The easiest fries you’ll ever make! These Air Fryer Frozen French Fries are super crispy and ready in under 15 minutes, you’ll never cook them any other way!
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
Jump to:
Air Fryer French Fries
Have you jumped into the Air Fryer craze? Well, first it was the Instant Pot. I was skeptical of it at first, but once I dove in…I now own two Instant Pot’s and am obsessed. Then, it was the air fryer. Again, I was skeptical at first, but just got mine a few days ago and already LOVE it!
I had been hearing a lot of people talk about their love for the air fryer. Making things like chicken tenders, French fries, veggies, wings, and more! I was intrigued, but still not sold.
Well, then Costco did me in. You’re probably wondering….how did COSTCO sway me?? Well, I made the mistake of browsing the middle area of Costco. Do you know how dangerous that is?? There are all sorts of good stuff in that area. If you’ve ever been, you know where I am talking about! The seasonal items, the clothes, toys, books, COOKBOOKS, and more!
I typically can show great restraint in that store (well, kind of), and I try to avoid the middle section. Well, this time I didn’t. I had my hubby with me (also dangerous) and before I knew it, we finished shopping for groceries and ended up browsing for pool toys. That quickly led to buying swimsuits for the kids, and then somehow I was looking through cookbooks. The one that grabbed my attention was the air fryer book. I think it was because I was hungry and there were donuts on the cover. Smart publisher they are! I bought the book immediately, only problem, I didn’t own an air fryer. Definitely frivolous, right?!
Once we got home and unpacked our groceries, I sat down to browse the cookbook. I immediately tagged the ones I liked and realized the whole dang book was tagged! After showing my hubby, he too found several to try and jumped on board the air fryer train.
We ordered ours off Amazon after reading through tons of reviews. Ours is a beast, 6.3 quart, because we have a family of 5. When I first unboxed it, I immediately thought it was too big, no where I was going to be able to store it, and already was thinking it would end up returned.
The first night, I tried chicken tenders. I breaded the chicken tenders I had bought previously, laid them in the baking tray, set the timer and about 12 minutes, later, crispy chicken tenders came out that used no oil! Amazing!
The second night, I tossed an entire bag of frozen French fries into the pan and set the timer once more. 15 minutes later, out came the most perfectly cooked fries ever. My kids said they were even better than McDonald’s. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. It cut my cook time down from 30 minutes in oven, to 15! Way crispier too! Say goodbye to the guilt of indulging in french fries! When you are craving that salty, crispy hot fresh french fry, air frying is the only way to go. They taste just like they’ve been fried in oil, but they are not!
Since the chicken tenders I made were from the recipe book that came with it, I can’t call it my own! See picture below for recipe! As for the fries, not quite a recipe, but more like a method. Nonetheless, I have included it below because its perfection at its finest!
Why make fries in the Air Fryer
- Perfectly crispy every time! Plus they taste like deep-fried french fries, only healthier
- Cook more evenly than in the oven. Long gone are the days where some fries are crispy, and others are still soggy
- Done in only 15 minutes
- No additional oil needed! Meaning, go ahead and pile your plate with fries!
Ingredients for Air Fryer Fries
As you can guess, there are not too many ingredients to this simple recipe. Pick your favorite brand and type of frozen french fries and you’re set.
Frozen French Fries: Choose your favorite: straight cut, steak fries, curly, shoestring, waffle, sweet potato, crinkle cut. Your cook time will vary depending on the fry you pick, but all will be perfectly crisp and delicious.
Optional Seasonings: if you’re feeling adventurous, you can add more salt, onion powder, garlic powder, all-purpose seasoning, and/or any seasoning desired.
How to make Air Fryer Frozen French Fries
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found at the bottom of the page on the printable recipe card.
-
Place frozen French fries in air fryer basket.
-
Spread evenly over basket.
-
Air fry French fries at 400 degrees for 16 minutes.
-
About halfway through, shake basket around and toss fries to help them evenly cook. At this point, you can add a few minutes or deduct depending on desired crispness.
- Serve with your favorite dip. My go-to fav dipping sauce is Chick Fil A Sauce and Alabama White BBQ Sauce. Also try my Southern Comeback Sauce
Seasoning Options
Although frozen fries come partially cooked, seasoned, and oiled, you can definitely add some seasonings to make them even tastier. Here are some great options to try…
- Salt/Pepper- add a little, or add a lot, adjust to taste
- Cajun Seasoning- this is a fav of mine since its both savory and adds a kick
- Garlic/Onion Powder- adjust to taste, use both or one
- All-Purpose Seasoning- I use an all-purpose seasoning on just about everything, my go-to is Chupacabra
FAQ’s
Do I need to preheat my air fryer?
Nope! You don’t have to preheat the air fryer for this recipe.
How do I make fries crispy in the air fryer?
Make sure your fries are not crowded. Since you’ll be shaking the basket halfway through, you don’t have to place them in a single layer but make sure they have a bit of space between or around them.
Do I need to add oil for air fryer frozen french fries?
Nope! For this recipe, no oil is added. Many brands already use oil and salt on their fries.
Do I need to defrost frozen french fries beforehand?
Nope, in fact, I recommend keeping them in the freezer until ready to cook. This helps keep them perfectly crisp!
Storage
Once cooked, air fryer frozen french fries will last 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Wrap fries in parchment paper and store in an airtight container, but do not over-pack it. This helps the fries from getting soggy.
