Baked French Fries are one of my family’s all-time favorites. My kids love oven fries even more than the store bought fries. Plus, oven baked fries are so much better for them.
These oven baked fries are perfect alongside jalapeño cheddar burgers, served up with oven fried chicken, as chili cheese fries, or as loaded cheese fries!
Oven Baked French Fries
Russet potatoes are the gold standard for French fries in general. They especially suitable for baked fries, because the skins are thicker and dryer than the skins of other potatoes, so they crisp up nicely in the oven.
Have you ever tried fries in the oven, and found they lack crispiness? Here are two great tips to avoid that problem forever!
How to Make Oven French Fries Crispy
As deep fried french fries are often double fried (once at a lower temp, once at a higher temp to crisp) I’ve found the same thing works magically for oven fries! You can make oven french fries so good and crispy!
- SOAK: Soak the potatoes in cold water after cutting for at least 30 minutes. This step removes a lot of starch (you will see it in the bowl after you remove them) resulting in a crispier French fry!
- DRY: This is really important. Make sure you dry them well so they don’t steam and get soft when they bake! I spin them in my salad spinner and then dap in a kitchen towel.
- OIL & SEASON: Use parchment paper to keep them from sticking and oil to make them crisp! While these are a version of healthy fries, if you want them to crisp, you will still need to be generous with the oil.
- TWO TEMP COOKING: This easy technique allows the fries to bake perfectly crispy! Simply bake at 375°F for a little bit to cook and then turn up the heat to really crisp them up!
How to Cut Potatoes into Fries
I always leave the skin on because it adds a little bit extra fiber (and personally I like the way it tastes… and it’s easier). If you prefer you can peel the potatoes first!
You can cut french fries by hand or save time using a French Fry cutter. I use a cutter for perfectly even fries.
To Cut into Steak Fries:
- Steak fries are typically thicker than french fries. To make baked steak fries, you’ll want to find potatoes that are a little bit smaller. Steak fries should be cut into small wedges about 3/4″ to 1″ thick.
- You will follow the same cooking method below but for a longer period of time.
How to Bake French Fries
To achieve maximum crispiness in your homemade French fries, I do a 2 temperature cook:
- Be sure to preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Dry the fries thoroughly after soaking and before seasoning.
- Generously oil and season the oven fries. Spread evenly in a single layer on a parchment line pan.
- Cook 20 minutes (25 for thicker fries).
- Turn the heat up to 425°F and continue baking until crisp, about 20 minutes.
How Long to Bake French Fries: Remember, thicker fries will take longer and if your fries are too thin, they’ll just burn without crisping.
The length of time for baked French fries will vary, depending on how thick you cut them and of course personal preference. My family likes them more tender crisp, I like them extra crispy!
How to Reheat Fries
You can easily reheat your leftover oven baked fries, either in the oven, or on the stovetop.
- Stovetop Reheating: Add a tablespoon or two of oil in non-stick pan. Reheat over medium heat for a few minutes and enjoy!
- Oven Reheating: Baked fries can be reheated in the oven. Spread them in a single layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 5-10 minutes in a preheated 400°F oven.
- Microwave Reheating: This is less ideal as they can come out soft or soggy! 20-40 seconds should be plenty of time.
How to Freeze Oven Baked French Fries
Your leftover oven baked fries can also be frozen for up to four months in a freezer bag. To reheat, just follow the steps above.
Frozen fries are great reheated but also perfect added to soups, stews and casseroles!
What to Serve With Fries
We love fries with anything with gravy in place of our favorite Mashed Potatoes and with our favorite sandwiches and burgers! Here are a few that we love:
- Mushroom Salisbury Steak – serve with fries instead of mashed potatoes
- Meatball Subs
- Barbecue Ribs in the Oven
- Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
- Dr. Pepper Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Ingredients
- 4 large baking potatoes
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon seasoned salt or lemon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Wash potatoes leaving skin on (you can peel them if you prefer). Cut potatoes into desired size fries.
- Let potatoes soak in cold water in the sink or in a bowl for at least 30 minutes. Remove from water and dry very well.
- Toss with oil and seasonings. Spread evenly in a single layer on a parchment-lined pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Turn the oven up to 425° and cook fries until golden, about 20-25 minutes more.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
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As a lifelong cook, this recipe made no sense to me. Soaking to reduce starch? Of course, necessary. Starting at a lower temp, then increasing temp? Never heard of that to increase crispiness. French fries are my favorite food group, so getting ’em right is super important to me. And guess what? This recipe works perfectly! I cut my russet potato into thin fries (just slightly bigger than shoestring), tossed them with minimal EVOO and “greek seasoning” and followed the recipe as printed. They were some of the best fries I’ve ever made. The only tweak I would make to the recipe is the statement, “Cut potatoes into desired size fries.” Obviously, the thicker they are, the longer they take to cook/crisp. I would suggest cutting into shoestring or like-size fries. LOVED!
Yummm, made them several times and always come out great!
First time I have done oven fries this way and they turned out GREAT.
Used a sprayer with olive oil and that works really well.
Just added salt and pepper.
Also, used golden potatoes and those worked fine too.
Will make these again and again.
Amazing! My new favorite
I was really excited about this recipe but unfortunately we were one of the ones for whom they come out flaccid and mushy… followed all the steps to the letter and saw others commented the same. most reprted crispy fries so im stumped. I definitely cut the fries pretty small to where they look similar to the picture and I’ve never seen fries smaller besides shoestring. I soaked exactly 30 minutes. would soaking longer help? I’d like to try again.
What type of potatoes did you use? I find Russet will get the best results. And did you dab the potatoes dry? This will help crisp them up.