Crispy Air Fryer French Fries (Ninja Foodi Recipe)
Crispy Air Fryer French Fries are hand-cut potatoes that are air fried to crispy, golden perfection, and will have you thinking they’re deep-fried!
These potatoes are so easy to make, with a little bit of work involved.
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Homemade french fries are a great side dish for burgers, chicken tenders, steak night at home, or just a good movie night snack!
Using your Ninja Air Fryer helps create a healthier option when it comes to homemade fries, and I like this method better than deep frying on the stovetop.
How to Make Crispy Air Fryer French Fries
First, we need to talk about potatoes. French fries come from potatoes. So, which spud should you use for the best air fryer fries??
Russet Potatoes are a common potato in most households. They’ve got a lot of starch, and hold up to the high heat, which stays fluffy on the inside.
I prefer using Yukon gold potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes aren’t as large as an Idaho potato, for me, they give the best result.
That being said, a russet baking potato or a yellow Yukon gold will give you crispy french fries that are golden brown and ready for your favorite dipping sauce!
You don’t have to peel your potatoes, but make sure they’ve gotten a good scrub down so there’s no dirt on them.
Using a sharp knife, slice your potatoes into “potato sticks” that are the size of whatever you want.
Plop these into a large bowl, and cover them with hot water. I used my countertop kettle, but as hot of water as you can get from the tap is just fine.
Let these hang out for 10-15 minutes. This does a couple of things:
- It softens the potatoes, so they start to cook a bit.
- It removes excess starch, and that yields crispier fries.
After the potatoes have soaked, you’ll drain them, and dry them really, REALLY well with paper towels.
Place back into a dry bowl, and coat with avocado oil.
Perfect French Fries in the Ninja Air Frying Oven
I love my trusty air fryer! I used a Chefman Compact Air Fryer for years, and it was great for just me. Last year, I upgraded to the Ninja Foodi Air Frying Countertop Oven, and I have LOVED it!
It’s basically like a toaster oven that has convection cooking technology, making it an air fryer. ((Did you know air fryers are just compact convection ovens?!))
So, I’ve got some tested tips for using this countertop air fryer to make delicious crispy fries.
Preheat your air fryer basket. Most instructions will leave this step off, but I think raw food hitting a hot surface makes the result even crispier.
Arrange your potatoes in a single layer. Now, if you have an air fryer that has a drawer, you can double-layer a little… Not much though. Since you can take the drawer out and shake the potatoes up, it works to have it layered. For the air frying ovens with a thin basket, you’ll only want a single layer and a little space between each potato.
You’ll arrange your avocado oil and seasoning-coated sliced potatoes on the preheated basket of your air fryer. Be careful, that basket is hot!
Put the air frying tray into the air fryer, close the door, and set the temperature to 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. This depends on the size of your air fryer! If you have a drawer air fryer, it will cook faster.
After 15 minutes, remove the rack from the air fryer, and toss the semi-cooked potatoes into the large bowl.
Drizzle in some olive oil, or coat with avocado spray again, and toss, toss, toss.
Arrange these hot potatoes back on the air fryer rack, and air fry them again.
This time, you’ll crank your heat up to 425 degrees and air fry for 10-12 minutes, depending on how thick your potatoes are, and how crispy you want them.
Air Fryer French Fry Seasoning
This recipe coats the potatoes in ranch seasoning before air frying. So delicious, especially with an extra sprinkling of salt after they’ve cooked!
You could also coat the potatoes with garlic powder, onion powder, and some paprika.
Once your homemade air fryer french fries are cooked, try sprinkling with fresh parmesan cheese for restaurant-style parmesan french fries! That pairs perfectly with a Caesar salad!
I served mine with baby burgers and fresh veggies! Here’s How to Make a Cheeseburger so you too can enjoy a diner-style meal at home!
Print
Crispy Air Fryer French Fries (Ninja Foodi Recipe)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 3 1x
- Category: side dish
- Method: air fryer
- Cuisine: american
Ingredients
- 2 Yukon Gold Potatoes, sliced into french fry size
- Avocado Spray
- 1 tsp Ranch Seasoning
- 1 TBS Olive Oil
Instructions
- Slice your washed potatoes into sticks the size you want your french fries to be.
- Place in a large bowl, and cover with hot water, allowing them to sit for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes is up, drain the water and dry the potatoes with a paper towel so they are super dry.
- Spray avocado oil on the potatoes so they are well coated, and toss with one teaspoon of ranch seasoning powder.
- Preheat your air fryer for 10 minutes (I do this while the potatoes are soaking!), then remove the basket and lay out your oiled and seasoned potatoes into a single layer.
- Air fry at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the air fryer basket and plop the potatoes back into the large bowl.
- Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over the potatoes, and toss to evenly coat.
- Lay the potatoes back onto the air fryer basket, in a single layer. Place this basket back in the air fryer.
- Crank the air fryer up to 425 degrees, and air fry for 10-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of your potatoes.
- Once your potatoes are golden brown and crispy, like you prefer, remove them from the air fryer, and serve with a little extra sprinkle of salt!
You don’t mention what to do with the olive oil in the recipe card?
See step 8: “Drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over the potatoes, and toss to evenly coat.”