When reheating, place them back in the air fryer for 3-5 minutes at 375 degrees F. They’ll never be quite as crunchy as when they’re first cooked, but should still be tasty!
What fries to use
There are several types of fries available and so they all cook a bit differently. These are good suggestions for starting times, adjust accordingly.
- Crinkle-Cut/Waffle Fries: 10 minutes
- Sweet Potato Fries: 15 minutes
- Lattice Cut Fries: 12 minutes
- Shoestring Fries: 10 minutes
More Air Fryer Recipes to try
I love using my air fryer as much as possible because it makes the best main dishes, side dishes and more. Here are some tried and true air fryer recipes to try.
Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks– homemade cheese sticks made perfectly crispy in the air fryer
Crispy Air Fried Onion Rings– the ultimate onion rings made way healthier
Air Fryer Ranch Chicken Tenders– crispy and delicious chicken tenders made quickly
Air Fryer Bang Bang Shrimp– a copycat recipe from Bonefish Grill!
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
Air Fryer Frozen French Fries Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen French fries *we love Checker's frozen fries
- Salt/Pepper (to taste) *or buy the already seasoned fries
Instructions
- Place frozen French fries in air fryer basket.
- Spread evenly over basket.
- Air fry French fries at 400 degrees for 16 minutes.
- About halfway through, shake basket around and toss fries to help them evenly cook. At this point, you can add a few minutes or deduct depending on desired crispness.
- Remove basket and serve warm!
Nutrition
Recipe updated 10/21/2022
Rose says
i feel so lucky this was the recipe i clicked on because those are the exact fries i purchased and decided to look it up after lol
Kristin says
Yay! Hope you enjoyed! I love those fries, especially when they get super crunchy!!
Grammy Gram says
First off, you don’t have to read anything you don’t want to read when pulling up the website! You came looking for a recipe, just hold your finger on the page down button and scroll until you see whatever you came for. Easy as that, no big deal!! Some people! Second, I too, came for the temperature and time which I got after scrolling down, so thank you! I also acquired a Chicken Tender recipe in the process, so thank you for that too.
Kristin says
Hope you enjoy the chicken tender recipe and the tasty fries!!
Sandi says
Kristin, Loved your backstory. Recipe is on the mark but do find preheating helps. For more info on Air Frying check out Meredith Lawrence – Blue Jean Chef’s site https://bluejeanchef.com/ (Used to be chef on QVC now has her own site). She also has an air fryer cookbook but her site has lots of recipes, starts out with 8 or 9 but you can keep “loading more recipes” and she has a tab dedicated to all kinds of cooking methods including Air Fryer.
Kristin says
Thanks! I use the Cuisinart Toaster Over Air Fryer now and it doesn’t need pre-heating, but defintely came in handy with my previous one! I will need to check out that site for sure! Thanks for the tip!
Teddi says
Please, enough with the back stories. I shouldn’t have to spend 5 minutes scrolling to find a simple instruction. All you needed to write was pre heat air fryer 400 degrees cook for 16. Shake halfway through. That’s it.
Kristin says
Okay, but in the back story, I also shared more air fryer recipes (chicken tenders), good cookbooks I have found for the air fryer, etc. I promise, I too don’t like backstory that goes too long, which is why I try to keep my posts shorter than most. In some cases, my excitement gets carried away and I end up sharing more! Sorry 🙁
Steph K says
Perfectly crisp, delicious, and effortless!Very convenient
Kristin says
Yay! Glad you enjoyed!!
Kaleb says
Thank you for sharing! Just bought my air fryer and looking forward to make some french fries.
Kristin says
Enjoy!
Owain says
100% with Joe’s comment above. All anyone wants is the instructions. Too many food blogging sites have to tell a life story about the dish before you get to the instructions. Wish this would change.
PS thank you for the instructions, they worked out well
Diya says
Thank you for sharing! Just bought my air fryer and looking forward to make some french fries.
Kristin says
Yay! Hope you enjoy! You’ll fall in love with your air fryer, its a fun kitchen appliance to have!!
LaKendra Truss says
Perfect !
Kristin says
Glad you enjoyed!!
Erika says
Get the air fryer oven. you can put more in at one time. It comes with racks so you can have 4 or 5 racks in at once. I don’t preheat either. And I love the crispy fries in about 15 minutes.
Kristin says
Me too!! Its my fav!!
ROBYN says
Nothing to say. Easy to follow that. thanks for sharing it!
Kristin says
Glad you enjoyed!!
Joe says
Came for recipe (mostly temp/time since it really isn’t a recipe), left because I didn’t really want to scroll slowly through your life story looking for it.
Kristin says
LOL, okay? Definitely didn’t write my life story, but sorry to see you go! Hope you got the info before you left! If not, its 400 degrees for about 16 minutes! Enjoy!
Cheryl Kime says
Just received my air fryer yesterday. This morning I made French toast sticks. They were really good. Making French fries and chicken strips tonight. Thanks for the tips.
Kristin says
Oh fun! You’ll start loving it! Can’t wait to hear what you make in it!! Keep me posted!
Ted says
Super dry.
Kristin says
I typically use the Checkers fries, so if you’re using other brands or types, feel free to cut down the time for a few minutes and see how it looks before putting it in for the full 16 minutes. I prefer super crisp fries, my hubby likes them a bit more tender.