Nothing says American cuisine like fresh, hot french fries. Now you can make your Waffle Fries in the Air Fryer with plenty of time to spare. Throw some meat on the grill and get ready to feast on one of the most beloved side dishes of all time, right from the comfort of your own home.
I don’t know about anybody else, but I don’t think I’m the only one who has been frustrated with fries baked in the oven.
First of all, they take forever.
Second, they turn out limp and soggy nine times out of ten.
And third, it’s so hard to get the seasoning to stick on limp french fries. This is why making these in the air fryer is the perfect solution.
These are my favorite way to cook frozen fries in air fryer. Each bite has layers of potato crispiness vs the matchstick fries.
🍽️ Why This Works
Crazy Fast | You can literally pull the bag out of the freezer, dump them in the preheated fryer, and have them on your table (estimate) ten minutes later. Gone are the days of waiting twenty-five minutes or more to make limp fries in the oven. Yuck!
Easy Peasy | You don’t need to thaw anything, cut anything or spray anything with oil in order to make these to go with your favorite meal. You’ll just pre-heat, dump, and go.
Crispy | The air fryer is very effective at crisping up all of your favorite frozen foods using heated air circulation.
🥔 Ingredients
Frozen Waffle Cut Fries | We used the Alexia brand, but any brand should work (we love the Ore-Ida waffle ones too!!) perfectly fine and finish up in approximately ten minutes. Lamb Weston, Perfect Market, Great Value, McCain and Pictsweet Farms are all brands to reach for in your frozen food section.
Dipping Sauces | Pick a few of your favorites!
Make sure to snag your {FREEBIE} Air Fryer Cooking Times Printable, Deep Fryer to Air Fryer Conversion Printable and Oven to Air Fryer Conversion Printable.
⏲️ Equipment and Tools
We used the Ninja Foodi Air Fryer. Use any basket or tray fryer that you have. If you are making these for a large family grab two bags and use your tray or convection oven.
If you have a basket version like the Ninja, Cosori Air Fryer, Nuwave or Chefman, use the same steps, but check them a minute or two early as they will finish a slightly different times.
If you have a tray version like the Instant Vortex Plus, Nuwave or Cuisanart, the top trays tend to cook faster, so be aware of that. Our Instant Vortex also has a preheat function which means we don’t put the food in until it finishes vs our Ninja basket which doesn’t have a preheat function.
Liners are optional as the mess they make are minimal. I use them religiously every time I use my fryer as it’s habit. Silicone or parchment paper work great!
🔥 Instructions
Step One: Pre-heat your air fryer to 400º.
Note: Do we need to defrost them first or can they be cooked straight from frozen? These can be made straight from frozen and go from freezer to table in just ten minutes.
Step Two: Place potatoes in the basket, and set the time to ten minutes. Always make sure they don’t touch each other or they may steam instead of bake. Shake the basket or turn the food halfway through. If using a trays version, swap the top and bottom trays at the halfway point.
When using a basket version, you will be air frying in batches, always cooking in single layers.
All your burning questions: Can You Put Parchment Paper in Air Fryer? Can You Put Foil in the Air Fryer?
🔥 Leftover Storage
If there are any leftovers, store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
How to Reheat Fries in Air Fryer
Reheat them in the air fryer in a single layer for two minutes at 400°F to make them hot and crispy again.
Don’t try to microwave them. They will not get crispy at all!
🍟 Serving Options
Don’t forget to grab your favorite dipping sauces at the store before serving waffle fries. Our family has enjoyed ketchup, sour cream, ranch, honey mustard, straight honey, Chick-Fil-A Sauce (which you can buy in bottles at the grocery store), and even Tzatziki. If you’ve never tried dipping your chips with a good beer cheese dip, you’ll find that to be a treat as well.
Make loaded potatoes with these by layering the fries with bacon bits, green onions, sour cream and any other toppings you love.
❗ Expert Tips
Make sure the potatoes are broken apart and not just all clumped up in the basket. Your machine needs air circulation to get the job done efficiently and make crispy “fried” food.
Add your favorite fry seasoning such as Old Bay or simple salt to spice it up a little. Toss the seasoning on the fries using a large mixing bowl as soon as they come out of the air fryer.
Follow your machine’s instructions for pre-heating.
Cook frozen sweet potato waffle fries the same way.
Although, we normally oil a lot of food for the air fryer, this is one time that you DO NOT need to add anything. They are excellent out of the bag. If you would like to add a little olive oil spray, that can always add to the crispiness but it isn’t necessary!
🍇 Serving Suggestions
These potatoes are so good served with Kobe Beef Cheeseburger Kabobs.
In addition, you can serve a Creamy Cucumber Salad {10 Minutes} with almost any grilled entree.
Avocado Tomato Salad Recipe {10 Minutes} is another great way to balance out the tasty starch of fries.
If you want an all Air Fryer snack fest, make the Pierogis, Hushpuppies, Mini Corndogs and Pickles.
Favorite Frozen Foods
Frozen Curly Fries (We made a charcuterie board using these!)
Frozen Mini Corn Dogs (We made a charcuterie board using these!)
Recipe FAQ
As long as you preheat your Air Fryer per the manufacturer’s instructions, these waffle fries will cook in about ten minutes.
No, you don’t need a silicone mat or parchment paper. Placing parchment paper in the bottom can prevent messes for some recipes, but it may limit airflow.
You can throw waffle fries back in the machine for a couple of minutes to reheat them as long as they didn’t get too crunchy the first time. This also works with leftover restaurant waffle fries by the way.
No, you do not need to use oil for these. Most fry manufacturers make the potatoes so that cooking oil is already in the fry and cooks out to crisp up the fry as it bakes in the oven.
Low Prep Air Fryer Recipes
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Waffle Fries in the Air Fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 pieces Frozen Waffle Fries
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees, if needed.
- Place your waffle fries in the air fryer basket, and set the time to ten minutes. Always make sure the fries don't touch each other or they will steam instead of bake. Shake the basket or turn the fries halfway through. If using a tray version, swap the top and bottom trays at the half way point.
Notes
Nutrition
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