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Cooking With Anadi
12K subscribers · crispy golden spirals, fluffy inside, perfect Canadian side
Have you guessed by now that I really love French fries?
I sure do! I can’t get enough of them! I’ve made straight French fries so many ways now, from Oven-Baked French Fries to Air Fryer French Fries to Restaurant-Style French Fries, and even Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries! I just love my French Fries!
The love doesn’t end there! At the time of writing this, I’m hosting a collab on YouTube for all French fry lovers out there! Throughout the month of July, share as many French Fries recipes as you want, and use the hashtag #funfries so I can see your awesome creations! Summer sure is the time where we need our fries as the perfect side dish to sandwiches, burgers, or just as snacks, and I’m totally inspired to explore fries in ways I never have before!
I go into more details about how having a theme can help you plan your meals and unlock some major creativity in the kitchen in my 5 Tips To Make Cooking Fun! free guide! To get this along with the one-month Live to Cook challenge, sign up to the newsletter! I bet you’ll find a way to make some awesome fries as part of the challenge! Tag me on Instagram so I can see and share your delicious French fries!
Don’t forget to watch the video to grasp all the concepts of how to make The Best Crispy Curly Fries recipe at home! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already and hit the bell button so you receive all notifications when my video recipes are live! With something as hands-on as deep frying, I feel watching helps put all the pieces together so you get the tastiest results - you’ll see exactly how I make these curly fries from start to finish! Let’s get cooking!
Equipment for Curly Fries
A few key pieces of equipment are needed to make amazing Homemade Crispy Curly Fries. Let’s see what’s needed:
- Spiralizer: This is how we’ll make the shape for our curly fries. Apparently, the OXO spiralizer is the best spiralizer for curly fries, so that’s the one I ended up getting! I used it only once, but I’ve found it really easy to use and I’m totally happy with my purchase! I’m using the 1/4 inch blade, and it’s also referred to as the “fettuccine” spiral.
- Mixing bowl: You’ll want a large bowl to soak your fries in.
- Wok: A wok, Dutch oven, or large pot is needed to deep fry our curly fries.
- Thermometer: I highly recommend a digital thermometer so that you can check if your oil is at the right temperature. Oil that’s too hot will make your fries cook too fast, so they’ll be brown outside but raw inside. Additionally, if the oil is too cold, then you’ll have to cook the outside for too long before the inside gets cooked.
- Slotted spoon: I can’t live without this when deep frying! This is perfect to get out the fries from the oil and drip out the excess.
How to Cut the Potatoes for Curly Fries
- Wash and scrub the potatoes.
- Cut one edge of the potato so it is flat.
- Attach the flat side of the potato to the spokes of the spiralizer and secure the potato.
- Turn the spiralizer to create the spirals. You can do a continuous spiral to create long spirals or shorter ones to create small ones. Alternatively, use a knife to adjust the length as desired.
Why Soak Potatoes for French Fries?▼
You need to soak your potatoes because of the starch! Yukon gold potatoes and Russet potatoes contain a lot of starch. Soaking the potatoes in water for at least twenty minutes will remove the starch, allowing you to get perfectly crisp French fries. The water will turn cloudy as the starch releases. If you don’t do this, you’ll get mushy fries, and that won’t be enjoyable at all!
What Oil Should I Use to Deep Fry French Fries?▼
According to DW Food in the mini documentary, Why Belgium Has the World’s Best French Fries, beef dripping, known as “tallow” is actually the best way to deep fry your fries.
It’s too bad that you can’t find that at the grocery store, or at least as far as I know! Let me know if there is anywhere that you can easily purchase tallow and I’d love to give it a try! With that being said, I’m going to deep fry my fries in vegetable oil. You basically want any neutral oil that has a high smoke point. Other alternatives that are great for deep frying are peanut oil, ghee, canola oil, avocado oil or grape seed oil. You could use coconut oil, but that’ll affect the taste of the fries. My favorite choices are vegetable oil, peanut oil and canola oil for general deep frying, and I like to use ghee for Indian fried foods.
