Crispy Homemade Fries
Perfectly crispy homemade fries– soft and tender on the inside and crisp and salty on the outside! These fries are easy, minimal prep and oven roasted!
How well a restaurant makes French fries will absolutely be a deciding factor in whether we visit there again. Floppy fries, fries crunchy the whole way through, or under-salted and bland fries earn an automatic no vote the next time..
Thankfully, this isn’t a problem at home since I’ve perfected making delicious, crispy homemade fries the past couple of years. The method is simple and only calls for basic ingredients and no special equipment.
(Though I will say that having a large quality baking sheet is really helpful. I LOVE my extra-large corrugated baking sheets from William-Sonoma. They are seriously big and hold enough fries for our family of seven).
Perfect Crispy Homemade Fries
The fact that I can make a large amount of really good fries with minimal prep and no oil or fryer is huge. There’s not a big mess to clean up or oil to cool and put away. Preparing the fries is as easy as slicing and seasoning potatoes. And I just need to stir them once– after about twenty minutes.
It’s easy enough that I’ve been making these fries regularly recently, and will continue to all summer to enjoy with smash burgers, grilled hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, and so on.
Making crispy fries at home isn’t very complicated, but there are a few important guidelines to follow:
- Cut the fries to be as close to uniform in size as possible. This ensures even cooking time for all the fries, keeping some from being undercooked or too crispy.
- You can only make as many fries as will fit in a flat layer on your baking sheet. All the fries should be in direct contact with the pan so they will achieve the crispy exterior that makes them so good.
- Wait to salt the fries until they have finished cooking. Salt draws moisture out of the potatoes, which can keep them from crisping up during the cooking process. Salt the fries while they are still hot when they are done cooking.
- Preheat the pan with your fat (I recommend ghee). Placing the fries on a hot, greased pan helps to keep them from sticking to the pan and tearing.
- Related to above, it’s essential to wait to stir the fries until they develop a crust (crispy layer). This allows them to release from the pan when it’s time to stir/flip the fries. It usually takes about twenty minutes, but you can check one or two first to see if they’re ready.
(This method also works well for cubed potatoes, like the picture above).
Recipes that go well with perfectly crispy homemade fries:
Shop this post:
- Victorinox Chef Knife :: my favorite knife I’ve used for over a decade
- Titan Peeler :: the BEST peeler
- Ghee :: clarified butter is amazing for roasting and sautéing since it can be used at higher heat
Crispy Homemade Fries
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 5–6 servings 1x
- Method: Roasting
Description
Perfectly crispy homemade fries– soft and tender on the inside and crisp and salty on the outside! These fries are easy, minimal prep and oven roasted!
Ingredients
- 3–5 large Russet potatoes, washed and peeled
- 2–3 tablespoons ghee
- granulated garlic
- paprika
- kosher salt for finishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Drop 2-3 rounded tablespoons of ghee on a large rimmed baking sheet. Place the sheet in the oven to heat and melt the ghee.
- Slice the potatoes into thin fries, taking care to make sure the fries are all close in size. (About 3/8″ wide is ideal).
- Remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and tilt it so the ghee coats the entire pan. Carefully lay the fries out on the pan in a flat, even layer– they should all be touching the pan and not be overcrowded. Season the fries with the granulated garlic and paprika. (No salt yet).
- Place the pan of fries in the oven and let them roast for about 20 minutes without stirring, until the bottoms of the fries have developed a crisp layer. Once the bottoms are crispy, remove the pan from the oven to toss/flip the fries so the crispy layer is now on top. Return the pan to the oven and finish roasting the fries for another 10-15 minutes, according to your desired doneness.
- Generously season the fries with kosher salt once you have removed them from the oven while the fries are still hot.