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This post was originally written in May 2021 but updated in May 2025 with updated information on air fryers and a quicker method.
Watch the recipe
Watch the recipe
Why I Love Air Fryer French Fries
Who didn’t love McDonald’s French fries as a kid? They were a staple for me! Universally, McDonald’s fries are iconic. From New Delhi to Ottawa, the fries are always somehow consistent. Do they use real potatoes? I’m not sure, but they’re just so good!
I don’t know about you but whenever I’m out and I see fries on the menu, I just can’t resist saying “Yes!” to having fries with that. Fries are just heavenly. Simple and great. I love the limp McDonald’s style fries and thin steak frites fries, but at times I can certainly appreciate thicker-cut fries or potato wedges. Fries truly bring a smile to my face, and I’m sure many of you can relate!
Have you ever deep-fried your fries? Homemade deep fried fries sure are something to experience! Ah, it’s so exciting to watch them cook rapidly and see how amazingly crisp they become! Unfortunately, however, there are quite a few cons to deep frying! The most obvious is the amount of oil used. Typically, we deep fry in vegetable or canola oils, which are refined oils that aren’t the best for your health.
The next issue with deep frying at home is the mess. You’re going to want to use paper towel to soak up the excess oil after you’ve cooked your fries, and you’re left with a bunch of oil in your wok or pan. You can save it if it’s not dirty, otherwise, you have to toss out all that oil, and cleaning a greasy pan or wok sure takes a lot of elbow grease!
Don’t get me wrong. I really do love to deep fry, and the results are incredible. But it’s a lot of work and doing this too often can have adverse impacts on your health. Balance is key!
But I love fries so much! Well, what I used to before getting my air fryer is prepare my Oven-Baked Crispy French Fries. This was a life saver! Of course, the taste was not exactly like deep frying, but the fries were still very crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and oh so good!
What was the issue though? Well, of course, not the same taste as deep frying which is obvious, but these fries took SO LONG to make! If you don’t have an air fryer, yes, definitely do this! But the whole process of soaking your fries, having the oven pre-heat, baking the fries, takes more than an hour. It’s not hard but it’s long and annoying when you’re hungry. This also makes it difficult to time if you’re going to be making a main dish. For instance, I’ve had my burger ready before the fries plenty of times, and it was really annoying! You really need to wait till the fries are close to the end before cooking your protein and assembling your burger…
What is an air fryer?▼
An air fryer is a medium-sized countertop kitchen appliance that circulates hot air around at a high speed using a fan, similar to a convection oven. As a result, it cooks food significantly faster than in a traditional oven. The high speed in a concentrated space also helps give foods a crispy outside comparable to the texture of deep frying without the use of oil in deep frying.
That’s what the big appeal is for an air fryer! You can make your favourites such as Air Fryer Wings, Air Fryer Cajun Potato Wedges, and even Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan lightened up and healthier by avoiding all the extra oil.
Why Make French Fries in the Air Fryer?
I’ll only make fries in the air fryer now that I have one, as opposed to in my traditional oven! Here’s why you should!
- No (or minimal) preheating time
- Cooks in half the time as traditional oven baking
- Less mess than an oven
- Tastes almost like deep fried fries without the oil!
Are These Air Fryer French Fries Healthy?▼
Yes, they definitely are! In fact, I honestly make these fries nearly every single day, whether to serve as a side or as a lunchtime snack. Essentially, these fries are just potatoes with olive oil and salt. The amount of olive oil I’m using is very little - just enough to get the fries a nice golden brown colour and to add some flavour. Furthermore, choosing olive oil instead of vegetable or canola oil, which are used for deep frying, is a much better option. Olive oil contains heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. We need a certain amount of these good fats to support good health, plus a little bit adds so much flavour! It will really contribute to excellent cooking and can be part of a balanced meal.
What Makes This the Best Air Fryer French Fries Recipe?
Here’s the overview to what makes this air fryer French fries recipe the best one you can find!
- The type of potato
- Cutting the potato
- Soaking the potato
- Boiling the potato
- Seasoning
- Layering the fries
- Cook time & temperature
What Potatoes Should I Use for French Fries in the Air Fryer?▼
The best potatoes to use are russet potatoes. They are light fluffy and have an easy time getting crisp. I like to use Yukon gold or yellow potatoes whenever I make French fries. It’s mostly a personal preference because I find the Yukon gold potatoes to be much creamier in the center with that crispy outside crust. They also have more of that “potatoey” flavour and you really can’t go wrong when it comes to Yukon gold. I love using Yukon gold potatoes for Air Fryer Cajun Potato Wedges and for the Ultimate Creamy Mashed Potatoes. For more details on using russet potatoes versus Yukon gold potatoes, check out my Battle of the Ingredients video here.
