Cooking your frozen French fries in the air fryer is just as easy as baking them, but they come out tasting like they were fried! No heating up your whole kitchen, no greasy mess to clean up, and no leaving your house to get hot, crispy fries at the drive-through!
We love cooking from scratch, but having a stock of frozen foods that are quick and easy is a lifesaver for us. Especially with the kids home more often now…they can make their own lunch without much help or input from me!
Plus, when a craving for hot, crispy French fries hits, having an air fryer and a bag of frozen fries keeps me out of the drive-thru!
I’m sorry, but baked frozen fries just don’t do the trick for me. Frozen French fries in an air fryer come out almost as good as if you deep-fried them. I won’t lie and say they’re exactly the same, but they are totally close enough for me and we love that they are healthier and easier!
How to air fry frozen French fries:
- Pour your frozen fries into the air basket. It is fine to let them stack, but try not to fill your basket more than half way up.
- Spritz your fries with vegetable oil with a pump spray bottle. Then shake the basket and spritz again. We don’t recommend non-stick spray cans for this.
- Cook your fries at 390 degrees for 20 minutes. Shake the basket after 10 minutes of cooking and then shake and check again at 15 minutes.
- Test your fry for crispiness and continue cooking two minutes at a time until you get your desired crispiness. This is an important step as fries vary in thickness. Our 20 minute guideline is based on a McDonalds size French fry. Thicker ones will take a bit longer.
Ideas to make your fries a little better:
First, there are different seasonings. A good homemade seasoning has paprika and garlic at a minimum. I am a fan of this seasoning recipe from Little Sunny Kitchen.
You can also use a little bit of store-bought seasoned salt if you like. A personal favorite for a little spice is Tony’s creole seasoning.
Of course, you know about dipping in ketchup. Maybe even dipping in ranch dressing. But have you ever had fry sauce? It is basically mayo, ketchup, and vinegar. It is great on fries or on a burger!
Recipe FAQ:
Yes. However, you may need to let them cook an extra minute or two. Check them at the 20-minute mark and if they are not to your satisfaction cook them further in 2-minute increments.
Yes! They are likely a bit less fresh if you have ice on them. If they are fully covered in ice crystals, that is a different story. They will still cook but will be less crisp. You should probably get a new bag.
Yes, but only as a result of the reduced oil. All other health effects appear to be similar.
More easy air fryer recipes you might like:
- Sweet potato fries with a spicy mayo dip
- Potato wedges
- Buffalo ranch potatoes
- Bacon wrapped chicken bites
Air Fryer Frozen French Fries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen french fries
- Oil for spritzing on the fries
- Salt for seasoning
Instructions
- Pour French fries into the air fryer basket. Spritz with oil, shake basket, and spritz again.
- Cook at 390 degrees for 20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through cooking.
- Shake again at 15 minutes and check for doneness. 20 minutes is a guideline, but will vary based on the thickness of the fries.
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Jan says
Dip those babies in a thick chocolate malt!!
Karly says
Yum!!
John says
I must have a different air fryer because I follow these directions using orela fast food style fries and when I open it to shake them at 10 minutes they are completely over cooked and teeth breakingly crunchy.
Karly says
That’s frustrating, but yes – all the air fryers cook a bit differently and then you’ve got different brands of frozen fries to contend with as well. We also don’t preheat the air fryer for this one. You could try reducing the temp down to 380 and just keep an eye on the time and see what works for you. 🙂