Is there anything better than crispy french fries to go with a juicy grilled hamburger? Over the past few months we’ve had these air fryer fries at least weekly, if not more. They’re the best homemade french fries we’ve ever made and so much easier than deep frying. If you don’t have an air fryer, I’ve included instructions for baking as well! You’ll love this recipe because the air fryer fries take less than 30 minutes to make, the seasoning is simple yet flavorful, and they’re crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Russet Potatoes – these are a must, don’t try making these with another kind of potato. I recommend looking for ones that are large and almost a rectangle shape for better cutting. Avocado oil – if you don’t have avocado oil, you can use olive oil
Equipment
Air Fryer – We love this Cosori 12-in-1 Air Fryer Toaster Oven Combo and use it all the time for pretty much everything you can think of from toast to almond chicken. It’s perfect for these fries but if you don’t need a toaster oven, we have this Cosori 1500 Watt Air Fryer as well and love it just for air fryer cooking. French fry cutter – You can cut your fries by hand but why? We bought this french fry/vegetable cutter and it cuts perfectly shaped fries in seconds.
Instructions
Since this recipe only take a few ingredients, the instructions and method of cooking are the most important to get the best air fryer fries! First, wash your potatoes and dry them. This is important so I’m going to repeat it again – dry your potatoes. If you have time, it’s best to wash them and let them fully dry for like 30-60 minutes but we make them all the time without doing that, so that part isn’t essential, just an added bonus. But drying the potatoes – that is essential. If they’re wet, they’re not going to get as crispy as you want. Peel the potatoes once they’re dry. Now it’s time to cut. You can either cut them by hand or by using a french fry cutter. If you’re cutting by hand, cut them into 3/8 inch fries – give or take. No need to measure, just try to cut them as even as possible to make even cutting. With this french fry cutter, it’s literally as easy as putting the potato in the cutter and pressing down. Perfectly sized french fries every time. The main goal with cutting your fries is to get them all to be equal size (other than the obvious edges and smaller pieces) so that they cook evenly. Put all of your cut potatoes into either a bowl of a zipper bag with the avocado oil and toss until all the potatoes are well coated. Season the potatoes with some of the salt and rosemary then toss and add the rest of the seasonings so that every potato gets seasoned, not just the top half. Place the fries in the air fryer basket on on the air fryer tray (if you’re using the same Cosori Air Fryer Toaster Oven combo we have), doing your best to space them out. The more space each individual fry has, the crispier it’ll get and the faster it’ll cook. Ideally you’d lay each fry down individually with about a toothpick of space between them to let the air fryer do its job. Tip: If you don’t have an air fryer, put a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and lay the french fries down on the baking sheet in a single layer with a little space in between them. Then it’s time to air fry. Air fry them at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, watching carefully because every air fryer is a little different. After 20 minutes, check the fries, taste, and add more salt if needed. Take out any of the little bitty fries (from the potato edges) that may be crispy and put back into the air fryer until the rest of the fries get as crispy as you want, typically another 5-10 minutes. Note: If you’re baking in an oven, you’ll bake for about 20 minutes, flip the fries, then cook for another 10-15 minute or until they get as crispy as you want. See notes in the recipe card for more specific tips! Once they’re as crispy as you want, pull out, salt a bit more if needed, and serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce like ketchup.
Expert Tips
Make sure your potatoes are completely dry before peeling. Wet potatoes = soggy air fryer fries. Space out your fries as much as possible to get them as crispy as possible. If you have too many fries to fit them all in the air fryer, do as many as you can fit into the air fryer and put the others in the oven. Shake the air fryer basket every five minutes or so if you don’t want to do a single layer. This will move around that fries and give all of them a chance to get fried. Watch fries closely after the first 15 minutes because they can go from just undercooked to overcooked faster than you’d think. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking on a baking sheet. Crumple the parchment paper before putting it on the baking sheet to keep the paper from sliding and will raise the fries off a tad off the pan.
More Easy Side Dishes
We’re a big fan of easy sides around here! You might also love these:
Instant Pot basmati riceCreamy twice baked potatoesEasy coconut riceEasy mashed potatoesStrawberry spinach salad
