Garlic French Fries
Garlic French Fries are easy, inexpensive, and perfect for a meal or snack! Air frying them keeps them healthy, and you can season them to taste!
If I’m honest, I’m not the biggest fan of French fries. Most restaurant French fries rely on seasoning to carry the flavor, and the potato aspect is gone completely. Alternatively, French fries at home are often either soggy, mushy, or greasy. This was one of the first things I had to try in my air fryer, and it was an immediate hit with all of my kids.
Air frying food is a fairly simple process, and the only concern most people have is making sure food is all the way cooked through. For french fries, our focus is going to be on achieving the level of “crunch” that you want.
Tip #1 – Layer the fries with enough room for hot air to get around them. Air fryers don’t actually fry anything, it’s more of a very intense convection oven. If the fries are crowded, it’ll take much longer to cook, and the slices that are buried will never crisp up.
Tip #2 – Soak the cut pieces of potato in water for about 60 minutes first. This helps remove the excess starch, and the French fries will crisp up better for you in the oven. You can skip this step if you’re short on time, or try half your batch soaked and half straight into the fryer, and see which you like better. The excess water is perfect for gardens or plants around your home, so don’t dump it down the drain.
For quantity, I usually figure about ¾ of a potato per person, but that depends on the size of both your potatoes and your people. The good news is the recipe is easily sized to meet the number of people eating the meal. Experiment with different types of potatoes too!
Seasoning in this recipe is really up to you. I’ll list what I used, but really any favors you prefer are fair, and I encourage you to season. My own children won’t eat anything that looks like a plant, so rosemary is out, but I can usually get away with slight specks of visible pepper. I’ll list what I used, but by all means, mix it up! Quantity of seasoning doesn’t really work here either, but it is okay to season heavily. Or do a few batches, and experiment!
Let’s cook seasoned garlic French fries!
Ingredients for garlic French fries:
- 3-4 medium russet potatoes
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Paprika
- Olive oil, or similar cooking oil (vegetable, canola, etc.)
Step 1: Slice the potatoes in whatever way suits you best. Wedges, rings, go crazy! I prefer traditional stick shaped fries, and I don’t worry at all about getting them all the same size or shape.
Step 2: (optional) Soak the potato pieces in water for about 60 minutes.
Step 3: Preheat the air fryer to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, lightly drizzle oil over the potato slices. It doesn’t take much oil, maybe two table spoons or so, depending on how many potatoes you use.
Step 4: Season to taste. I used a liberally layer of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Toss and mix in the bowl.
Step 5: Spread out a layer of slices in your air fryer tray and cook for about 10-15 minutes, or to your desired crisp level. Don’t overcrowd the tray!
Need a seasoning idea? Here’s one from The Cozy Cook, and another from Amanda’s Cookin’
Serve and enjoy!
