Frozen French Fries In The Air Fryer are more than just convenient; they're game changers. This simple technique transforms frozen fries into your favorite fast food fries: the greatest salty, crispy, hot french fries, all in less time and with less oil.
Let's speak about french fries today, folks. Even while I adore creating my own french fries (like this Air Fryer Cheesy Potato Wedges, Louisiana Voodoo Fries, or my Best Air Fryer Roasted Baby Potatoes), we all know that it is unlikely to happen on a weeknight after work, homework, sports, and all the other activities that keep us all quite busy.
In fact, I love frozen fries since I can make them fast and they make a great side dish for sandwiches, these air fryer Chili Cheese nuggets, or other simple weekday meals. Making these has also been a breeze thanks to my air fryer. This is the best way to make great, crispy air fryer fries, based on my extensive testing.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Simple. By now, everyone is aware of the air fryer's brilliance; it has completely changed the way I cook a variety of foods, including pizza, spaghetti squash, and breakfast potatoes! I adore how simple it is to throw everything in, wait a short while, and then enjoy a delectable supper without ever turning on my oven. This is as easy as it gets to make frozen french fries.
- Fries are always perfectly crispy. The hot air that circulates around the fries at a high temperature in an air fryer is the best feature for cooking frozen french fries since it ensures that each fry is cooked and crispy without the need for additional oil.
- healthier. Alright, so the health benefits will essentially be the same as if you were baking frozen fries previously. However, these air-fried french fries will be far healthier if you prefer deep-frying your fries. The air fryer provides a healthier alternative to a deep fryer by using less oil while still producing crispy fries.
- It works with fries of all kinds. Regardless matter your preference for waffle fries, sweet potato fries, curly fries, shoestring fries, or steak fries, the air fryer can cook a variety of fries and produce consistently wonderful results. If you really want to, you can even make your own air fryer fries!
- Fantastic side dish! These simple fries go well with sandwiches as a side dish. These fries go well with my Crispy Sourdough Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Steak Egg and Cheese Bagel Recipe, or this Truly Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings.
Key Ingredients
This basic dish calls for only a few ingredients. Here are the major items you'll need:
- One pound package of frozen French fries: This is an excellent beginning point for serving 2-4 people, depending on portion size. You can select any sort of fry you like, including crinkle-cut fries, thicker fries, and specialty fries.
- Light oil or cooking spray. I use the tiniest spray of frying oil on these to ensure that my toppings cling.
- Optional toppings. Salt is the obvious choice here, but you may also try different toppings to make your fries as elegant as you want. I used garlic salt instead of ordinary salt, then finished with chopped Italian parsley and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
How To Make Frozen French Fries In The Air Fryer
You'll be savoring the first taste of a crispy, salty, hot french fry in no time if you follow a few easy steps!
- Getting ready. Place the frozen fries in the air fryer basket after lightly spraying them with cooking oil and seasoning them with salt (or garlic salt!). Because you'll be shaking the basket during the cooking process, it's okay to stack the fries somewhat on top of one another, unlike other air fryer recipes that require you to arrange the food in a single layer.
You should not, however, load your basket more than ½-¾ of the way (with my air fryer, this equated to around a 16 ounce bag of fries). Otherwise, you'll have soggy fries since the air won't be able to circulate. Make batches if you are frying more than one pound of french fries.
- Cook. Preheat the air fryer to 380 degrees Fahrenheit. Set the timer for eighteen minutes. To guarantee even cooking, utilize the shake feature if your air fryer has one. It should alert you to shake the air fryer basket around halfway through the cooking procedure. If not, give the basket a hand shake for eight and fifteen minutes.
- Final Touches: Place the freshly cooked, crispy french fries on a serving platter. For the ideal side dish, add a dash of parmesan cheese, freshly cut Italian parsley, and garlic salt.
Tips for the best air fryer frozen french fries
How difficult could it be, I wondered when I first tried using the air fryer to produce frozen fries? It turns out that a number of factors can cause you to get either rock-hard potato sticks or a mushy mess instead of tasty, crispy, salty fries. The following advice will help you make the tastiest fries:
- Avoid packing the air fryer basket too full. I said that earlier, but it's worth restating. Don't put too much in your basket. Your fries will become mushy. For optimal results, I tend to keep it approximately ½ full, but you may go up to ¾ full as long as you shake the basket while it's cooking. Which brings me to....