How to Cut Potatoes for French Fries
- Rinse and wash the potatoes well. You may peel the potato or keep the skin on.
- Slice each potato into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices.
- Then, stack 2-3 slices at a time and cut the potatoes into 1/4-1/2 inch matchsticks.
Note: You can cut the fries into thinner matchsticks - this will quicken the total cook time.
Ingredients for Air Fryer French Fries
Only three ingredients are needed for these simple air fried fries!
Why Soak the Potatoes?▼
One word answer: starch. Starch is not your friend if you are looking for crispy fries. Starch is gummy, and just like how you rinse rice before cooking to get the perfectly separated grains, you want to rinse off the excess starch from potatoes as well to help them become crispy.
This step is highly recommended, however, I do have a cheat code in case you are short on time and patience. Since we will be boiling the potatoes, that will help get “some” of the starch out, so how about you soak the potatoes in cold water only until the water comes to a boil?
For an even quicker way to get the fries on your plate, simply rinse the potatoes under cold water until the water runs clear.
Why Boil the Potatoes for Air Fryer French Fries?
Admit it, potatoes are a pain in the neck to cook and get right. They take a long time to cook so you really need to work around them to get them crispy. For regular deep-fried fries, we generally fry the fries at a low heat until the potatoes are tender soft inside. Then, we make the oil much hotter, so we can get the exterior golden crisp. Makes sense doesn’t it, we want to cook the inside, before we make them crispy.
If you tried to cook fries in a single step, i.e., just deep fry it all in one step, you will end up with limp fries which aren’t really that crispy. So we follow a similar concept with the air fryer and we boil the potatoes to really speed up that initial cook process. It’s only going to take you 3-5 minutes to partly cook those fries.
Then, we toss the fries in olive oil and the oil carries on from here to make things really nice and crispy.
For an even quicker way to get the fries on your plate, simply microwave the rinsed potatoes for 5 minutes or until the potatoes have softened slightly. Make sure to toss the potatoes halfway through the cooking time.
How to Make Crispy Air Fryer French Fries
Quick Method
Peel and cut the potatoes into thin strips.
Rinse the cut fries under cold water or until the water runs clear.
Place the potatoes in a microwave safe container and microwave for 5 minutes, toss the potatoes halfway through the cooking time.
Pat the potatoes dry and then coat generously with olive oil.
Preheat the air fryer to 450 F. Air fry the potatoes at 450 F for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy - toss the potato halfway through the cooking time.
Season with salt to taste and toss well.
Enjoy your fries!
Regular Method
- Add the peeled, cut potatoes in a large bowl and fill with cold water and soak for about 25 minutes (see tip for a shortcut). In the meanwhile, set a large pot of water to boil.
- Add soaked fries to the boiling water and boil for 3-5 minutes, or until the potatoes are partly cooked but still firm. Add only enough potatoes that will comfortably fit in your air fryer basket in a single layer.
- Drain the potatoes onto paper towel and gently pat dry. Then, transfer the fries to a large bowl and coat with olive oil. Gently toss the potatoes in the oil and arrange fries in a single layer in the air fryer basket
- Preheat the air fryer to 450 F. Toss the potatoes in the air fryer basket and cook for 8-12 minutes.
- If making a multiple batch, transfer the fries from the air fryer basket to a bowl/baking sheet and repeat steps 2-4 for the remaining portion of fries.
- Once all the fries are crispy, you can toss all the fries in a single basket to refresh the fries at 375F-390F for 3-5 minutes. Voila!
- Season with salt to taste and toss well. Enjoy your fries!
Tips & Tricks for Perfectly Crispy Air Fryer Fries
- Be consistent with the thickness of the fries as you cut them. The more even the shape and size of the fries, the better consistency you will see with the doneness.
- Soak the fries in cold water to rinse off excess starch to help get the fries crispy.
- In case you are short on time and patience soak the potatoes in cold water only until the water comes to a boil or rinse under cold water.
- Boil the potatoes in batches large enough to comfortably fit in your air fryer basket in a single layer or microwave for 5 minutes.
- If making multiple batches of fries, once the last batch is ready, you can toss all the fries in a single basket to refresh the fries at 375F-390F for 3-5 minutes. Voila!
How to Reheat Air Fryer fries▼
These fries reheat and store in the fridge very well. To reheat from the refrigerator, toss all the fries in the basket of your air fryer and Air Fry at 350 F for 5-10 minutes or until heated through!
Serving Suggestions
How do you not enjoy fries? The most obvious answer is on their own, duh! But you could literally eat fries with anything, I believe. Here are some great recipes that are just screaming for you to pair these fries with!
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