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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I can’t wait to try your recipes.
Definitely going to try this. Thanks for sharing
Great recipe! I Used avocado oil instead and added a few table spoons of cassava flour to crisp them up even more :)
Saturday night is ‘New recipe night’ in our house, so I’m going to try these this weekend.
Could you clarify a couple things for me first though…
I don’t see here how thick to cut the fries and do you really not have to flip these at any time while cooking?
Thank you. I’ll report back after I make them.
The fries do not need to be flipped (although you can if you’d like to, I never do though). You can cut them into desired thickness. I use a cutter and they’re about ⅓” (odd size, I know!). Enjoy!
Thanks for such a prompt response. I was concerned about the thickness having to be precise since the cook times seem to be. I’ll be thrilled if mine turn out as good as your photos look.
I’ll let you know.
Cheers,
Robert
Can’t wait to hear how they work out for you!
I made these last night and will definitely make them again. I bought an inexpensive fry cutter ($10. at Kitchen Stuff Plus) so the thickness would be uniform and next time I’ll use the second set of blades so fries are a bit thicker. This time around the crispness was fantastic, but didn’t have enough soft potato in the middle. I was amazed that you really don’t have to flip these at all during cooking process. The parchment paper kept them from sticking beautifully.
Thank you Holly!
Cheers from Toronto,
Robert
You’re so welcome Robert!
These fries are a bit time consuming, but really simple to make and the result is magic. Bonus: no need to turn them. I’m pretty sure my husband would bow at your feet if he ever met you! The hot, seasoned fries are a universe better than the soggy bags of takeout. And even when we might sometime go out for a burger and fries in a favorite joint, it’ll be a very close call. Two tips: This recipe is worth getting a manual french fry cutter, and if you have time to pause between the 375 degree cooking and the 425 degree browning, setting the pan out for 10 minutes or so will make the inside of the fry a bit fluffier.
Very crispy! And didn’t need turning halfway through. It is true that a few burned, but that was not really a problem. Great recipe, thanks Holly!
I cooked mine for the times specified and they still were not crispy. It had a little to much salt.
Turned out incredible, even in our toaster oven! I put tin foil under them and they got a little stuck to that so I’ll try parchment paper next time. We used garlic salt instead of seasoning salt and it was delicious. Definitely will be making again!
If I have a baking rack can I put them on there? I think it’s supposed to help them cook more evenly, but I’m not sure if that would mess it up
I haven’t tried these on a baking rack. I find that the heat from the pan does help them to crisp nicely.
this worked like a charm i didn’t have to waste a lot of oil and ruin my sink and it was so much healthier i added just a little bit of pepper for a little more flavor even better! i would totally use this recipe again!
I made these the first time May 27, 2020, and used Southwest Chipotle salt free seasoning and these were amazing. I followed the recipe exactly. I used my salad spinner to dry the fries and then my husband used a dish towel to completely dry the potatoes. Getting the potatoes completely dry is the key these being crispy. We are going to try a salt free garlic and herb seasoning this time along with the Chipotle seasoning since I like the spice kick.
The 20 minutes on lower temperature and then increase the temperature for the final cooking time. I can’t wait to eat these tonight with a hamburger.
Do you normally spray your pan with cooking spray? And/or do you flip the fries half way through? Mine seemed to stick terribly.
We used parchment paper under our fries which helped prevent sticking and the oil the fries are tossed in, helps as well. But you could spray your pan if you are having issues with them sticking Carin.
I’ve made this twice my five kids all love it! The two temperatures works great!
Burnt to a crisp
These fries were fabulous! I have been looking for so long for a crispy oven fry recipe and this is THE ONE!
My husband and I LOVE this recipe. Our kitchen is small with no room for an air fryer, but this recipe is all we needed! I make steak fries, so I adjusted the bake time. Thank you for sharing.
I usually don’t leave reviews but this recipe is amazing! I’ve tried this before but I kept the fries on 425 (I was being lazy). They didn’t come out good the first time but this time I followed everything to the T and the fries came out perfect! If you follow the recipe step-by-step you should be left with crispy fries.
The fries were relatively inconsistent as in how crispy they were. I definently did not cut them all the right size but still some big ones were cooked well while some small not much at all. I do not think it is a problem with the recipe but where could I have gone wrong?
If some of the big ones were cooked and the small ones were not, perhaps the oven cooked a bit unevenly or they were overlapping a bit. I would suggest giving them a stir halfway through cooking next time and ensuring they’re on a tray large enough to spread out. I hope that helps.
The written instructions above the recipe says to bake the 2nd part at 425 for 15-20 minutes, while the recipe itself says 25-30 minutes. I followed the recipe the first time and they were way overcooked. Please fix the discrepancy. Thanks.
Hi Dani, 20 minutes is the correct amount of time. Thank you!
Although it was easy to make…I followed the recipe and they were no where near crispy. A big disappointment.
Sorry to hear that these weren’t crispy enough! Did you thoroughly pat them dry before placing in the oven?
You can Google this to check this reasoning, but were the fries crowded? Sometimes crowding results in a steaming effect and impacts the ability of the potatoes to crisp. I learned this after a soft batch of sweet potato fries once.
These are our new favorite fries!! Do you think you can you freeze them after cutting but before baking them? What would be the steps for thawing and soaking?
Thanks!!
Hi Megan, we haven’t tried freezing them before baking but I would love to hear how they turn out for you!