How To Make The Best Ever Air Fryer Fries


Air Fryer Fries. How to make the best air fryer fries you have ever tried. Or as us Brits like to call them air fryer chips. Perfect every single time and using only a small amount of oil, this is where all air fryer beginners should start.

How To Make The Best Ever Air Fryer Fries

Air Fryer Fries

Have you ever wondered how to make the best ever fries in your air fryer? What is the secret behind them and how can you make them as good as the professionals?

Well I am about to reveal my air fryer fries recipe but before I do I would like to share with you more about us and our Air Fryer journey and a funny story about Kyle and his first introduction to fries.

The best thing to ever enter our kitchen in 2011 was our Air Fryer. It was this amazing invention that we had fallen in love with. It was this one that still sells on Amazon now.

We originally saw it in a Slimming World magazine and thought it was going to change the way we cooked forever.

We didn’t own a microwave and it seemed like a perfect alternative to our deep fat fryer and for us to get a little bit healthier.

Even those that still load processed frozen food into their air fryer, do so with a lot less calories and making fries in the air fryer is even healthier.

We have spent many years improving our air fryer fries more and more and getting them even better.

From starting out in 2011 with dried our fries with burnt ends to fries that are so good you would think they had been deep fried; these are our perfect air fryer fries.

We have also updated our air fryer fries for 2020 with new photos, more step by step instructions and plenty of air fryer tips, to help you make the best fries in our air fryer. We hope you enjoy our updated version.

I totally recommend to the newbie to the air fryer, to start here and now with these amazing air fryer fries and it will help build up your confidence and get used to using the air fryer.

Air Fryer Fries Vs Air Fryer Chips?

Let’s clear something up for you all first. Air fryer fries and air fryer chips are the EXACT SAME THING. Just nobody told Kyle this fact back in 2012.

As many of you know in America, they are called French fries and in the UK they are always called chips.

Kyle being raised in England until he was 7 and then Portugal from then on, meant that when he was 10 back in 2012, he had no idea that there were differences in the name.

On a red hot day in the July of 2012, we were in a beautiful park in Boston. Kyle was being a handful and demanding some food.

We found a nice park bar selling snacks and ordered sandwiches that were served with chips.

I had a bagel with lots of cream cheese, Dominic had a philly cheese steak and Kyle had pulled pork.

Kyle was so excited waiting for his chips with his sandwich not realising that those chips were crisps and not fries.

We giggled as his order came and we got a lot of dirty sulky looks as he tucked into his pulled pork sandwich with a packet of crisps.

Since then Kyle has called them air fryer fries and not air fryer chips ever since!

Best Air Fryer For Chips

Is there such a thing as the best air fryer for chips? I am sure many of us will be saying that our air fryer is best and I am sure the air fryer brands will all be saying PICK ME.

From years of experience using lots of different air fryers, my opinion is that the air fryer basket does the BEST JOB.

By this I mean any of the main air fryers that has a basket style function.

For example, the Philips Air Fryer that we use all the time.

Or if you live in the US the popular basket air fryer would either be the Cosori or the GoWise USA models.

BUT what I find to be the worst for air fryer chips is the Tefal Actifry. They take much longer; they are not as crispy and they are just not as good.

Everyone that I know that has the Actifry practices with it before moving onto another brand.

In air fryer communities and with my email readers, this seems to be the universal thought.

Air Fryer Ovens like the Power Air Fryer Oven we have is great for meat and kebabs and simple oven style food but doesn’t produce fries as good as an air fryer basket.

Philips Air Fryer Recipes step by step

We did an air fryer experiment and cooked air fryer fries in both of our Philips Air Fryers. One was the Philips Air Fryer XL and the other was our Philips Air Fryer XXL.

Because the XXL is bigger and more powerful we wanted to see what the difference was like.

We found that the Philips XXL cooked them slightly quicker and cut down the last 5 minutes to 2 minutes and didn’t need a higher temperature.

Worth thinking about when you are cooking in an air fryer that is less powerful than the blogger featuring the recipe.

How To Make Fries In An Air Fryer?

It is so easy to make fries in an air fryer and it is all about getting the formula correct.

The correct amount of oil, the correct cooking times and of course the correct temperature.

To make fries in an air fryer is this simple:

#1 Peel and slice your potatoes into the thickness of fries that you want to have.

air fryer fries - peeling and slicing

#2 Load your fries into a bowl and cover with cold water. Soak in the fridge for 15 minutes to help remove the excess starch.

air fryer fries - soaking potatoes

#3 Drain your potatoes and add seasonings to your bowl. Add in extra virgin olive oil and mix with your hands until well coated.

air fryer fries - adding seasoning and oil

#4 Load your potato fries into the air fryer and cook on a medium heat.

air fryer fries - ready to air fry

#5 Check with a fork to make sure your fries are cooked, shake the air fryer fries and cook on a high heat to make your fries crispy and then serve.

air fryer fries - checking with a fork

How To Cook Chips In An Air Fryer?

When I want to cook chips in an air fryer, I am not always thinking about French fries.

That is because raised in the north of England and with a fish and chip shop on every street corner, I am talking about air fryer chips that are as good as the fish and chip shop.

If you love your chips from the fish and chip shop and want to recreate them at home in the air fryer and want them more chippy style than McDonalds style, then I recommend a few slight adjustments.

  1. Make your air fryer chips thicker
  2. Double the amount of olive oil you use during cooking.
  3. Add salt and vinegar just before serving.

How To Make Crispy Air Fryer Fries?

You’re probably wondering why we cook our air fryer fries at two different cooking times and temps and that is because it is the best way to make crispy air fryer fries.

Air fryer fries time starts off at 15 minutes at a temperature of 160c/320f and then finishes with the last 5 minutes at 200c/400f.

