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Air Fryer Fries are the crispiest, fastest way to cook everyone’s favorite side dish! Find out the best cooking times so that crinkle fries, waffle fries, steak fries, sweet potato fries, or shoestring fries come out perfectly!
Air Fryer Fries
Fries are such a no-fuss, worry-free snack or side dish. Having a bag of frozen fries available in the freezer is like a Get Out Of Jail Free card after a long day. Finally, a dish you know that nobody will complain about!
Whether you like skinny and crispy shoestring fries or the thick and “meaty” steak fries, the air fryer is the perfect cooking method. You’ll get a nice crunchy exterior with a super tender, tasty potato inside!
Waffle fries and crinkle fries are perfect for catching seasoning or dipping sauce. Sweet potato fries are amazing when you want a bit of salty-sweet balance, too! You can dress them up with cheese, ranch, jalapenos, chili… The list goes on and on! Seriously, Air Fryer Fries are exactly the side dish you need!
P.S. If you love fries but are trying to stick with a low-carb diet, you’ve got to try these Crispy Keto Fries!
Ingredients for Air Fryer Fries
Surprise! All you need is a bag of frozen fries. I also like to give them a quick spray of oil, but it’s entirely optional. This just helps the edges get beautifully browned and crispy.
How to make frozen French Fries in an Air Fryer
This side dish couldn’t be easier. Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees F for 2-3 minutes. Spray your bucket or racks, then toss in your fries! You can pour in enough that they are overlapping, but that will require you to open and shake the basket/racks at least twice while cooking so that they still get crispy.
Your cooking times will depend on the type of fries, the amount you cook at once, and your air fryer, so check out those details below.
How long to cook fries in an air fryer
This will ultimately depend on several factors, but you can expect each batch to take 12-17 minutes. The smaller the batch, the quicker they will cook and get crispy! The thicker the fries, the longer they’ll take.
For me (I used an air fryer with two full racks, had some overlapping layers of fries on each), the shoestring fries and waffle fries were ready quickest–Just 12-13 minutes. Crinkle fries and sweet potato fries took 13-14 minutes. Finally, steak fries took 16-17 minutes.
Tips for the BEST Air Fryer Fries
- Shake the basket/racks while the fries are cooking. The beauty of the air fryer is the super hot air flow — If parts of the fries are always blocked from the moving air, those parts won’t get wonderfully crispy!
- Allow the air fryer to preheat. Technically, you can toss your fries in without preheating, but you’ll find that they don’t cook evenly. Half of your fries will be overcooked by the time the rest are perfect. Preheating helps them all cook at the same pace.
- Keep your fries in the freezer until ready to cook. You don’t want to allow the fries to thaw at all before cooking. As they thaw, moisture will come to the surface. This moisture will result in soggy fries that don’t have that satisfying crunch.
What to serve with French Fries?
This is the side dish that goes with everything! Pair your Air Fryer French Fries with a Jalapeno Popper Burger or a Turkey Club Sandwich. Serve with Chicken Nuggets for an at-home happy meal or make a super easy dinner of Air Fryer Fish and Chips! Add a Spiked Blueberry Lemonade for the adults in the family, and call it a day!
Easy Air Fryer Recipes
- Air Fryer Steak Tips – A delicious main entrée ready in under 10 minutes with minimal work!
- Air Fryer Tater Tots – Another easy, from-frozen side dish perfect for a busy day!
- Air Fryer Cauliflower – Healthy and covered in buffalo sauce for a super tasty appetizer!
- Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks – Turn frozen mozzarella sticks into an amazing, cheesy move night snack.
- Air Fryer Zucchini Pizza Bites – Minimal ingredients, decently healthy, and the perfect pizza flavor everybody wants!
Check out ALL of my Air Fryer Recipes here!
Air Fryer Fries
Ingredients
- 1 bag of frozen fries
- Spray oil, optional
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F for 2-3 minutes.
- Spray the racks or bucket with oil, pour in fries, then spray fries with oil. (There can be some overlap, but the more overlap, the more often you will have to shake the racks/basket while cooking.)
- Cook 12-17 minutes, depending on type of fries and amount of fries being cooked at once (see post for notes). Shake 1-3 times throughout cooking.
- Serve immediately with seasonings and condiments of your choosing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
