Whether you are frying or baking, homemade fries are easy to make and deliciously crunchy! With just a few ingredients you can have tasty fries at home!
Fried vs Baked
Fried french fries will always taste extra flavorful because they have all those tasty calories from the oil and are easy to get crispy.
Baked French Fries are less work, you don’t have to deal will lots of hot oil. It's nice to bake and walk away rather than babysitting frying potatoes.
They get crunchy but in a different way compared to fried french fries.
What you need for homemade fries?
Potatoes- I like to use Russet Potatoes
Oil – If baking you only need a few tablespoons, if frying you will need 4 cups. I recommend vegetable oil.
Seasoning- Use any you like but I recommend either just plain salt, or adding other seasonings like pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and onion powder
How to make french fries crispy
The two biggest factors to crispy potatoes are starch and moisture. Soaking cut potatoes in cold water will remove the starch.
Double frying the potatoes will remove excess moisture.
Why do you soak french fries before cooking?
It helps remove starch and sugars from the outside of the cut potatoes and helps prevent them from browning via exposure to air.
Removing the starch helps keep the fries from sticking together which is extra important for frying but does help when baking too.
How to make homemade fries?
- Rinse and peel you potatoes.
- Cut up potatoes into ½ inch thick pieces, I like to use this cutter to make them uniform! (amazon affiliate link)
- Place cut potatoes in a bowl of cold water- for 20 minutes at least, but for as long as overnight. The longer the soak the less starch.
- After they have soaked, rinse thoroughly then pat dry.
How to bake french fries?
- Preheat oven and line a baking sheet with parchement paper.
- Toss cut fries in oil.
- Place fries in a single layer on the prepped baking sheet then bake for 20 minutes, toss, then bake for another 20 minutes or until browned.
- As soon as you remove fries from the oven sprinkle with seasoning.
How to fry homemade fries?
- In a large/deep cast iron pan or stock pot preheat your oil.
- Fry potatoes in batches making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Fry for 5-6 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels.
- Once all are fried, increase oil temp and fry in batches again until golden brown. Another 3-5 minutes.
- Once golden remove from oil, place on fresh paper towels and immediately sprinkle with seasoning
What potatoes are best for fries?
Russet potatoes are best since they have less water in them. Waxy potatoes like fingerling, red, and new potatoes are to be avoided since they have a much higher water content and won’t get crispy.
Tools I use:
Cutting: I love using a french fry cutter from Cuisinart and a sturdy cutting board. (amazon affiliate link)
My WoodForChef Board is amazing high quality cherry wood that will last me a lifetime! I’ve met multiple people from the company and they are some of the most genuine and nice people. (amazon affiliate link)
They sent me this cutting board and I am so amazed by its quality every time I use it.
I love supporting companies like theirs because they are family owned and produce such beautiful high quality pieces that are quite affordable.
Baking: Large Baking Sheet and a good spatula. Widgeteer sent me their new 3 piece gadget set from the Jeanne Fitz collection and it included this awesome spatula. I love that it’s not only sturdy but is safe for nonstick pans, and has a thin profile.
Frying: Cast Iron Pot- For larger batches I use my CrockPot Cast Iron Pot (same I used for my pot roast recipe), and for smaller frying batches I use my de Buyer Cast Iron Wok (use this for frying things like scallops too! Yum!), and lastly a slotted spoon to get the fries out of the hot oil.
I also use my thermoworks thermometer for all temps readings whenever I cook and bake!
I make homemade french fries at least once a week because we love them so much! Typically, I make the baked version since I don’t want to babysit hot oil and heat up the house, but the fried version is so tasty that I love making it at least once a month!
What to serve with French fries?
Dip: Dip fries in homemade mayo, queso, chick fila sauce, buffalo sauce, or the classic ketchup!
Serve alongside: Burgers (sliders, wagyu, or green chile!), chicken strips, shake-n-bake chicken, tri tip, or grilled chicken nuggets!
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Homemade Fries
Ingredients
- 4 large russet potatoes
- Salt Also add: Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Paprika
- 4 tbs Vegetable Oil if baking
- 4 cups Vegetable Oil if frying
Instructions
How to make baked homemade fries?
- Rinse and peel potatoes. *4 large russet potatoes
- Cut up into French fry strips.
- Soak fries in cold water for at least 20 minutes but up to 12 hrs.
- Rinse potatoes thoroughly to remove starchy water, then pat dry.
- Preheat oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss potatoes in oil. Then place on baking sheet.4 tbs Vegetable Oil if baking
- Bake for 20 minutes, then flip the fries and bake for another 20 minutes or until browned to your desire.
- As soon as you remove the fries from the oven sprinkle with salt and any other seasonings.Salt
How to fry homemade fries?
- Rinse and peel potatoes. *4 large russet potatoes
- Cut up into French fry strips.
- Soak fries in cold water for at least 20 minutes but up to 12 hrs.
- Rise potatoes thoroughly then pat dry.
- Pour oil into a large cast iron pot. Heat over medium high until it reaches 300°-325°F.4 cups Vegetable Oil if frying
- Fry potatoes, in batches, for 5-6 minutes, this first fry is to heat and partially cook the potatoes. Use a slotted spoon to add and remove the potatoes being careful to not splash the hot oil.
- Once fries are cooked place on a paper towel and continue frying the remaining potatoes.
- Increase heat to high, until oil reaches a temperature of 400°F. While oil is heat, get seasoning ready- whether it’s just salt or mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika and set aside.
- When oil is at 400°F fry the potatoes a second time until golden brown, another 3-5 minutes. Once golden remove from oil, place on a paper tow, and immediately sprinkle with seasoning.
- Continue frying remaining batches of potatoes. Then enjoy!Salt
Notes
- You can leave the peels on, the fries just might not get quite as crispy. The peels have a lot of nutrients in them though so I tend to leave them on most times!
- Nutrition info calculated from baking.
- Total time varies depending on how long you decide to let the potatoes soak and if you are frying vs baking.
Nutrition
Post Images, Info, and Recipe Updated 6/6/2023
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