You will never use your deep fryer again, once you have tasted these Air Fryer French Fries, made with only a drop of oil.
French Fries without all the calories, whoda thunk? Homemade deep fried French Fries are so delicious, but come with so many bad calories. The oil needed for good French Fries is so bad for our bodies.
Baked French Fries, while much less calories, aren’t really satisfying and have an odd texture, I think. You know what I mean? They are hard on the outside, rather than crispy and then soft inside. Hard to explain.
Friday night is “Wing Night” in this house and we used to bake our Buffalo Chicken Wings and French Fries, but now, thanks to our Air Fryer, we can have Air Fryer French Fries without all the bad calories.
We switch off between Buffalo Chicken Wings and Air Fryer Crispy Honey Garlic Chicken Wings. We can be naughty, without our bodies paying for it the next day. 🙂
Please feel free to join the chat at Facebook Air Fryer Recipe Group, where we share recipes, methods and fun.
Coconut Oil is my oil of choice for French Fries, but Olive Oil works well too.
I’ve been on a Ghee kick lately, so I think next Friday night, I will use my Homemade Ghee to make the Fries.
Make sure that you mix up a big batch of my TOG House Seasoning Recipe, so that you always have it ready.
Scrub the potatoes well and then slice them as evenly as you can.
A good French Fry Cutter, really helps!
We like our French Fries between thin and thick, almost twice the size of a Fast Food Fry, but about half the size of Steak Fries.
Place them in a Bowl of water and allow them to soak for 30 minutes.
This will remove some of the starch and allow the potatoes to cook better and crisp up better.
Pat dry the fries with a paper towel or tea towel and then pour over the oil and mix in.
Sprinkle the Seasoned Salt and toss to coat.
Place them in your Air Fryer and cook for about 15 minutes, tossing half-way through.
Delicious fries that are not loaded down with oil. Now, you can have your cake and eat it too!
Try these Air Fryer Seasoned French Fries with some Zaxby’s Sauce for a real treat!
For a lower calorie treat, try my Air Fryer Radishes!
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Ultrean 8.5 Quart Air Fryer
- J.A. Henckels Classic 7-inch Hollow Edge Santoku Knife
- Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board & Compartments
- 3.5 Quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl
- Silicone Coated Tongs
- Cold-Pressed, Unrefined, Virgin Coconut Oil
- Commercial Grade French Fry Cutter
Caring is sharing! If you would like to support This Old Gal, please share this recipe on Social Media, so that I can continue to bring you more wonderful recipes!
If you share a picture of something you make from our blog, tag it with #thisoldgalcooks so we can see it. We might feature it on Instagram! It makes my day when I see you’ve made one of our recipes!
Here is the handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Russet Potatoes (any size potato is fine)
- 2 Tablespoons Pure Virgin Coconut Oil or Grapeseed Oil, Vegetable Oil, Olive Oil, Peanut Oil (whichever you prefer)
- 1 Tablespoon TOG House Seasoning ((plain salt, or your favorite type of salt)
Dipping Sauce
- Zaxby's Chicken Finger Dipping Sauce
- Pollo Tropical Creamy Curry Mustard Sauce
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Scrub potatoes and then slice into strips. If you prefer not to have the skin on, then just peel it off.
- Soak potatoes in a bowl of fresh water for 30 minutes.
- Drain water and pat dry.
- Pour over coconut oil and mix through. Add seasoned salt and toss to coat.
- Place potatoes into Air Fryer Basket.
- Air Fry at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, shaking the basket half way through.
Crisplid Cooking Instructions
- Same as in the air fryer, but cook at 380 degrees.
- Place trivet and crisping basket into pressure cooker cooking pot.
- Set Crisplid to 380 degrees and cook for 15-20 minutes, shaking the basket half way through.
Cynthia says
Thanks for the recipe, fries turned out great with 20 minutes of air frying in my Instant Pot Duo Crisp. Only had red potatoes on hand so that’s what I used. Tossed around in the air fryer basket 1/2 way through cooking time and they turned out crispy and golden!
Jill Selkowitz says
Thanks so much, Cynthia! Jill
Mary Daniels says
Why don’t you say how much it cost before we put our email address in .
Jill Selkowitz says
What are you talking about? Jill
Angie says
I didn’t have a potato cutter, but cut thin just like you did. I soaked them & patted them dry. Tossed with a little olive oil and seasoned them. They turned out really nice and crispy. They did take about 25 mins though. I’d make again.
Jill says
So glad you liked these. Jill
karen strauss says
So delicious! Thank you! I used the fries with a creamy garlic sauce because I am a vegetarian so no worcestershire sauce for me.
Laurie says
My husband and I both liked these a lot. I followed your directions exactly. I love that you post pictures along the way so we can see what things are supposed to look like. I will definitely make them again. Thanks Jill.
Jordan says
You didn’t leave a temp….
dan says
I make these all the time but cutting them with a knife makes them inconsistent. anyone have a recommendation for a french fry cutter?
Cynthia says
The Starfrit Fry Cutter is a great fast potato cutter, I highly recommend it.
Jill Selkowitz says
Hi Dan. I added a link above for a very nice French fry cutter. Jill
Andy Anderson says
What type of potatoes do you use?
dan says
I believe just regular russet, I use the giant ones I get from sams club.
Andy Anderson says
Are these fries made from Yukon Gold potatoes?
Ken Pittman says
Was wondering there was a difference between air cooking products? Have a “Crofton” air cooker. Same as a frier???
