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