How To Cook Frozen Fries In An Air Fryer
July 27, 2021 By Daisy
One of the most frustrating things about cooking at home for me has been frying french fries. I dont have a deep fryer and my oven is too small, so its either baking them or letting someone else do all that messy work while you go on to more important tasks like chopping up vegetables. But now there are air fryers!
These little appliances can replace your old-fashioned oil with just ordinary hot air from an electric fan which means no messes in your kitchen when youre done well worth any extra space they take up in the cabinets if not already cluttering some other room of yours .
Air Fryers Let You Cook Frozen French Fries Easily
How To Make This Recipe
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found at the bottom of the page on the printable recipe card.
Tips For Making The Best Air Fryer French Fries
Keep things simple and season your air fryer French fries with salt or tailor them to your tastes by garnishing them with your favorite flavorings. Toss them with fresh herbs like rosemary, spice things up with a little chili powder, or mix them with seasoning mixes like Old Bay, Creole, taco seasoning, or curry powder. Drizzle them with flavored oils and serve with your go-to dips.
To avoid soggy fries, dry the potatoes after soaking them, and cook the fries in a single layer.
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Crispy Air Fryer French Fries
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Air fryer french fries are deliciously crisp and incredibly easy to make with very little fat.
Air fryers have revolutionized cooking nearly everything, including making your favorite crispy french fries in less time than baking in the oven!
What You Need To Make Seasoned French Fries In The Air Fryer
They are the perfect side dish to our other favorite recipes, like air fryer hamburgers or air fryer ribeye steak. Our family meals are definitely better at home, than at our favorite restaurant.
I made these seasoned fries in my Cosori 5.8 quart air fryer, but this recipe will work in almost every air fryer. To make these fries, you will need:
- 4 Russet Potato or Yukon Gold Potatoes
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- cayenne pepper or chili powder
Also Check: Oil Spray For Air Fryer
Tips For The Best Air Fryer Frozen Fries
- Shake it up: To make sure your fires all get crispy and cooked evenly be sure to toss them gently half way through. Youll want to rotate the bottom to the top and move them around. You can shake them up more than once, if youd like. Some air fryers rotate, but youll still want to check and see how theyre doing half way through.
- Dont Overfill: For frozen fries you dont want to fill your air fryer more than half to ¾ full. You do not have to put frozen fries in a single layer, but you for do not want to over crowd the basket. You may end up with undercooked fries.
- Crispier: Depending on the thickness and type of fry you use, you might need to increase or decrease the cooking time. The longer you cook the fries, the crispier they will become.
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How To Cook Homemade French Fries In An Air Fryer
Air fryer french fries rare the perfect side to so many dishes, and so easy to make! The secret to getting them really crispy is to soak them, and then thoroughly dry them before seasoning with salt and oil.
Air frying is a great way to cook potatoes for a quick and easy side dish. Some of my other favorite air fryer potato recipes are: air fryer roast potatoes, air fryer potato wedges, or and air fryer baked potatoes.
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Air Fryer Recipe For Beginners
Chances are quite high that frozen french fries were the first thing you cooked in your air fryer! Do you remember?
It’s so easy to make frozen fries in the air fryer, and the payoff is big! Fries are cooked in the air fryer more quickly than in the oven, and they come out tasting like they were deep-fried.
If you’re an air fryer newbie, you definitely need to make air fryer frozen french fries ASAP!
We’re sharing tips and tricks to make sure that you get crispy, browned, tasty frozen fries, every time.
Once you’ve mastered air fryer french fries, you can move on to air fryer tater tots, air fryer sweet potato fries, and air fryer potato wedges made from fresh potatoes.
Recipe Tips And Substitutions
Before you air fry French fries, read up on these recipe tips so that you achieve the best results and yummy homemade fries!
- Try to cut the fries all to a similar width so that they cook evenly and finish around the same time. Theres nothing worse than having some fries under-done and some over-done in the same batch!
- Dont overcrowd the air fryer tray too much these fries need room for air to circulate. Thats how they get crispy. We have a 6-quart air fryer so if you have a smaller one you may need to do these fries in two batches.
