The Crispiest Air Fryer French Fries Require These 4 Steps

I don’t have data to support this, but my gut tells me French fries are the most beloved side dish in America. I love a baked potato or steaming bowl of mashed, but French fries go with just about everything and in all seasons. The almighty air fryer ushered in a new era of at-home French-fry making, with superconvection heat that makes these potato sticks taste as close to fried as possible — without all the oil.

With fast food in a seemingly endless state of inflation, you might be considering making your waffle or shoestring fries at home. If you want the crispiest air fryer fries possible, you don’t have to train at Le Cordon Bleu, but you will have to follow a few rules of the road. 

According to a recent Reddit thread, many users have been trying to crack the code for the perfect air fryer fries. The key is to follow a few simple rules. To make perfect French fries in an air fryer, all you need is a bag of frozen fries and a spritz of oil. Crinkle-cut, shoestring, waffle, curly — whatever your favorite shape is — they all come out divinely crispy and hot when you follow these steps for crispy air fryer fries. 

Here’s how I make impossibly crispy french fries in the air fryer with almost no effort.

Air fryer French fry rules

A few techniques help me get the most out of my air fryer when I’m cooking up frozen goodies like French fries, chicken tenders and tater tots. 

1. Preheat for the best crunch

The hotter your air fryer is when you add your fries, the more golden brown and crisp they’ll become. Not every air fryer has a preheat function, but you can run yours for about five minutes at the desired temperature to get the chamber nice and hot before you add the food.

2. Use a light spritz of cooking oil

Some people swear by spraying a little of your go-to cooking oil, like canola, olive or avocado, into the basket and over frozen french fries before air frying. The idea is that the extra oil helps the food brown and crisp up. You don’t need to go nuts with oil, but a light coating helps seal the potato strings in a divinely crispy crust.

An oil mister or spray bottle will help with an even and light coating of oil. 

3. Avoid overcrowding the basket

Air fryers create convection heat by using a fan (the noise you hear when you turn the machine on) to circulate air around the food, cooking it faster and creating that crunchy exterior we want. For convection cooking to work well, your french fries need to have as much surface area exposed as possible. That means loading up batches of fries in a single layer and leaving just a little space between each piece if possible. The result is tastier fries in a shorter cooking time. 

4. Shake for even cooking

Halfway through the cooking time, pull out your air fryer’s basket and give it a good shake. This will help your french fries brown more evenly. Try to get the fries back in a single layer before popping the basket back in and finishing the process. 

What you need for air fryer fries

• Frozen french fries
• Cooking oil like olive or canola 
• Salt (optional)

How to make air fryer french fries

• Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees F for about two minutes. 
• Spritz the air fryer basket with oil. 
• Add the frozen fries to the basket, arranging them in a single layer. If you’re using oil, spritz the fries with it. 
• Cook the fries for 10 minutes. 
• Pull out the air fryer basket and shake it.
• Rearrange the french fries in a single layer, then replace the basket and cook for 5-7 minutes more. The exact time will depend on your air fryer, the size and shape of your fries, and your preferred doneness level. 
• Season your fries with salt, if using, and serve immediately.

What to serve with air fryer french fries

In my world, a pile of fries served alongside a salad with a zippy vinaigrette needs no other accompaniment (except maybe a glass of wine). If you’re looking to round out your meal or feed a crowd, consider serving air fryer french fries with this easy 45-minute roast chicken or this 10-minute salmon recipe (both made in the air fryer, natch). 

You can even cook up air fryer bacon cheeseburgers, hot dogs, or chicken thighs to accompany your french fries. Add some veggies to the plate by air-frying Brussels sprouts, cauliflower steaks, broccoli florets or shishito peppers.

Air fryer fries FAQ