The air fryer crinkle cut fries are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The perfectly crispy brown crinkle edges and the soft flesh is something that makes them the best finger food of all times. The pace and ease of cooking french fries in the air fryer have made them the ideal kitchen equipment.
Let’s make this healthy, crispy, and delicious french fries.
Air fryers have expertise in cooking frozen French fries. Be it the plain cut French fries, crinkle cut fries, waffle fries, or curly fries. An air fryer is the kitchen equipment that you must entrust with this job. And did I tell you that it cooks perfect sweet potato fries?
And the frozen veggies! Do try making these frozen Brussel sprouts, frozen okra, and frozen cauliflower using air fryer.
Crinkle-cut fries are my favorite type of potato fries. I love them for their texture and their taste. You get these crinkle crispy edges with soft interiors. The idea is to air fry them a little more than the normal fries. This will brown the crinkle edges. The overdone crinkle edges not only stay crispier than the rest of the fries but also gives longer-lasting crispiness.
Why does this recipe work?
There is nothing fancy in this air fryer recipe. But the timing matters.
- Air frying is the easy, simplest, fuss-free way to make potato fries that are crispy and delicious.
- There is no need to thaw the frozen fries. Just put the frozen French fries in the air fryer basket as such.
- You do not have to use any oil if you do not want to. Make them healthy.
- The air fryer does not take much time to preheat like an oven and the air fryer crinkle cut fries taste better in all ways than the oven-baked ones.
- Making crinkle cut fries in the air fryer is quick or rather the quickest and healthiest way to make them.
Ingredients to air fry crinkle cut fries
Frozen crinkle cut fries
Use the fries that you like. Over the years I have used various brands of crinkle-cut fries like Great value, Market pantry, Kroger, Seasons’s choice, Tj farms, etc. They are all equally good. I grab whichever I can get.
Fresh crinkle cut fries:
You can also make fresh crinkle cut fries from fresh potatoes at home. You are going to need a wavy-edged knife for cutting crinkle-edged French fries. Wash and peel the potatoes first. Then, slice the potatoes using the wavy-edged potato knife. Then further cut the slices into smaller strips of the desired size.
Transfer them to a bowl and coat them with vegetable oil and salt. Mix to coat all the fries. Then air fries them as instructed in the recipe.
Cooking spray or vegetable oil ( optional)
Though it is not necessary to use any kind of oil as the frozen crinkle cut fries are already coated with little oil. But adding a little bit of oil does make them more delicious. A quick-cooking oil spray is all you need.
So, choose for yourself. I usually do not use any oil on my fries.
Let’s make this healthy, crispy, and delicious finger food of all times, air fryer frozen crinkle-cut fries!
Instructions to make Air fryer crinkle cut fries:
To make frozen crinkle cut fries in the air fryer, grab your favorite fries bag. Empty the contents in the basket of the air fryer. If you have oven style air fryer, spread them on the shelves. Then even them out so that none are overlapping. Leave little gaps for air circulations.
I have used half the bag of 32 oz Season’s choice frozen crinkle cut fries. This means that I am filling my 8 qt air fryer basket with 16 oz of crinkle cut French fried potatoes. If you use more or less than this quantity the overall air frying duration will vary accordingly.
Then set the air fryer temperature to 400 0F for 14 minutes. Air fry frozen crinkle fries for 8-9 minutes. Then, open the air fryer basket and shake the basket. The purpose is to flip the fries. You can individually flip them all or just shake the entire basket so that the fries flip over. Put the air fryer basket back inside and let them fry till fully done.
Depending on the type of air fryer you use, there will a differential of 1-2 minutes. And these minutes do make a crucial difference in the final air fried food. Open the basket at 12 minutes to check how much more time your fries need.
If you want to air fry the complete bag of 32 oz, it will take you about 22-23 minutes. The issue with it is that the fries will be overlapping in the basket, and all will not cook evenly. Some will stay soft and not crisp. So, unless you are in hurry or entertaining a large group, always air fry in batches.
When done, transfer the air fryer crinkle cut fries into a serving bowl or plate. Season with your favorite seasoning mix and serve with an air fryer burger.
Seasoning options:
Some of the seasoning options for air fried crinkle fries that I love and you should try are:
- Peri-Peri seasoned crinkle cut fries.
- Chaat masala: If you are an Indian you would be using it anyway. But if you are not, chat masala is a tangy Indian spice mix that is usually sprinkled over fried foods. And trust me it goes great with French fries.
- Taco seasoning: It is a tangy and spicy seasoning that pairs nicely with fries. Do try it out.
- Garlic bread seasoning blend.
I have used my favorite ultimate French fry seasoning which is the mix of chat masala and taco seasoning. Numerous brands are selling French fries seasoning use whichever you like.
How to serve air fryer crinkle fries
French fries are hands down the most famous finger food of all time. A perfect quick snack for kids, games day snack, picnic snack, and an ideal side for meals. Enjoy them with an air fryer is frozen burger, or as a side to air fryer spaghetti squash. Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce or humble tomato ketchup.