- We recommend avocado oil for these French fries since it has a high smoke point.
- You can peel the potatoes but we like the skin on it gets a little crispy which is delicious.
- Wed recommend using russet potatoes if you want them to be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. However, you can also use other types of potatoes if you dont have any russets on hand.
We use this air fryer for our recipes and it has been great.
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Tools Used To Make Air Fryer French Fries
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- Air Fryer I am using the Avalon Bay one, but any air fryer will work!
- Mixing bowl for tossing
- Tongs make tossing and serving super convenient, but you could also use a burger flipper
Layering Food In The Air Fryer
One of my biggest frustrations with the air fryer is that, despite the baskets large overall volume capacity, in order for certain foods to crisp properly, they need to be cooked in a single layer.
Since the surface area of the basket is small, that means you end up making a lot of batches, taking away from the air fryers quicker cook time.
To determine whether or not you could fit more fries into the air fryer at once, I tested a few different methods. Here is what I found:
- Single Layer of Potatoes. Cooking just one layer of potatoes at a time resulted in the best, crispiest fries. The downside was that I needed to make at least 4 batches, which extended the recipes total time.
- Double Layer of Potatoes. My next test was to see if I could stack the potatoes in two layers. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the double-layer fries, while not *as* crisp as the ones I cooked in a single layer, were still delightfully crispy and very satisfying. This approach also cut my number of batches in half.
- Three Layers or More. When I stacked the potatoes in three layers or more, they were noticeably less crisp and representative of fried fries. I would not recommend this method.
Ultimately the number of layers of fries you air fry at once depends upon how picky you are about the fries being maximally crispy and how much time you have for multiple batches.
For us, the double layer was the perfect balance between crispiness and faster recipe time.
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What Oil Is Best For Air Fryer
What are the best oils to use in the Air Fryer?
- Coconut Oil 450 degrees Fahrenheit smoke point.
- Peanut Oil 450 degrees Fahrenheit smoke point.
- Vegetable Oil 400 degrees Fahrenheit smoke point.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil 375 degrees Fahrenheit smoke point.
- Butter 200-250 degrees Fahrenheit smoke point.
How To Make Air Fryer Seasoned French Fries
To make these fries, begin by peeling, rinsing, then patting the potatoes dry. I use a mandolin slicer, but if you don’t have one, you can use a sharp knife, and cut the potatoes into strips about ¼ inch wide slices in thickness. When leaving the skin on your fries, scrub potatoes to remove excess dirt before slicing.
to Get the Top Ten Air Fryer Questions Answered
Next, in a medium bowl, soak the strips of potato in a bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes, then drain them, and pat them dry with a paper towel. Once they are dry, coat the potatoes with oil and seasonings, tossing the fries in the mixture.
Next, place the potato slices in the air fryer basket, in a single layer, and cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through cooking. You can add additional 1-2 minutes cooking time until they are golden brown, and reach your desired crispness.
Because these fries are crispiest when hot, serve the fries warm. They are perfect with a small bowl of ketchup, or other dipping sauces, on the side.
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How Long To Cook Frozen French Fries In The Air Fryer
Cooking times vary greatly depending on the air fryer. Make sure to check your own air fryer for the most accurate cooking time for French fries. If your air fryer has a basket, be careful not to crowd the basket with fries. Start with a single layer and leave a little bit of breathing room between each potato. If you get too many fries in the basket, too much steam will get trapped inside the fryer and they wont get as crispy. As a general rule, start with about 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees, give them a quick toss and then decide if they need more time.
How Long Do You Cook Frozen Fries In The Air Fryer
No need to search for air fryer frozen french fries time. Frozen french fries take about 15 minutes to make in the air fryer.
You will want to shake the basket half-way through for even cooking. If you want extra crispy french fries, cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Needless to say cooking frozen fries this way is so much more efficient than in the oven. They become crispy and cook perfectly in the air fryer.
No more soggy frozen fries in this house!
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Are Air Fried French Fries Bad For You
Air Fried French Fries are much healthier than deep-fried potatoes. They contain a lot less oil and make them equivalent to baking french fries in an oven in terms of health.