What Temperature Should the Oil Be?▼
In this recipe, you’ll be frying your French fries twice. Belgium, arguably has the best fries in the world and I will be following their footsteps for these golden fries. The temperature during the first cook of the oil should be 125 degrees Celsius and the temperature for the second fry should be 175 degrees Celsius. Here, having a kitchen thermometer is immensely useful.
Do I Need to Double Fry Curly Fries?▼
The batter does what’s need to make the fries crispy! So no need for a second fry to turn the potatoes crispy.
What Makes Curly Fries Taste different?▼
Curly fries are not exactly like regular fries. And no, I am not talking about just the shape but the actual flavor as well. Regular fries are just potatoes that are fried twice, once to cook the potato at a low oil temperature and then fried again at a higher temperature to turn them crispy. While curly fries are dipped in a batter to create a crispy outside coating so that the fries cook and turn crispy with just one fry. It’s the batter and the seasonings added to it that result in a different flavor profile.
How Long Do Curly Fries take to Cook?▼
Depending on your cooking vessel, it will take between 8-15 minutes to cook the potatoes inside and have the fries crispy outside.
Tips for Awesome Curly Fries
- Cut the fries to spirals that match your desired size and length.
- Soak the fries in cold water to rinse off excess starch to help get the fries crispy.
- When you’re ready to fry, pat down your fries and ensure they are completely dry so that any water residue doesn’t cause oil to splatter
- Make sure to heat oil to about 375 to 400 Fahrenheit.
- Fry a tester before preparing the first batch to ensure the oil is at the right temperature.
- Season with salt after they are done frying and still hot.
What Potatoes Should I Use to Make Curly Fries?▼
I always suggest you use Yukon gold potatoes for making French fries of any kind. I know other bloggers use Russet potatoes, but I find there’s a bland aftertaste and you don’t get the same creaminess that comes from Yukon gold potatoes. You can experiment with both and see which one you prefer, but I strongly recommend the Yukon gold yellow potatoes. They are super crispy and delicious, and if you’re told that yellow potatoes get limp when deep frying, then that source just isn’t deep frying properly:)
Ingredients for Crispy Curly Fries
Let’s review what ingredients we need for our super Crispy Curly Fries. Remember to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD for all ingredients and their quantities! The recipe card will also help you scale the recipe based on how many fries you’re making - all the ingredient quantities will be adjusted so you don’t have to make any calculations!
- Yellow potatoes
- Salt
- cayenne pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- All-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil, for frying
How to Make Awesome Homemade Crispy Curly Fries
Wash and scrub the potatoes. Cut one edge of the potato so it is flat. Attach the flat side of the potato to the spokes of the spiralizer and secure the potato. Turn the spiralizer to create the spirals. You can do a continuous spiral to create long spirals or shorter ones to create small ones. Alternatively, use a knife to adjust the length as desired.
Soak the potatoes in cold water for at least 15-20 minutes.
Grab a large bowl and create the batter by whisking flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper together. Then add water, little bit at a time and whisk until you have a thick, pourable smooth batter.
Heat the oil for frying in a large wok or pot - aim for a temperature between 375 F and 400 F on medium heat.
Drain the fries and then pat them dry. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip each curly fry in the batter. Let any excess drip away and then place this battered portion on the baking sheet. Repeat the same with the remaining fries.
Once the oil is hot, add the battered fries to the oil and fry until they are golden brown crispy outside and soft inside. This can take between 8-15 minutes, depending on the level of doneness you desire. Season with salt and serve hot!
Can I Make Crispy Curly Fries Ahead of Time?▼
Your best bet is to make your curly fries right before serving so that they are piping hot, fresh, and at their crispiest! You really need to make them in advance, you can store the fries in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge for about two days. The best reheating method would be to air fry your French fries at 400 F for one to two minutes, or until warmed through.