Air Fryer Fries Top Tips

  • This recipe for air fryer fries is about perfection and having fries that are not dry, not over starchy and are better than deep fried. You can do a lazy version by not soaking the fries and just spraying the top of the fries in oil. They are okay but they are not the best.
  • It is about striking a balance between enough oil to make them taste amazing, too much and they end up like bad chip shop chips or hardly any that they become dry.
  • Shake the fries JUST ONCE between cooking as this will stop fries sticking together and ignore recipes that ask for constant shaking.
  • Don’t overfill the air fryer basket with fries. They will stick together and become dry.
  • Season first. This helps get a better flavour on your fries and add a little extra crispiness to the fries once they are cooked. Though you can mix and match seasoning for what type of fries you want to eat.

Air Fryer Chips FAQ

We have had many questions over the years about making air fryer fries and have answered the most asked ones below:

  • Are air fryer chips healthy? Absolutely. If you think about the ingredients for air fryer chips you can see just how healthy they are. You just need potatoes, a little oil and some seasoning. Less in calories than having a jacket potato with beans and butter.
  • Why are my air fryer chips soggy? This is because you have cooked the fries at a medium temperature and added too much oil. They have not had chance to get crispy and the air fryer hasn’t liked the amount of oil that has been used.
  • Do air fryer chips taste good? They taste amazing. Many people buy air fryers just for how good air fryer chips taste. Think the fries you have from the deep fat fryer just without that overly greasy taste.
  • Are air fryer chips free on slimming world? This version isn’t because there is olive oil used in the recipe. But our oil free air fryer fries are free on Slimming World and make a great Plan B.
  • Why are air fryer chips dry? Only if you have not added enough oil does this happen or if you are going oil free, you have not left the potatoes to soak for long enough.
  • How long for air fryer chips? The cooking time for air fryer chips is usually 20 minutes. This is based on an air fryer half full though and some air fryer sizes may vary.

Love Air Fryer Fries Then Try These Too

In the Milner kitchen at Recipe This we are obsessed with different ways to cook air fryer fries. Here are a few more suggestions if you want to cook more than just regular air fryer fries.

Air Fryer fries
How To Make The Best Ever Air Fryer Fries
Print Recipe
5 from 12 votes

How To Make The Best Ever Air Fryer Fries

Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: Air Fryer
Servings: 4
Calories: 226kcal


Kitchen Gadgets:

Air Fryer Fries


  • Peel and slice your potatoes into chips. Load the potatoes into a bowl, cover with cold water and fridge for 15 minutes.
  • Drain the potatoes, add seasoning and extra virgin olive oil and mix with your hands until nicely coated.
  • Load the fries into the air fryer basket and cook for 15 minutes at 160c/320f.
  • Cook for a further 5 minutes at 200c/400f or until they are perfectly crispy.
  • Serve.


If your air fryer is rather powerful, only cook for 2 minutes instead of 5 and reduce the temperature to 180c/360f.
You can use any of your favourite air fryer oils, or refer to our air fryer oil usage guide.
Reduce the time to 12 minutes and a further 3 minutes if doing a small amount of potatoes.


Serving: 100g | Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg

Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!

air fryer fries at

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43 thoughts on “How To Make The Best Ever Air Fryer Fries”

  1. Do you add the oil to the bottom of the fryer or mix the potatoes in the oil. It doesn’t really say. Are the potatoes coated with the oil? Please help. Mine come out awful

    • Hi Laura,

      We add the oil on to the top of the potatoes and give them a shake, then half way through the cooking time we give them a further shake. The oil does end up at the bottom of the pan but only after cooking. How are yours ending up awful?

      Kind Regards


  2. Hi, I have tried it and Edges of the potatoes are overcooked and rest is mere boiled..should I bake it or just use the mesh ?.any tips to avoid this..

    P.S followed the recipe like said.

    • Hi Mounika,

      Thank you for your comment.

      All i can think of is to shake the potatoes more often as not let them touch the sides for too long as this can happen where the ends get burned. I would always use the mesh basket for anything like this.

      Kind Regards


  3. Are you placing the fries on the rack or right on the bottom bowl with the oil like a deep fryer? Can it be adjusted for doing hash browns?

    • Hi Marsha,

      All foods must be placed in the basket/rack or grill pan. Otherwise the air cannot circulate the food and cook it correctly.

      Kind Regards


  4. 5 stars
    Awesome! I have been using recipe where I had to soak the potatoes for thirty minutes and they come out terrible these are delicious thanks

    • Hi Jennifer,

      I am really glad you liked our recipe, alot of recipes do say about soaking the potatoes but we think you do not need to 🙂

      Kind Regards


    • Hi Cheryl,

      Yes you can. We have a post due out at the beginning of May explaining about this, we found not to cook for as long as fresh food and they should be fine.

      Kind Regards


    • Hi Alex

      On this recipe we did not pre boil the potatoes but if you did they would cook alot quicker and be gentle when shaking them if you pre biol them as they can break up when soft 🙂

      Kind Regards


  5. 5 stars
    Wonderful recipe, quite similar to my steps for my old fryer but in this i dont see to rest them between temperature raises. Cant wait to try this! TY for sharing it

    • Hi Sherye,

      Vegetable oil i would say yes, but i am not too sure about peanut oil. We have never cooked with it the only issue i can see if it gives off alot of smoke whilst cooking using it and then that would be an issue. Sorry i cannot be of more help 🙂


  6. 5 stars
    Now that is what excites me about the air fryer. Perfect air fryer fries cooked from scratch. Please keep up the great air fryer recipes.

  7. 5 stars
    wow! the best ever fries in the air fryer that i have ever tried. Had been parboiling and now realise what a waste of time that was and that its really not necessary.


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