Air Fryer French Fries Recipe
Crispy and crunchy homemade air fryer French fries. With just a few basic ingredients you can have Air Fryer fries ready without the mess and grease of classic fried ones. You’ll be enjoying them dunked in ketchup or Homemade Ranch in no time!
The air fryer is the fastest way to satisfy a craving. We love it for making Air Fryer Chicken Wings, crispy Air Fryer Bacon, and of course, fries.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
We love potatoes! Maybe it’s the fact that I live in Idaho (also known as potato land) and grew up eating potatoes. We love everything from classic Baked Potatoes to Creamy Potato Soup and even Potato Salad! We love coming up with creative ways to use spuds.
These Air Fryer fries are a favorite in our home, especially with our kids because they don’t have to wait long to fulfill a craving! It’s the perfect after-school snack.
The Crispiest Air Fryer French Fries
The air fryer method for making homemade French fries is the easiest for cooking fries. Not only is it easy to make, but they are also much healthier than deep frying in oil.
Both the prep and cooking for this recipe are so simple. Thinly sliced potatoes lightly tossed in oil and seasoning, then cooked until crispy and crunchy. All you need is a Juicy Burger or classic BLT Sandwich to go with these.
Ingredients for Air Fryer Fries
The ingredients needed for homemade fries are so simple and you most likely already have them in your kitchen.
- Potatoes – For this recipe, we use russet potatoes (Idaho potatoes) you can also use Yukon gold potatoes which give a creamier center.
- Oil – This recipe calls for olive oil but you can use vegetable oil or canola oil.
- Seasoning – We season the fries with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder, but you can use any of your go-to spices for variety.
Pro Tip: Leaving the potato skins on for fries has several benefits including more flavor, a great crispy texture, added fiber and nutrients, and best of all, it SAVES TIME!
How to Make French Fries in Air Fryer
- Scrub Potatoes: We just wash them and keep the skins on, but you can peel if you prefer.
- Cut Potatoes: Clean the potatoes and cut into about ¼” inch strands, making sure all the strands are the same size for even cooking. Rinse the fries under cold water and pat dry.
- Season: Add the fries into a bowl and drizzle with oil and toss, season and toss again. Evenly spread the fries into the air fryer basket.
- Air Fry: Cook the fries until crispy and golden, tossing halfway.
Pro Tip: Season the potatoes just before air frying them. If you add salt too early, it will draw moisture out of the potatoes and cause they won’t be as crispy when air fried.
Common Questions
That is totally fine, you can bake fries in the oven like we did our oven-baked potato wedges recipe.
Add the fries back into the air fryer and cook until reheated and re-crisped.
You do not have to preheat the air fryer for this fries recipe.
Yes, just clean and cut the fries and keep them completely submerged in cold water in the refrigerator until ready to make. Drain and pat dry before cooking the fries.
We used our basket-style air fryer because it’s easier to shake and toss the fries, but this will also work in a toaster oven-style air fryer.
Serve with
If you love fries, you understand that the dipping sauce is half the fun! When serving fries, we love to pair it with a variety of dips. Here are some family-approved favorites:
- Buttermilk Ranch (my son’s favorite)
- Avocado Ranch
- Ketchup (my daughter’s fave)
- Jalapeno Ranch
- Onion ring dipping sauce
- Fry Sauce (doubles as burger sauce!)
Remember your Air Fryer the next time you are craving French fries. This is the quickest way to make them and they turn out extra crispy.
More Potato Recipes
- Roasted Potatoes
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- Smashed Potatoes Recipe
- Air Fryer Potatoes
- Baked French Fries
- Sweet Potato Fries
Air Fryer French Fries
Ingredients
- 1 lb russet potatoes, (2 large or 3 medium potatoes)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp paprika
Instructions
- Scrub and clean the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into even ¼-inch thick strips.
- Rinse the fries in cold water and thoroughly pat dry.
- Add the fries into a large bowl and drizzle with the oil and toss. Sprinkle seasonings over the fries and toss again.
- Transfer the fries into the air fryer basket* and cook at 380 for 10 minutes. Toss the French fries and cook for an additional 6-10 minutes until the fries are golden and crispy. Garnish with parsley if desired. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Valentina Ablaev
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
These were fries were excellent! My husband raved about them. We used Old Bag seasoning on them to replicate fries that are popular in Philadelphia.
Thank you for another great recipe!
You’re very welcome, Patty. I’m glad to hear that your husband loved it a lot!
Hi Natasha, Enjoy your Enthusiastic Cooking shows, and my Family just got an air fryer so I’m wondering about Blanching the Taters in boiling water or par-boiling before air frying, Your thoughts?