Serving Suggestions for Crispy Curly Fries
Okay I’ll be honest with you and that you can have Crispy Curly Fries any way! I eat fries so often so I don’t mind having fries with anything or just alone. They make such a good snack! But if you want some pairing options with these fries to make a complete meal or a hit at a party, then here are my recommendations:
- Anadi’s Classic American Cheeseburger
- Homemade McDonald’s India McAloo Tikki Burger
- Korean Style Popcorn Chicken
- Spicy Mexican-Style Wrap with Guacamole, Bacon & Shrimp
I love to dip my fries, so of course ketchup is a classic, but if you want to switch things up, you can dip them in barbecue sauce, buffalo sauce, Classic Spicy Mayo or a Garlic Truffle Aioli!
Other French Fry Recipes!
- Epic Canadian Poutine
- Indian-Fusion Poutine
- Mexican-Fusion Poutine
- Loaded Cheese & Bacon Air Fryer Fries
- British Beer-Battered Fish & Chips
- Ultimate Mozzarella Cheesy Fries
More Potato Goodness!
- North Indian Dum Aloo
- Indian Stuffed Potato Paratha
- Ultimate Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Air Fryer Cajun Potato Wedges
- Aloo Patties - Indian Stuffed Potato Turnovers
- Instant Pot Steamed Baby Potatoes
Setting Up the Fry: Oil, Temperature and Batch Size
The recipe asks for oil between 375 F and 400 F in a wok or large pot, and a digital thermometer is on the equipment list for a reason. That number is not a suggestion. Below it the batter sits in the oil absorbing rather than sealing, and you get greasy fries; far above it the coating browns before the potato inside has cooked through, and the spirals are the thinnest cut of potato you will ever fry.
The part nobody mentions is what happens the moment the fries go in. A cold, wet, battered potato dropped into hot oil pulls the temperature down hard, and how far it drops depends entirely on how much oil you have and how many fries you add at once. That is the whole argument for a deep pot or a wok over a shallow pan — more oil means more thermal mass, and more thermal mass means the temperature recovers instead of collapsing.
So, practically:
- Give yourself enough oil that the fries can float and move freely, and still leave several inches of clear space at the top of the pot. Battered food foams when it hits the oil, and a pot filled to the brim is how that foam ends up on your stove.
- Fry in small batches. A crowded pot is the single most common reason homemade fries come out pale and soft — it is not the recipe, it is the temperature crash.
- Let the oil climb back into the window between batches. This is where the thermometer earns its place; guessing is how batch three comes out worse than batch one.
- A countertop deep fryer does all of this for you, since it holds a set temperature and recovers on its own, and if you fry often it is worth the counter space. But a wok and a thermometer genuinely get you there — the fryer is buying you convenience, not a better fry.
And do fry the tester the tips section recommends. One fry tells you whether the oil is ready far more reliably than the surface of the oil looking right.
Getting the Batter to Cling (and Why the Fries Must Be Bone Dry)
The batter is what makes this recipe work — it is the reason the FAQ can say you do not need a second fry, because the crisp is coming from the coating rather than from twice-cooked potato. Which means the batter has one job, and it can only do it if it actually stays on the fry.
This is where the excess water from the soak becomes the enemy. The 15 to 20 minutes in cold water is doing something important — it rinses off surface starch — but every drop still clinging to the potato afterwards does two things you do not want. It thins the batter locally so the coating slides off in the oil, and it spits when it hits 375 F. Drain the fries, then pat them properly dry, and give the spirals a moment in the air before you start dipping. Bone dry is the standard, not damp.
On the batter itself: whisk the flour and seasonings together first, then add the water a little at a time, because it is far easier to thin a thick batter than to rescue a thin one. You are aiming for thick but pourable, and the useful test is to lift the whisk — the batter should fall in a ribbon and hold its shape on the surface for a second before smoothing out. Too thin and it runs off into the oil; too thick and you get a heavy shell instead of a crisp one. Let the excess drip away as the recipe says before the fry goes on the lined sheet.
