatoes recipe above isn’t for you, consider tweaking it to better suit your taste. As you’ll see, the recipe is ridiculously easy to customize.

Make them vegan

Swap out butter for plant-based butter or olive oil, which some users already use. Then, use vegan cheese in your base mixture. Add some miso or nutritional yeast to boost the umami flavors and mimic Parmesan. 

Try different cheeses

Parmesan is a great cheese to bake with because it’s firm, and considered a dry cheese (as opposed to a soft cheese, like Brie). Sub different aged and hard cheeses for Parmesan, like Gouda, Gruyère or pecorino. If you can grate it, it will probably work! Mix the other cheese with Parmesan, or go for a purely new cheesy potato creation. 

Serve with a dip

Instead of serving the potatoes as their own side, make them an appetizer by serving ‘em with dip. Go for something creamy, like sour cream and onion, a melted cheese sauce (like alfredo or chile con queso), pesto, or marinara, which always goes well with Parmesan. Or try Buffalo sauce for a game day snack! 

Make them garlicky or spicy

Add some minced garlic to your original mixture to boost the flavor profile of the Parmesan potatoes. You can also add chili flakes or Calabrian chile oil to the initial paste for a spicy riff on these potatoes. You can also add coarse black pepper to the mix for a cacio e pepe-inspired version.

Opt for sweet potatoes or other root veggies

This technique could work with any type of potato, so try making Parmesan sweet potatoes for a sweet-savory hybrid dish. You can also try this technique with other root vegetables, like turnips or even carrots, which slice easily and can be scored before baking, for a healthy riff.

Cook them in the air fryer

Swap out your oven for an air fryer to make these potatoes super crispy. You’ll yield a smaller batch, but they’ll be extra crunchy and cook more quickly.