For an extra healthy boost, you can cook these french fries with the skins still on. Potato skins include added fiber and potassium.
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Dipping Sauces For Fries
Once your fries are perfectly crisp and golden, time to start dipping! Ketchup is delicious but you can make a variety of homemade sauces to serve alongside your air fryer French fries. Here are some of our favorites:
- Fry sauce basically a mix of ketchup and mayo but made four different ways!
- Red Robin Campfire Sauce a twist on regular fry sauce with your favorite barbecue flavor.
- Ranch dressing This homemade dressing tastes way better than the bottled kind!
- Honey mustard Simple, sweet and tangy
- Cheese sauce an easy cheesy sauce perfect for dipping pretzels, chicken, and of course, fries!
- Poutine make your own poutine with cheese, gravy and your air fryer fries.
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How To Prep Your Potatoes
I did not peel the potatoes because I like the texture the skin offers, but you can peel them if you want. I also think they taste better with the skin on, and you lose some vitamins when you peel them.
I cut them into 1/2-inch or so wedges, maybe a little smaller or bigger, give or take 1/8 of an inch. Just know that the thinner you slice them the more quickly they will fry upyou might have to shave a couple minutes off the fry time if they are skinny.
How To Make Frozen French Fries
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How Do I Cook Frozen French Fries In An Air Fryer
Cooking frozen foods in your air fryer is a game-changer. You can cook certain foods quicker than your oven preheats.
This air fryer frozen french fries technique requires no oiland still comes out with crispy results!
Fill your air fryer no more than halfway full of frenchfries. Cook at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, shaking the basket every 5minutes.Since all frozen french fries are different, its very important to keep aclose eye on them to make sure they dont overcook. If the fries start to browntoo fast, turn your heat down to 350 degrees F.
I like to only cook the amount I need for that night andremake them again the next night, but I do include directions on how to reheatyour fries below.
What Do I Eat With These Fries
Pretty much anything starting with a cheeseburger! Theyre even delicious as a light snack or appetizer. Get creative with the dipping sauces.
Enjoy!
If you tried this Air Fryer French Fry recipe or any other on the blog, Id love to hear from you with a comment or star rating in the recipe box!
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Storage & Reheating Tips
Air fryer French fries are best eaten fresh. If you have leftovers , store them in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. They can be frozen in a freezer safe container or bag for up to 3 months.
The best way to reheat fries is to pop them back in the air fryer to crisp them up again when youre ready to serve them. Other methods wont make your fries crispy again. If your fries are frozen, theres no need to thaw them first but they may take a minute or two longer to reheat.
Why Are My Fries Burning In Air Fryer
Many air fryer French fries make a cooking time suggestion of 20 minutes at 200c/400f. This is way too hot and results in burnt, dry and overly crispy air fryer French fries. Instead you need to kickstart your air fryer French fries at 160c/320f and then finish your fries at 200c/400f to help crisp them.
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Should I Spray Fries With Oil When Air Frying
Nope! Frozen french fries do not need any oil to cook in the air fryer, and here’s why:
Frozen potato products like fries, tater tots, and hashbrowns are processed with an amount of oil already on them. This is why you can bake them in the oven on a cookie sheet and they don’t stick!
As the frozen fries heat up, that oil is released and helps the fries get brown and crispy.
Air Fried French Fries
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Theres nothing I love more about a homemade air fryer french fries recipe that actually makes the fries crispy. These air fried french fries do just that.
Ive even included directions on how to make frozen french fries with no oil in your air fryer too!
I remember when I bought my first air fryer. The only thing I wanted to make was air fried french fries. I had no idea how they would taste, but I was confident they would taste good. They werent.
I burnt half of the fries and the other half were barely cooked.I thought I could put the fries in and then in 20 minutes they would be done.
Ive learned a lot about air fryers since then and I can tell you, there is a learning curve. There are even genius articles like this one that tells you what mistakes most people are making with their air fryer. I fell victim to #4.
This recipe has been tested in and out with my current air fryers. It even includes suggestions on how to cook the air fried french fries in a small air fryer or larger air fryer, like the Power Air Fryer Oven.
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