One optional addition, not in the recipe as written: a half teaspoon of smoked paprika whisked into the dry mix. It contributes almost no heat, but it deepens the color toward the orange you see on the fast-food version and adds a faint smokiness behind the cayenne. If you try it, keep the cayenne where it is — the paprika is doing color and aroma, not spice.
The Batter, Measured Out
The seasoned batter is where all the flavor lives, and the quantities on the recipe card are worth reading before you start whisking, because this is a small batch built around a single large Yukon gold potato serving two.
Into a large bowl go 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, half a teaspoon garlic powder and half a teaspoon onion powder, plus salt and pepper to taste. Whisk the dry mix thoroughly before any liquid goes in, so the cayenne and the powders are evenly distributed rather than sitting in pockets.
One thing the card does not give you is a cup water measurement, and that is deliberate rather than an omission. Water is listed as needed, because how much you require depends on your flour and how humid your own kitchen is on the day. Add it a splash at a time until the batter falls from the whisk in a ribbon. Chasing a fixed number here is how people end up with batter too thin to cling.
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Recipe by Anadi Misra
Craving the crunchiest curly fries at home? Our foolproof deep fried curly fries recipe delivers perfectly crispy, golden results every time. A must-try side dish!
Deep-fried
Rate this recipe ✦
25 min
Prep
15 min
Cook
20 min
Rest
1 hr
Total
2
servings
medium
Level
Ingredients
Ingredients
Tap any quantity to scale
Instructions
- 1
Wash and scrub the potatoes. Cut one edge of the potato so it is flat. Attach the flat side of the potato to the spokes of the spiralizer and secure the potato. Turn the spiralizer to create the spirals. You can do a continuous spiral to create long spirals or shorter ones to create small ones. Alternatively, use a knife to adjust the length as desired.
Wash and scrub the potatoes. Cut one edge of the potato so it is flat. Attach the flat side of the potato to the spokes of the spiralizer and secure the potato. Turn the spiralizer to create the spirals. You can do a continuous spiral to create long spirals or shorter ones to create small ones. Alternatively, use a knife to adjust the length as desired.
- 2
Soak the potatoes in cold water for at least 15-20 minutes.
Soak the potatoes in cold water for at least 15-20 minutes.
- 3
Grab a large bowl and create the batter by whisking flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper together. Then add water, little bit at a time and whisk until you have a thick, pourable smooth batter.
Grab a large bowl and create the batter by whisking flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper together. Then add water, little bit at a time and whisk until you have a thick, pourable smooth batter.
- 4
Heat the oil for frying in a large wok or pot - aim for a temperature between 375 F and 400 F on medium heat.
Heat the oil for frying in a large wok or pot - aim for a temperature between 375°F (191°C) and 400°F (204°C) on medium heat.
- 5
Drain the fries and then pat them dry. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip each curly fry in the batter. Let any excess drip away and then place this battered portion on the baking sheet. Repeat the same with the remaining fries.
Drain the fries and then pat them dry. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip each curly fry in the batter. Let any excess drip away and then place this battered portion on the baking sheet. Repeat the same with the remaining fries.
- 6
Once the oil is hot, add the battered fries to the oil and fry until they are golden brown crispy outside and soft inside. This can take between 8-15 minutes, depending on the level of doneness you desire. Season with salt and serve hot!
Once the oil is hot, add the battered fries to the oil and fry until they are golden brown crispy outside and soft inside. This can take between 8-15 minutes, depending on the level of doneness you desire. Season with salt and serve hot!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @cooking.with.anadi on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingwithanadi
Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen
Recipe history
- April 16, 2026 — Reworked and refreshed for the 2026 relaunch — new photography, restructured and standardized ingredients & instructions.
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