Crispy Air Fryer Frozen French Fries

If you love deep fried French fries, you’ll love these healthier air fryer frozen French fries. They’re golden brown and crispy, with minimal oil and almost no prep time! Serve them up as an easy side dish or quick snack.

We have a serious love for potato fries in our house! While we sometimes go with homemade fries like these Parmesan truffle fries or these air fryer parsnip fries, you just can’t beat the convenience of frozen French fries! 

We used to deep fry or oven bake frozen fries, but the air fryer is our new favorite way to prepare them. It’s less messy than deep frying (not to mention healthier!) and way crispier than oven fries. 

We usually pair these air fryer fries with stuffed bison burgers, sous vide hanger steak or grilled flank steak, but we also love to load them up with toppings and serve them as a snack or appetizer!

Why this air fryer frozen French fries recipe works

• The air fryer gets crispy results without deep frying! You only need to lightly spray the fries with oil. The air fryer circulates hot air around the fries and creates a golden brown and crispy texture.
• They’re better than our favorite fast food fries. I know, that’s a bold statement but these frozen fries in the air fryer are salty and crispy just like your favorite drive thru fries, but they’re on the healthier side!
• You don’t need to turn on your oven (which is great on warm summer days) and you don’t have to worry about the messy oil splatters of deep frying.
• You need about two minutes of prep time to get these fries in the air fryer. Just open the bag, toss with salt, spray with oil and add to the air fryer basket. This super easy side dish can be on the dinner table in very little time!

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Ingredients

You’ll need a 32 ounce bag of frozen French fries. For the type of fry, you can use regular or seasoned fries. If you use seasoned, you may wish to leave out the added salt.

If your fries are unseasoned, I highly recommend adding salt. I like to use fine salt (or table salt) as it will stick to the frozen French fries better than coarse salt like sea salt.

You’ll need some spray oil for the air fryer basket and the fries. I'm partial to canola oil and grapeseed oil for my air fryer. The oil will ensure the fries don’t stick to the basket and a light spritz of oil on the fries will help them get golden brown and crispy!

Variations and substitutions

• While I used regular frozen french fries, you can use different types of fries like curly fries, steak fries, sweet potato fries, waffle fries or shoestring fries. You’ll just need to adjust the time slightly for each one to ensure they get browned, especially is you use thicker fries.
• For extra flavor, try adding homemade Creole seasoning, Italian seasoning or some ground black pepper.
• Great dipped in traditional ketchup, but we LOVE them with this Cajun remoulade.

Step by step instructions to make crispy air fryer French fries

1. Spray the air fryer basket lightly with spray oil.

2. Toss the French fries with salt and spray lightly with oil. Add to the basket.

3. Use the air fry setting to cook at 400°F for a cook time of 20-25 minutes, tossing every 3-5 minutes to ensure even browning.

The fries come out nice and crispy on the outside! Serve with your favorite dipping sauce!

Expert tips

1. When spraying oil in the air fryer basket, be sure to use real cooking oil and not PAM as it's not ideal for your air fryer. I like to use this oil sprayer and fill it with my favorite oil.
2. Don’t overdo it on the oil. The fries won’t necessarily get crispier and they may end up getting a little soggy.
3. If your air fryer model requires preheating, you should do so before adding the French fries.
4. Air fryers can vary so you may need to adjust the temperature and air frying time slightly.
5. You don’t need to worry about arranging fries in a single layer, but be careful not to overcrowd the air fryer too much. 
6. If you have a small air fryer, you may need to air fry the fries in two batches or just use half the bag.
7. To ensure the fries brown evenly, shake the basket every 5 minutes so the fries on the bottom get rotated to the top of the air fryer basket.
8. This recipe results in ultra crispy fries. If you like them less crispy, just reduce the air frying time by a few minutes. And vice versa.

Frequently asked questions

Serving options

While we love our fries with ketchup, if you want to change things up, try serving them with this Cajun remoulade sauce or this delicious bacon gravy!

Honey mustard, ranch dressing or garlic sauce would also be amazing!

If your fries are a side dish, you can always enjoy them with sous vide fried chicken, crispy Cajun chicken wings, sous vide beef ribs, milk steak, or Instant Pot pork ribs.

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