This simple recipe for Perfect Crispy Oven Fries get baked in a healthful oil until golden brown and crisped and they make for a super easy side dish. We especially love them served alongside out Sheet Pan Crispy Ranch Chicken. Use this recipe for an easy How to Make Homemade Baked French Fries
Everyone has their favorite type of French fry. Mine is a crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. I don’t like full crunch, just enough so you know there is great texture. I happened to be watching a video review on a commercial fry cutter and the main person said that soaking the potatoes in water before cooking helps oven baked fries get crispy. That sentence stuck with me for about 3 years. After I heard that of course I needed to try it. I soaked the fries for 6 hours and then dried them and let them sit out for about an hour so that as much of the moisture as possible was gone. Let me tell you those homemade fries were worth the effort and the wait. After remaking the recipe a few times, I realized that I could in fact reduce the soaking time if I were in a rush. An hour is enough time to get a lot of that starch pulled out and help achieve that crisp crunchy outside that I’m looking for.
This recipe is SIMPLE. All you need is 6 large potatoes (we find Russet potatoes to work best), olive oil or other oil of choice, and quality sea salt. You can always jazz these up with some sprinkled parmesan and parsley after, toss in some garlic or red pepper flakes, the possibilities are endless. In college there used to be a place called Spuds and all they did was make different fries with an absurd number of topping options. If you are into blue cheese and Buffalo-style goodness (as we are over here), make these fries, top with diced celery, blue cheese, and hot sauce it is soooooo good.
This recipe is super simple. Slice your potatoes lengthwise about ¼ inch to ½ inch thick. Then slice lengthwise again so that they are about ½ inch thick or whatever thickness you prefer. The thicker the fry the longer the cook time.
Use the biggest bowl you have or use two if you need to and put the potatoes in the bowl and then cover with water. Allow them to soak for at least 1 hour. If you can wait longer, I’d suggest you give it a try. You will notice the water will start to turn cloudy. Once the soaking is over, rinse the fries with water well to get all that starch off them.
Completely dry the fries. I find the best way is to use a dishtowel or two to help soak up the excess moisture. In a bowl I like to mix in the olive oil with the fries and salt and then place on a sheet tray. I find that to get crispy fries you need to use some sort of oil. They do not need to be dripping in oil but if you coat them well, they’ll crisp up. I have also tried this method with spray avocado oil and got great results for crispy fries so the spray olive and avocado oils will work.
Place the fries on a sheet pan and make sure that there is space in between each fry. You want the fries to crisp and not steam. Depending on the thickness that you cut them I bake at 400 for 30 minutes and flip the fries and then cook for another 15-25 again depending on the thickness. I like to see that they are nice and golden brown when I flip them.
When they are cooked to my liking I remove from the oven and toss them in a bowl with some more salt to taste and any toppings you’d like.
We like our Crispy Oven Fries dipped in homemade Ranch Dressing recipe which you can find here
The Buffalo Ranch Dressing would be amazing too
We also have an Avocado Dipping sauce that is perfect too
Or maybe you like a Homemade BBQ sauce
When you make homemade fries using good quality oil there is nothing unhealthy about that. What makes the fries less than desirable from a health perspective, when you eat them at a restaurant is the oils that they use to deep dry them and they also add coatings to the fries and unnecessary things to help preserve them. If you want to read more about the reasons to avoid poor quality oils – this is article 4 Reasons to Avoid Vegetable and Seed Oils
Making fries at home may seem time consuming or tedious, but the benefits out way those feelings at least for me. One note that I will make is that I will usually double this recipe and then with half of the batch I will let them cool completely then freeze for a couple of weeks and pull them out and pop them in the oven to reheat them. And I always take a moment to thank my previous self for thinking ahead.
Perfect Oven Fries
Ingredients
- 6 large potatoes, we recommend Russet potatoes
- 4-6 tablespoons olive oil, avocado oil is also great
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Wash potatoes
- Slice potatoes lengthwise to about ¼ in to ½ inch thick. Slice again to about ½ inch wide.
- Place all sliced potatoes in large bowl and cover with water.
- Soak for 1 hour minimum.
- Rise sliced potatoes and dry completely
- Place potatoes in bowl and toss in olive oil to coat with a sprinkle of salt.
- Place on sheet pan making sure to space them so they are not touching.
- Bake for 30 minutes and flip
- Bake for an additional 10-20 minutes based on the thickness and how your oven runs.
- Remove from oven and toss with additional salt to taste. Service with your favorite dipping sauces.
