The BEST Easy Air Fryer French Fries – perfectly crispy outside, tender inside, and absolutely delicious. They taste just like our favorite restaurant, but healthier because they aren’t fried. Only 3 ingredients – russet potatoes, olive oil, and salt. Peel, slice, soak and bake. SO simple and they taste great. Serve with burgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, sandwiches – you name it!
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Pin This RecipeBest Air Fryer French Fries
One of my favorite things to make in my air fryer is french fries. We make frozen french fries all the time and LOVE them. I decided to give Homemade Air Fryer French Fries a try and let me tell you, they are SOOOO good! They have the best texture: crispy exterior, tender inside, and absolutely delicious. They taste just like our favorite restaurant, but healthier because they aren’t fried. Only 3 basic ingredients – russet potatoes, olive oil, and salt. Peel, slice, soak and bake. SO simple and they taste great! This recipe is a game changer! If you have an air fryer, you MUST make this french fries recipe! It is hands down the best way to make french fries at home.
What is an Air Fryer?
An air fryer is basically a countertop convection oven. It circulates hot air around the food for faster cooking. The rapidly circulating air makes the food crispy, much like a deep fryer but with less oil. You also don’t need to preheat the air fryer, making cooking in the air fryer much faster than cooking in the oven. The air fryer is also SUPER easy to clean up. You can put the cooking basket in the dishwasher.
How to Make French Fries in the Air Fryer
The cooking process for these french fries is super easy. Clean the potatoes and peel them. Slice them with a french fry cutter or knife. Soak in a large bowl of cold water for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and pat dry with some paper towels. Toss the potatoes with a little oil and salt. Place the potato sticks in an even layer in the basket of the air fryer and cook until crispy. Shake the air-fryer basket halfway through the cooking time to ensure maximum crispiness!
For best results, you will need to cook your fries in several small batches. If you crowd the air fryer basket, you will get soggy fries. Place the cooked crispy french fries on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven at 200ºF.
Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- Here is the equipment that I used for this recipe:
- Philips XXL Air Fryer: https://amzn.to/2Rt5AQ5
- New Star Foodservice French Fry Cutter with 1/4-inch blade: https://amzn.to/3uEHnnX
- My air fryer and french fry cutter are on the expensive side. Here are a couple of great more cost-effective options:
- Geedel Manual French Fry Cutter: https://amzn.to/2PVlyBM
- Paula Deen Air Fryer: https://amzn.to/3wMCprl
- My air fryer and french fry cutter are on the expensive side. Here are a couple of great more cost-effective options:
- I used medium russet potatoes. Yukon golds and sweet potatoes would also be delicious.
- I peeled the potatoes. You can just clean the potatoes and slice them with the skin on. It is just a personal preference.
- I use olive oil or vegetable oil for the oil in this recipe.
- If you are short on time, you can skip soaking the potatoes in water. However, note that the fries may not be as crispy.
- Soaking potatoes in water before frying removes some of the starch on the outside of the potatoes helping them crisp up better when fried or baked.
- You can cut your fries as thick or thin as you prefer. I cut mine with a 1/4-inch french fry cutter. If you are making thicker fries, you will need to increase the cooking time.
- 1/4-inch cut fries will be similar to McDonald’s french fries.
- 3/8-inch cut fries will be similar to Wendy’s or Burger King’s french fries.
- You can season the fries with any seasoning that you prefer. Salt, black pepper, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, chili powder or parmesan cheese.
What to Serve with Homemade French Fries
This recipe makes the best french fries. They are so much fun to make. I loved slamming the potatoes through the french fry cutter. It is a great way to relieve some stress! LOL! These potatoes are great with burgers, hot dogs, chicken fingers, sandwiches – you name it! We even like them with skirt steak for a simple Steak Frites dinner. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce – ketchup, mayonnaise, or some Raising Cane’s Sauce. YUM! Give these a try the next time you get a craving for fries. You won’t be disappointed!
Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this easy recipe:
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Air Fryer French Fries
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 3 large russet potatoes
- 2-3 Tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Clean the potatoes and peel, if desired.
- Place potatoes in the french fry cutter fitted with a ¼-inch blade, and cut.
- Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl. Completely cover the fries in cold water.
- Let fries sit 20 minutes to an hour. This helps to remove excess starch and will help the fries crisp up more in the oven.
- After an hour, drain the water, and pat fries dry with a paper towel.
- Toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Add fries to the bottom of the air fryer basket in a single layer. Do not stack the fries on top of each other.
- Cook at 375ºF for 13 to 15 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.
- Serve hot and enjoy.
Notes:
- Here is the equipment that I used for this recipe:
- Philips XXL Air Fryer: https://amzn.to/2Rt5AQ5
- New Star Foodservice French Fry Cutter with 1/4-inch blade: https://amzn.to/3uEHnnX
- My air fryer and french fry cutter are on the expensive side. Here are a couple of great more cost-effective options:
- Geedel Manual French Fry Cutter: https://amzn.to/2PVlyBM
- Paula Deen Air Fryer: https://amzn.to/3wMCprl
- I used russet potatoes. Yukon Gold potatoes would also be delicious.
- I peeled the potatoes. You can just clean the potatoes and slice them with the skin on. It is just a personal preference.
- If you are short on time, you can skip soaking the potatoes in water. However, note that the fries may not be as crispy.
- Soaking potatoes in water before frying removes some of the starch on the outside of the potatoes helping them crisp up better when fried.
- You can cut your fries as thick or thin as you prefer. I cut mine with a 1/4-inch french fry cutter. If you are making thicker fries, you will need to increase the cooking time.
- 1/4-inch cut fries will be similar to McDonald’s french fries.
- 3/8-inch cut fries will be similar to Wendy’s or Burger King’s french fries.
Steph
Remember this recipe.
Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!
Pin This Recipe
I have an Air Fryer Lid for my 6QT Instant Pot Duo, can I use that instead of buying an Air Fryer. I’ve never used it yet, so I’m terrified to say the least LOL. How long is the cooking time for 3/8 inch cut fries if I can use my cooking combo that I have? Thanks so much for all of the wonderful recipes you share with all of us!