Storage and reheating of crinkle cut fries made in an air fryer
Store the leftover crinkle cut fries that are cooked in an air fryer in an air-tight container or a zip-locked bag and refrigerate for or a day. To reheat, air fry them at 380 0F for 4-5 minutes and serve.
Pro tips
- Do not bother to defrost frozen French fries, they are better this way.
- Place the frozen crinkle fries in the air fryer in a single layer. Never overcrowd or overlap the frozen food in an air fryer. The air fryer frozen French fries will turn out soggy if overlapped.
- Depending on the type of air fryer you use, there will a differential of 1-2 minutes. And these minutes do make a crucial difference in the final air fried food. Open the basket at 12 minutes to check how much more time your fries need.
- Do not forget to flip or rotate them halfway through the cooking time. This ensures even air frying of crinkle cut fries on all sides.
- Adding oil is optional. You can cook frozen fries without oil.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you do not need oil. There is already a fraction of oil that is used to coat the crinkle-cut potato fries before freezing them, so they do not stick to each other. So, even if you do not use any additional oil, they taste equally good on-air frying.
If you want to add oil, you can use cooking oil spray or use a pastry brush to brush them with some vegetable oil.
The duration required to air fry the frozen crinkle cut fries depends on the number of fries you are putting in your air fryer basket. If you add about 16 oz fries in an 8 qt basket, they should be done at fries setting in less than 15 minutes. Mine took 12 minutes.
If you empty the entire 32 oz fries bag in the 8 qt air fryer basket, it takes 23 minutes in my Bella professional air fryer. So, the average duration is between 22-and 24 minutes for most air fryers.
The highest temperature that your fryer can go is good for air frying the crinkle cut fries. Also, almost all air fryers have a fries setting that uses their highest temperature. In some air fryers, it is 380 0F (190 0C) but in most cases, it is 400 0F (200 0C).
So, 400 0F is the ideal temperature to cook frozen French fries, but any temperature ranging from 380-400 0F would work.
You do not need to thaw the frozen crinkle-cut fries before air frying. Fries cook perfectly when you air fry them straight from the freezer. They will not disappoint you.
More Frozen air fryer recipes:
More air fryer frozen foods recipes that you might want to try are:
- How to cook frozen pizza bites (veggie pizza rolls) in air fryer
- Frozen potstickers in air fryer: The best way to make frozen dumplings
- Frozen spring rolls in air fryer: Quick, easy, and crispy!
- Best way to cook frozen garlic bread in air fryer
I hope you enjoy making these crinkle cut fries in an air fryer and it becomes your go-to method to cook frozen food. Share it with friends if you find it helpful.
Till then,
Make it quick and delicious!
Air fryer crinkle cut fries recipe card
Air fryer crinkle cut fries
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
- Frozen crinkle cut French fried Potatoes 16 oz half of the 32 oz bag
- Cooking spray optional
Instructions
- To make crinkle cut fries in the air fryer, grab your favorite fries bag (32 oz). Empty half the contents ( about 16 oz) in the basket of the air fryer. If you have oven style air fryer, spread them on the shelves. Then even them out so that none are overlapping. Leave little gaps for air circulations.
- Then put the basket back in the air and set the air fryer temperature to 400 0F for 14 minutes. After 8-9 minutes, open the air fryer basket and shake it. The purpose is to flip the fries. You can individually flip them all or just shake the entire basket so that the fries flip over.
- Put the air fryer basket back inside and let them air fry till fully done.
- When done, transfer the air fryer crinkle cut fries into a serving bowl or plate. Season with your favorite seasoning mix and serve with a dipping sauce. Enjoy!
- If you want to air fry the complete bag of 32 oz, it will take you about 22-23 minutes. The issue with it is that the fries will be overlapping in the basket, and all will not cook evenly. So, unless you are in hurry or entertaining a large group, always air fry in batches.
Notes
- I have used half the bag of 32 oz Season’s choice frozen crinkle cut fries. This means that I am filling my 8 qt air fryer basket with 16 oz of crinkle cut French fried potatoes. If you use more or less than this quantity the overall air frying duration will vary accordingly.
- Place the frozen crinkle cut fries in the air fryer in a single layer. Never overcrowd or overlap the food in an air fryer.
- Depending on the type of air fryer you use, there will a differential of 1-2 minutes. And these minutes do make a crucial difference in the final air fried food. Open the basket at 12 minutes to check how much more time your fries need.
- Do not forget to flip or rotate them halfway through the cooking time. This ensures even air frying of crinkle cut fries on all sides.
- Adding oil is optional. I have not used any oil in this recipe.
Nutrition facts
Tammy Shah
Now that is how I like my fries. I have tried many of your air fryer recipes, and they all work great for me.
Sandra P
I am only using air fryer for fries from now on.
Penelope.J
Best fries ever!
Sophia J
The fries came out perfectly crispy. I made about half the bag. It took me 15 minutes.