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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This is such a wonderful recipe. Thank you! Even though I forgot the parchment paper and didn’t see where it said the amount of salt and only used 1 tsp, they smelled so delicious cooking that the kids got excited and everyone loved them. There are so many variations I can see… garlic fries with lemon, topped with mushroom gravy, parmesan cheese and italian herbs, truffle oil.
I do have one question. Which french fry cutter do you use? Would you be able to recommend one? A lot of the ones I saw on Amazon had reviews that said the plastic pusher gets shredded into the fries. What size cutter is in your pictures? They look even better than my multi-sized hand cut ones.
So glad you’ve loved it. The one I use is an old discontinued model from Williams Sonoma similar to this one with many blades. I use the bigger squared blade, it says ½”. As you mentioned, there are lots of other options on Amazon.
I just use a knife. They come out great – even if they’re not exactly the same size. They’re close enough.
In a departure from what is usually done, I am writing a review even though my husband made these on his night to cook. These were fantastic. Just like you say, better than most restaurant fries. Maybe it’s been so long since I’ve been to a restaurant? They were creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside. He used white potatoes. Could it be that these work out even better than russets?
Thanks for the recipe!
Perfect!!! So crispy, gives deep frying a run for it’s money If this doesn’t turn out for you then it’s definitely you and not this recipe.
These fries are fantastic! We have made them a couple times at our house and they are definitely a fan favorite.
The only thing I changed in the recipe was reduced the salt a bit.
I have also followed the same directions with sweet potatoes, turned out great!
Thank you
Have you tried chili powder and garlic powder on your sweet potato fries? So good!
I’m not sure on the oven temps and the time amount… I put them in for 20 minutes at 375… then upped it 425… 5 minutes later my smoke alarm was going off… the fries on the outer edges were black bricks and only a few in the middle were actually edible.
If my smoke alarm did. It go off, I would have burnt my kitchen down.
Helpful and simple. My family enjoyed homemade fries tonight. Thanks!
A simple and easy to make sweet potato fried recipes i have ever tried so far. Thanks for sharing this recipe with all of us.
What seasonings besides salt would you recommend? I am about to make this recipe. Sooo excited! My husband and I are huge fries fans.
Hi Sydney, we love using seasoned salt in this recipe but you could also switch up the flavor by adding a little garlic, lemon pepper, or even a truffle salt for a decadent flavor.
I am going to be honest, I haven’t made the frys yet. However, I love the little bowl that says just a pinch on it. I am wondering if you can tell me where I can get that bowl or if anyone knows where I can get it. Thanks.
I can’t seem to find them online anymore but they’re called Terracotta Pinch Pots made by Jamie Oliver and it came in a pack of two. Hope that helps!
Came out great
These fries were not crispy at all. I wish I could post a picture. I follow the recipe exactly. I even used a fry cutter. They were 1/4″ fries and refused to even brown like in the pictures. I’m convinced that the fries in the picture aren’t oven baked or at least not fresh fries as it claims. What a waste of time and food.
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you.
The fries in the image were made by me exactly as stated in this recipe and are indeed from fresh potatoes as written in the recipe. As you can see from all of the reviews on this recipe it works as written for most readers to produce crispy fries.
I can’t say for sure why yours didn’t work out. Did you dab them very dry after soaking (water will cause them to steam and not crisp as well). Did you use oil in this recipe? Was your pan large enough that the fries were not overcrowded? Did you have more than one pan in the oven and if so were they close together in the oven as the air needs to circulate. Hopefully one of those suggestions helps.
All the other recipes I’ve seen for crispy baked fries require you to boil the fries for 8 minutes in salted water. Why does this recipe not do that step?
I’ve never boiled them and this recipe works great for me.
Seems like a lot of salt. Do you really use a tablespoon for 4 large potatoes?
You can season to your liking (and use a bit less if you prefer).
Made these fries last night with Yukon potatoes. Followed the recipe exactly. Soooo good and perfectly crispy!
Thanks for this recipe :)
I have been looking for a great oven recipe for fries- I have found it! Thank you!
So glad everyone loves these fries – they are a favorite for us too!
Looks delicious
Made this tonight and it was a great hit! Lots of stealing fries while waiting for the main course. Much healthier than deep fried fries. Note of warning: we packed a bunch and brought it over to neighbors, but they got a bit soggy because we sealed it with foil – lesson learned! Thanks for the recipe!
Next time put them in a brown paper bag!
Didn’t work for me despite carefully following every step. Wound up with a soggy inedible mess!
Sorry to hear that Jerry, that’s so disappointing. Is it possible that you overcrowded your pan? Have you checked your oven temperature with an oven thermometer? We’ve made these many times and haven’t had that issue.
the oven has to be really hot
These were awesome! Used salt, pepper, garlic salt and dried parsley for my seasoning.
There is only one thing wrong with these fries; my husband doesn’t ever want to go out to eat anymore. Honestly, we’ve been making fries like this for years except we change up the spices each time, just using whatever is available, whatever sounds good. So far my favorite combo is a very healthy dose of Costco’s Signature no-salt seasoning with a good sprinkling of chili pepper flakes. So good there are never any leftovers.