Air Fryer French Fries

Learn how to cut potatoes for fries and customize the seasonings — plus, all the air fryer tips to make them crispy and tender.

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Air Fryer French Fries
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Level: Easy
Total: 25 min
Active: 10 min
Yield: 2 servings

Article by Emily Saladino

Air fryer French fries involve none of the splattering oil or messy cleanup of traditional fries. That's because your trusty air fryer does most of the work: Its fan and heating element combine to force hot air all around the potatoes for crunchy-tender fries with only a scant coating of olive oil.

How to Make French Fries in the Air Fryer Like a Pro

Food Network Kitchen tested several methods for making these fries before landing on this process. Here are their tips.

Start with russet potatoes. Russets are the best potatoes for French fries. They have thick skins and starchy, fluffy flesh, so they maintain their shape at high temperatures and emerge from the air fryer with crispy exteriors and soft, tender insides.

Cut the fries into evenly sized pieces. This will help them cook evenly. The best way to cut potatoes for French fries is to halve the russet lengthwise, lay each half cut-side down, then cut those halves into 1/4- to 1/2-inch slices. Stack half of your cut potatoes and slice lengthwise again into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick fries, then repeat with the remaining half.

Rinse cut potatoes for golden, crunchy fries. After you cut the potatoes, give them a quick rinse in cold water to remove excess starch. For extra-crunchy fries, soak the cut potatoes in cold water overnight in the fridge.

Dry potatoes well before putting them in the air fryer. Drain and pat the cut potatoes dry with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel. Be thorough: You want to remove as much moisture as possible to crisp up their exteriors.

Toss the cut potatoes in a bowl with oil and seasonings. This recipe doesn’t require very much oil, but be sure all surfaces are evenly covered before putting the potatoes into the basket.

Air fry in batches. If the air fryer basket is too crowded, your fries will be soggy, not crispy. Lay the cut and seasoned potatoes in a single layer in the basket, working in batches if needed.

Reheat in the air fryer. If you make fries in the air fryer in batches and want to reheat the first round before serving, add all the cooked fries to the air fryer (it’s OK if they’re crowded now ) for 1 to 2 minutes to reheat.

Mix up the seasonings. Toss grated lemon zest and Parmesan into the bowl with the salt-and-peppered potatoes or add paprika and chili powder. Swap the kosher salt for the same amount of garlic salt to make San Francisco-style garlic fries in the air fryer. Add a teaspoon of dried oregano to the potatoes before you air fry them, then serve topped with crumbled feta for air fryer French fries with Greek flavors.

Making Frozen French Fries in the Air Fryer

While this recipe starts with fresh potatoes, you can also make frozen French fries in the air fryer. You don’t need to defrost them. Toss the frozen fries, salt and pepper (if they’re unseasoned), and a light mist of cooking spray in a bowl. Put them in a single layer in the air fryer basket and air fry at 400 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes, shaking them once halfway through.

Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchen

Air Fryer French Fries

  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 25 min
  • Active: 10 min
  • Yield: 2 servings
The best air fryer French fries are made with the right kind of potatoes: Beneath their thick skins, russets are packed with starchy flesh that is often described as “fluffy.” Aside from sounding adorable, that means fries with soft and tender insides. For golden and crunchy outsides, be sure to rinse away excess starch from the cut potatoes: simply give them a quick, cold shower, or for extra crunchy fries, you can soak them in water overnight in the fridge. Drain and pat dry to remove as much moisture as possible. Your air fryer will do the rest: a fan and heating element combine to force hot air all around the potatoes for crunchy-tender fries with only a slight coating of oil.

Ingredients

Directions

Special equipment:
an air fryer
  1. Preheat an air fryer to 380 degrees F .
  2. Cut the potato in half lengthwise, then into 1/4-inch slices. Cut the slices into 1/4-inch sticks. Put the fries in a medium bowl and rinse them well with cold water, then drain and pat dry with paper towels.  
  3. Toss the fries with the oil in a medium bowl, then sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Working in batches if necessary, put the fries in an even layer in the air fryer basket with no overlapping and cook, turning them halfway through, until golden brown and crisp, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove and season with salt.