Air Fryer French Fries

This is the best way to make Air Fryer French Fries – they turn out crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and are perfectly seasoned! Serve them with your favorite dips for a simple snack or a fun side dish.

Ah, fries. I’m going to majorly date myself here, but I can ever forget the episode of Scrubs where Carla didn’t get fries for lunch, then continues to steal fries from Turk’s plate because “I can’t have French fries”. If they’d had air fried french fries… they never would have had this argument ?

I love anything potato, but I don’t always love all of the grease and messiness that comes with deep frying. I’ve been loving my air fryer so much for the past year, and fries have been pretty much a weekly occurence.

They are easy to make with a little prep – the most important step for crispiness is soaking them for at least 30 minutes in cold water before air frying them. Other than that, these are an absolute breeze to make!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

Ingredient notes

• Potatoes: Russet potatoes work best, but Yukon Gold are also fine. The size/length of the potatoes determines the length of your fries, so if you like long fries, you need to buy long potatoes.
• Seasoning: Feel free to use any seasoning you like for the potatoes. Cajun seasoning is really nice, and so is Old Bay or taco seasoning, if I’m being honest.
• Oil: Use a neutral vegetable oil suitable for high heat. I use sunflower oil.
• Salt: Make sure to add the salt AFTER air frying. It does really affect the crispiness in this particular recipe.

How to make french fries in the air fryer

1. Start by scrubbing the potatoes clean. You can peel them if you prefer, but I pretty much never do. Cut them into fries, about ¼ inch thick.

2. Place the fries in a large bowl and cover them with ice cold water. Let sit for at lest 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

3. Drain and pat the fries very dry with paper towels.

4. Toss the fries with oil first, then with seasoning.

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5. Pre-heat your air fryer for 5 minutes on the highest setting. Then, place a single layer of fries in the hot basket (you will need to work in batches). Air fry at 385°F for 15-20 minutes, shaking the basket once every 5 minutes.

6. Serve the fries immediately for the best crispiness! If you want to air fry all of the fries first, then serve, I recommend sticking to 15 minutes of air frying. Then, re-heat in batches on the hottest air fryer setting for 2-3 minutes – they should crisp up again.

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Recipe tips

• Make sure to cut the fries about ¼ inch to ½ inch thick (½ inch is closer to steakhouse fries, ¼ inch is closer to french fries).
• Do not skip the soaking! I have tried several batches of fries with shorter soaking times or no soaking, and they ranged from barely crispy to soft and limp.
• 1-2 teaspoons of oil may seem very little, but it’s usually enough for me. In my recipe testing, I’ve found that too much oil can actually result in soggy fries.
• Pat the fries very dry once you have drained them, else the residual water will make them steam in the air fryer vs crisp up.
• Make sure to salt the fries after air frying, the salt draws out water and, again, makes the potatoes steam/soften in the air fryer vs crisp up, especially in the second or third batch.
• Do not overcrowd your air fryer, you’ll get best results by air frying in 2-3 batches.
• Serve the fries hot from the air fryer (you can reheat in batches on the highest setting for 2-3 minutes if you do all the batches first, then serve). They do soften once they cool, as with most fries.

Serving ideas

This is a recipe I pretty much always serve when I make oven baked steak! Nothing beats a classic steak frites with plenty of homemade garlic herb butter.

The fries are also excellent with oven fried chicken, or with oven fried fish for a classic fish and chips meal.

Of course, they work by themselves as a snack or party food, with a couple of dipping sauces on the side. Ketchup and mayo are a must with my kids, I personally love a good ranch dip.

More easy air fryer recipes

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.

Printable recipe