Baked French fries at 400 degrees recipe is here. Homemade french fries in oven thick, thin, crispy potato straws or wedges that are tender inside. You may have tried our popular Ninja Foodi french fries but want to make them in the oven with your main dish, here is how!
Ready to try the best homemade french fries in oven? There really isn’t much better paired with burgers right? Whether you bake them or hot air fry them we will tell you the tricks to making them perfect.
These are SO easy to make you’ll start to wonder why you never made these earlier. I did after our first batch!
Of course we are going to start with taters. Since we live in Idaho we have lots of those. 😉 Use russet, sweet potatoes, or even red if you like. Each one brings a different flavor and taste so use your fave I say….But aren’t the only thing you could use either. After this you should think outside of the box like eggplant fries or carrots too. 😉
Ingredient Notes
Potatoes are to start with. We use russet potatoes because they are low in moisture but higher in starch than other varieties. This means you can get the outside crunchy but the insides will remain fluffy and tender.
Salt and pepper if you like are added during and after the cooking process. Can opt to use seasoned varieties too such as Lawry’s or steak seasoning.
Olive oil or peanut oil some like to help crisp the outsides and give it a bit of flavor too. Avocado oil is a great alternative as well.
Equipment Needed
We are going to start with how to bake them the “traditional way”. In the oven that is, using just a baking sheet pan to lay them out in a single layer so you want a big one. If double frying in oil you’d want a Dutch Oven like we used to make Beer Batter Fries. 2 Large bowls are necessary, one for soaking and another for tossing the ingredients.
Cooking Tips
How thick you cut the potatoes is up to you. Many like steak fries or Potato Wedges which are quite large cutting the veggie into just a few large pieces, while others like super skinny without much on the inside. You could spend the money on a french fry cutter but a sharp knife will do the trick just as well.
Keep in mind that the skinnier they are the quicker they will cook. You just adjust the timing below according to how small they are. You can see the size below that the printable recipe card was based off of. This is typical so any bigger just add a few more minutes and check until they are perfect for you.
Do you have to soak potatoes before frying?
You don’t HAVE to, but many do and say it makes for crispier fries. This step does help remove some of the starch. Cold water is recommended for at least 30 minutes. Use slotted spoon to remove and place on paper towels. Either way you MUST dry them really well to remove the liquid on the outsides. This will allow the olive or vegetable oil to stick well.
How to Bake French Fries Super Crispy
Ok so there are 3 main things you want to remember to get them super golden brown but still tender inside. Tip 1 – You want to DRY DRY DRY the outside after soaking. Any remaining moisture will keep them from crisping. Tip 2 – Do not overlap them. If you want to go a step further, set a wire rack on top of the baking sheet to allow hot air to rotate better. Tip 3 – If they are not on a rack, flip halfway thru.
Homemade Fries in Oven Recipe
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 Bowl
- 1 cutting board
Ingredients
- 5 large potatoes, washed, cut into strips
- 2 tbsp salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp steak seasoning
- 3 tbsp parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Fill a bowl with cold water. Slice potatoes into strips, the thinner they are the crispier they will become.
- Add salt to the water, stir, then add potato strips and soak for 30 minutes to up to 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Drain water from potatoes and pat dry with paper towels very well. The drier they are the crispier they will become.
- Put in a bowl and toss with olive oil, seasonings and parmesan cheese.
- Use two baking sheets to fit them all. Lay out so they aren't overlapping.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes flipping fries halfway thru cook time. Take out when they're as crispy as you'd like.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How do you make French fries taste better?
We love shredded parmesan cheese sprinkled on the top like you see here. Truffle oil drizzled on top brings a bang of flavor everyone loves. Fresh herbs are great if you have them on hand. Of course dried and bottled things like thyme and rosemary are great too. You can pile them up on a plate with gravy on top to make poutine. Make into fun nachos with these instead of chips drenched in cheese! Some enjoy marinara sauce over ketchup.
I mean you can “dress them up” however you’d like but here are a few of our favorite ways to eat them. I would say how to make fry sauce recipe is our favorite here though.
How to Make Homemade French Fries with other Vegetables
You can go a step further and make fries with carrots or air fryer jicama fries too! I mean if you haven’t tried air fryer carrot fries you will be surprised. Even if you don’t really love this vegetable it comes out great lightly breaded with seasonings. And of course frozen French fries in air fryer is the easiest.
Can you make fries with meat instead of potatoes?
We did this with air fryer chicken fries for meat and air fryer spam fries the other day too. It is a fun way to make dinner more exciting with kids for sure. You can lightly bread or leave as is.
I have never used a deep fryer to make these, I don’t even own one. You could follow the same instructions but toss and season at the end after cooking. Personally I don’t enjoy fried foods and these methods are healthier. If you want to fry the potatoes you can use this recipe.
Nutrition information with calories, saturated fat and other information is included in the recipe card. It accounts for all ingredients contained so if something is added by you it will not be quite accurate.