- Shake! While the food is cooking, make sure to shake the air fryer basket many times. If it's easier, you can re-distribute the fries in the basket using tongs. To ensure that all of the fries receive adequate ventilation while cooking, you should rotate them. This will guarantee that they cook through and that you always receive hot, crispy french fries.
- Pay attention to the type of fries you use. I'm sure you've noticed that different kinds of french fries bake in the oven in varying amounts of time. The air fryer is no different. For this dish, I used medium-sized crinkle-cut fries. However, you will need to modify the cooking time if you are using a thinner fry, such as shoestring fries.
Take note of the fries' thickness and make the necessary adjustments. Additionally, if you check them and they aren't as crispy as you would want, you can always add a few minutes to your cook time. However, they could get overly crisp if you cook them for too long. Just make sure you check them along the way and err on the side of caution.
When figuring out how long to cook different kinds of fries, you can start with this guide:
- 12 minutes for sweet potatoes fries
- 8 minutes for shoestring fries
- 10 minutes for waffle fries
- 15 minutes for steak fries or homemade fries
Variations & Substitutions
- Try a variety of fries, such as homemade fries, sweet potato fries, or crinkle fries. The cooking time may need to be slightly adjusted for each kind. (Refer to the directions below.)
- Addition of seasonings: You can use a variety of seasonings to give your fries distinct flavors in addition to basic or garlic salt. For a kick, think about adding some cayenne pepper, onion powder, or paprika. Or make some mouthwatering cajun fries with a Louisiana cajun seasoning!
- Dips: Am I the only one who occasionally believes that the best part is the dips? For added taste, serve with your preferred dips, such as homemade fry sauce, ranch dressing, honey mustard, or barbecue sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, however in order to guarantee that they cook uniformly and stay crispy, you will need to cook them in batches, depending on the size of your air fryer.
Although they are best eaten fresh, leftovers can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container and reheated in the air fryer for three to five minutes to crisp them up again. Just watch out for overcooking!
Although it's not always required, preheating can produce superior results. Consult your air fryer's directions; starting without preheating can be compensated for by adding a minute or two to the cooking time.
Tossing them swiftly to disperse without removing them from the basket is what's meant by a good shake. This guarantees even frying and crispy edges. Use kitchen tongs to gently toss the fries in the air fryer basket to rotate them if you can't rotate them with a shaker.
Using your air fryer makes it easier than ever to get crispy, golden-brown french fries!
If you tried this Crispy Frozen French Fries In The Air Fryer or any other recipe on my website, please feel free to leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. And remember to tag me on Instagram!
More Easy Potato Recipes
- Crockpot Steak and Potatoes
- Crockpot Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Potatoes
- Louisiana Voodoo Fries Recipe (Wingstop Copycat)
- Air Fryer Cheesy Potato Wedges
- Oven Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes
- The Best Air Fryer Roasted Baby Potatoes
- The Best Air Fryer Breakfast Potatoes
- How to Make Crispy Frozen French Fries in the Air Fryer
- How to Make Potatoes on the Blackstone Griddle
- Slow Cooker Sausage and Potatoes
Recipe
How To Make Crispy Frozen French Fries In The Air Fryer
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb frozen French fries
- light cooking oil spray
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
Optional toppings
- ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt substitute this for the regular salt if using
INSTRUCTIONS
- Sprinkle the french fries with salt (or garlic salt, if using) after lightly spraying them with cooking oil or olive oil. In the basket of the air fryer, put the frozen French fries. Although it's acceptable if they are slightly stacked on top of one another, try to make them as level as you can. Throughout the cooking process, you will shake them.
- Preheat the air fryer to 380°F.
- Aim for 18 minutes on the air fryer timer. Set the air fryer's "shake" feature if it has one. When the air fryer basket is ready to shake, your air fryer will alert you. If your air fryer does not have a shake feature, stop cooking at the 8-minute point and shake the basket thoroughly to help the frozen fries cook more evenly. After 15 minutes, shake once more.
- When the fries are done cooking, take them out of the basket. Add chopped Italian parsley and, if you'd like, some parmesan cheese on top of the fries.
NOTES
- Avoid packing your air fryer basket too full. At most, it should be between ½ and ¾ full.
- To guarantee consistent cooking, shake the fries at the 8-minute and 15-minute marks.
- Consider the kind of frozen french fries you're using and modify the cooking time appropriately (see to the top notes for advice). It will take less time to fry thinner fries.
- If you want your fries even crispier, let them cook in the air fryer for a little longer. Make sure they aren't overcooking by checking on them every few minutes.
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