Vinnie
Hi Vinnie! There is not need to do that, just air fryer directly after prepping/cutting. Make sure all the strands are the same size for even cooking. Rinse the fries under cold water and pat dry, this will help them crisp up.
I am very impressed how you answer everyones post,, good job, dont find that often, I am getting ready to make . got them cut and in cold right now..so I am hoping mine turned out as well as others..i will let you know.
I do my best, Carole. Every message, feedback and suggestion counts! I hope you’ll love the recipe.
Made these in my air fryer! Crispy and sooo good! I used a Cajun Spice blend ! Yummy!
These turned out so good!!! This will definitely be our go to fry recipe!
Great to hear that!
Made these for a snack for my husband and I. I only used the oil and salt. These were the best. We ate the whole batch. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Debra, happy to hear that the recipe was a huge success! Thanks so much for sharing that with us.
Next time I will cook a little longer but they were really good-served them with Idaho Fry Sauce from allrecipes. Thank you!
Hi Laurie! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you.
We have an oven with an air fryer option. I’ve used it only for items that don’t require oil because I made that mistake before and my oven was a mess. Since I don’t know what it’s like with a counter top air fryer, do you think my oven would be a mess again?
Thank you!
Hi Carmen! I generally do not have any issues with oil splatter in my air fryer from this recipe.
My fries did not come out crispy
They were a little bit chewy
Do you think I needed to cook them a little longer? I know it’s not the recipe because I have tried others. Any ideas? Thank you. 😊
Hi Deann! It could be that they needed a little longer or were they cut too thick? Also-rinsing and patting them dry before cooking them helps remove the starch and helps them crisp up on the outside. You can toss them back in to re-crisp in the air fryer if they need some additional time.
Fries turned out great! My air fryer doesn’t have a temperature control, one setting only. Twenty minutes was definitely not enough time. It took an extra 10 minutes but SO worth the wait!
Thank you, no more frozen fries
Hi Sally! I’m glad they turned out. Thank you for sharing.
My husband and I LOVE your personality and recipes!
We don’t have an air fryer but do have a Turbo Wave oven that we like to use (faster cooking, less cleanup than an oven, uses less oil for recipes, no waiting to pre-heat). How can we use that to make your French Fries (and any other recipes) you recommend? How do we make any adjustments?
Keep up the great work!
Hi Kathryn, that sounds like a good way to make this recipe too, however, I have to personally test the device to make some recommendations. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Hi Natasha!
Do you have a way to convert this recipe to use in the “Convection Toaster Air Fryer Oven” air fryer??
Thank you!!
P.S. I would love some healthy wrap recipes… also techiques on how to wrap wraps!! 😆
Hi Lena, I think that will work but I have to personally try it to give some recommendations. I have not tried it yet but if you do an experiment, kindly share with us how it goes.
Just two of us…can I air fry wings and potatoes together at same temperature?
Hi Arlene, I’m not sure if that would work as they have different cooking times.
My organic potatoes were small. Bought them to cook w/sauerkraut. So I sliced them instead. They were the bomb!
I’m so happy to hear these were a hit, Mary! Thank you for your lovely review!
Hi Natasha! I just bought Cosori air fryer , the one you have and recommended . How did you get rid of plastic smell? It’s really bothering me, the smell goes into the food. I clean it a few times, but I still smell the plastic.
Hi Lana, I haven’t had that experience with a plastic smell. You might run the air fryer for a little bit without food in it to burn off any new machine smells.
How do you get your fries to not stick to the air fryer basket?
Hi Hiedee, you can grease it by rubbing, or spraying, a little bit of oil on the bottom grates.
We’re looking for advise regarding air fryers, not just for fries, but whole or pieces of chicken, veggies etc.
Hi Lisa, Here are our air fryer recipes. You can see we use our air fryer for bacon, pork, chicken wings, etc. We link the air fryer we used within them, but you can also find our favorite kitchen tools in our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE.
Hi Natasha, I pretty much use the same recipe only I add 1/2 tsp raw sugar. They are to die for!
That’s great! Thanks for sharing that with us.
Delish! These french fries are my new favorite air fryer recipe!
Glad to hear that, Courtney! Thanks for your review.
Would you know why my fries lose their crisp as they cool? When they’re really hot they’re crispy but as they cool they get soft and soggy
Just like any fries, they will be the most crispy when they are warm and freshly made. Here are some tips that may help: Make sure to let them rest uncovered. Also, rinsing and patting dry before cooking fries helps remove the starch and helps them crisp up on the outside. You can re-crisp fries in the air fryer as well.
These were super crispy and delicious! I will definitely make them again!
I’m so glad to hear that you loved the fries!
Great recipe – I love using the air fryer! Homemade french fries are my favorite!
Isn’t it the best! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!