Air Fried French Fries

Air fried French fries get par-boiled then quickly cooked in the Air Fryer for the best air fries ever! They are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 30

Servings: servings

Calories: 186kcal

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

2 pounds potatoes about 3 large or 6 small potatoes, scrubbed (or peeled if desired)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt to taste

Instructions

Prep the Potatoes

Cut the potatoes into 1/4 inch thick strips. (see notes)

Par boil the potato strips

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and toss the potato strips in the boiling water. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the potatoes are half-way cooked. Do not cook them more than half-way or they will break up easily in the Air Fryer.
Drain the potatoes and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.

Air Fry the potatoes:

Toss the potatoes with the olive oil (or use a spray bottle to lightly spray the oil on the fries.)
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
When the air fryer is hot, add 1/3 to 1/2 of the potatoes to the fryer basket and cook for 15 to 25 minutes (see notes). Once or twice through the cooking time, pull the basket out and give the potatoes a good shake to redistribute them.
When they are finished cooking, sprinkle them with salt and serve immediately.
If they sit and cool down before serving, stick them back in the hot Air Fryer for a few minutes to crisp them back up.

Notes

Choose Russet, Idaho, Yukon gold or Kennebec potatoes for the best fries.
The cooking time is based on thinly sliced fries at about 1/4 inch thick. If you slice your fries thicker, they will need to cook a little longer.
The more fries you put in the Air Fryer basket will also determine cooking time. Larger batches will need more time to cook.
Try to cut the potato strips as evenly as possible so they all cook in the same amount of time.
Par-boiling the potatoes will make them fluffier on the inside and crispier on the outside. If you do not par-boil them first then you will need to increase the time you cook them in the Air Fryer by 5 to 8 minutes.
Do not over-fill the air fryer basket. Cook in batches that are appropriately sized for your Air Fryer. A larger Air Fryer may be able to handle the entire batch at once but a smaller Air Fryer may need 4 separate batches.

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