Jill Selkowitz says
All air fryers may cook differently just like ovens may, so follow the recipe and make any adjustments you may need.
Adele Aiken says
NOt sure what went wrong. I cut two medium russets into strips just slightly larger than the ones in your photo. I soaked for about an hour. dried them, used about 1 B EVoo, s&p. I cooked them in my rotating fryer basket for 25 minutes on 400 – they were cooked but not crisp at all. any ideas?? One more question (i’m new to the AF!) if you want to cook both wings and fries for a meal, how do you do it – one at a time???Thank you for your help
SB says
The rotating basket is probably preventing the crisping you are looking for. My fryer has trays and I put the fries on in a single layer. That seems to work well.
Jill Selkowitz says
I agree. I find the fries come out much better using a basket air fryer or laying flat on a tray using an air fryer oven. Jill
dan says
I cook one at a time, the fries first, then cook your meat. when thats done I throw the fries back in for a couple minutes they taste just like they were cooked.
Linda says
Did not turn out. Raw and didn’t taste like French fries
Jill Selkowitz says
Perhaps you should cook the fries until they are cooked through.
Heather M. Whipple says
These French fries will work in my Farberware
Air fryer. I will try it.
Kristi says
Do you have to melt the coconut oil first? I have never used it before and would like to try!:) Thanks
Jill says
Hi Kristi. No, just rub it on. Jill
Mary Yamada says
Do you have recipes for those of us on the Keto Diet?
Jill says
Mary, there are many on the blog for people wanting to do Keto. Jill
Rene Lemelin says
Melting the coconut oil first ensures better coverage and easier to apply as swell.
Jill Selkowitz says
Very good point, Rene. Thank you for mentioning. In the cooler months, coconut oil will harden, so melting is a perfect idea. Jill
Singh says
I tried to make fries in philips airfryer. After cut ,soak in water for 15 ‘
Mins . And rinse but the fries came out bitter. I was so disappointed . Plz advise how to get bitterness out of potatoes . I used russet potato.
Thank you .
Jill Selkowitz says
That is a new one. The potatoes should not taste bitter. I wonder if your oil had gone a bit rancid. Jill
Tony Lea (@TonyLeaToronto) says
Thanks for the recipe. Turned out fantastic! I just cut back on the salt a bit .25 tablespoon.
George Smith says
I keep seeing these articles claiming how much healthier air fry is supposed to be, but, no charts showing the actual calorie differences between ways of cooking. The wife bought a Farberware Air Fryer, the included recipe book has no mention of calories or nutrition values.
Liz Hali says
I’m genuinely curious about this, so I did some math for us to look at.
Quick Google search shows that a small order of fries at McDonald’s is 230 calories. These are the order of fries that aren’t even served in a carton, it’s the size in the paper sleeve. Their website also gave this helpful ingredient list for fries: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [Wheat and Milk Derivatives]*), Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (Maintain Color), Salt. *Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients. Wow! Ok, so just a recap of what we’re looking at here: small fries with a few ingredients that aren’t potatoes and oil.
Next!
As for the air fryer, just going with the ingredients I use: 1 medium russet potato and 1 tablespoon of olive oil adds up to a ballparked 289 calories (potato-170 calories and 1 tablespoon olive oil- 120 calories). The exact value for the potato is estimated, but this was specifically for a potato 2-1/4″ to 3-1/4″ in diameter. For my air frying friends, I’m sure you know this potato will make way more thin-cut fries than a small order at Mcdonalds.
So for a quick comparison, an order of small fries at McDonald’s would be 230 calories. A serving of air fryer fries would be about 289 calories. Yes, I calculated the air fryer fries to have more calories. However, it’s important to remember how many more fries you’re getting from a single potato and the quality of the ingredients you choose to eat when you do use the air fryer. I would suggest comparing quantity in this case for simplicity, McDonalds will give you a small fistful of fries, while the one potato in the air fryer might yield double or more than this amount.
Again, all of this is estimated so take from it what you will, but I argue that your wife know’s what’s up! 😉 Hope this was helpful.
Dave D says
This is also not addressing the amount of fat and sodium content in a McDonald’s french fry versus the air fried french fry. Just something else to think about…
Shelly says
Dave,
Do the research yourself. There are many website that you can put in the ingredients and it will calculate all the percentages you are looking for.
Jill Selkowitz says
It depends on the type of diet you follow. For low carb and keto, fat is good. For weight watchers, not so much. I like the air fryer because it cooks food really well. Jill
tamm Montgomery says
could you share what air fryer you use?
Jill says
Hi Tamm~
Check out the Philips. http://amzn.to/2m4NBgI
Jill
Cathy says
Cooked 25 minutes at 400 and still not crispy. Don’t know about this air frying.
SHEILAGH Lynn-Howe says
I preheated my sir fryer at 400degrees for ten minutes, added my cut potatoes that I VERY lightly sprayed and tossed with olive oil. Set my fryer for thirty minutes. Half way through I opened it up and shook the fries really well around. Put it back in to finish the 15 minutes. They were outstanding!! ( I own an Emeril Lagasse hot air fryer ).
Jill says
Hi Sheilagh~
Wonderful news. I am glad your fries were outstanding!
Jill
Kristi says
Yes! I absolutely love my air fryer!! Everything I fry in it tastes so much better and healthier no matter what it is!:)
Diane Nelson says
Thanks for the comment. I have a EL airfryer as well – they are on the menu tonight!!