Most homemade fry recipes start with a big pot of hot oil on the stove. And then what do you do with all that oil afterwards? These air fryer fries use 2 tbsp of oil total – 1 tbsp tossed with the potatoes and 1 tbsp brushed on the basket. The rest is just waiting: 20 minutes at 400F, with one turn halfway through. The steps that matter most are the boring ones. Cut the potatoes thick, about 1 inch, so they don’t dry out into little sticks. Then dry them REALLY well before any oil goes on. Wet potatoes steam instead of crisp, and nobody wants limp fries. 1 tsp of garlic salt goes on before they cook, and I only add more salt after tasting one. Could fries get any simpler? Not in my kitchen!
TIPS
- Don’t rush the drying. Paper towels are fine, but a clean dishcloth soaks up more water faster when you have a big pile of potatoes.
- Brush oil on the basket even though the fries are already oiled. Starchy potatoes grab onto bare metal, and then half of your fry stays behind. I learned that kind of lesson the hard way in Foil is NOT non-stick.
- Work in batches so the fries don’t pile on top of each other. The ones buried underneath come out pale and soft. Each batch needs the full 20 minutes, so 2 batches means about 40 minutes of air frying.
- At the halfway mark, flip the fries with tongs or just give them a good stir so every side gets some heat.
- Want the main dish from the same machine? These fries go with my 15-minute air fryer drumsticks or air fryer chicken wings.
30 Minute Air Fryer Fries
Homemade air fryer fries with just 2 tbsp of oil and a teaspoon of garlic salt, ready in about 30 minutes. Golden on the outside and soft in the middle, without a pot of oil to deal with.
Ingredients
Method
- Wash the potatoes and peel them if you like. Cut them into fries that are not too thin, about 1 inch thick.
- Soak the cut fries in water for 5 minutes. This removes the extra starch.
- Dry the cut potatoes as well as you can with paper towels or a clean dishcloth.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400F.
- Put the fries in a mixing bowl and toss with 1 tbsp oil and 1 tsp garlic salt.
- Brush 1 tbsp oil on the air fryer basket.
- Spread the fries on the basket in a single layer, working in batches so they overlap as little as possible.
- Air fry for 20 minutes, turning the fries or stirring them around halfway through.
- Take them out, add more salt if needed, and enjoy!
Notes
Times are for one batch. Each extra batch adds about 20 minutes of air frying.
