Yes, you can even have crispy, healthy homemade fries from an air fryer! Here is how to make them, simply and easily.
What Makes These Fries Healthy?
They are made with only three ingredients — potatoes, oil and salt. You can choose the type of oil and the amount you use, to your taste, and the potatoes as well. Fries made in the air fryer use less oil. Olive oil may be an expensive option for cooking but it is a much healthier choice, and it tastes much better than industrial seed oils like canola, soybean or corn.
Choose Your Potatoes, Choose Your Oil
Any potato that you have will be a good choice, but most recipes note that the best potatoes for fries is a Russet (once cooked, it is crispy on the outside and drier on the inside and tastes like fries should) or a Yukon Gold (crispy outside and firm and creamy on the inside, for a rich and buttery flavour). Leave the skin on if you want to. There is more fibre and a lot of nutrients in the skin, and it crisps up nicely.
Cut the potatoes, being sure the fries are the same size so they cook evenly. A good size is about three to four inches long and 1/4 inch wide.
An expert tip for potatoes is to soak the raw fries in hot water for 10 minutes before cooking them. This has two benefits. It partially cooks them and lets them be at their crispiest and their best, and it helps remove the excess starch.
Another good tip is not to overcrowd your air fryer trying to cook all the fries at once. Divide the fries into two or more batches so that they don’t touch, and the hot air can contact all parts of the individual potato slice. That is what makes them brown and crisp.
Toss the Fries in the Oil and Salt
Follow the instructions on the air fryer or preheat to 380 degrees.
Cook all the batches separately. Each batch will need about 12 to 15 minutes. Flip them halfway. Once all the batches are cooked, they can all go back into the fryer together for one or two minutes to warm up. They finish cooking as they cool. You can add more salt and other seasonings, like garlic powder, herbs or black pepper at the end if you wish. That’s it! Enjoy your fries!
The Recipe
- 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes (peeled or not)
- 2 teaspoons of olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt
- optional seasonings
Instructions
- Chop the potatoes into fries
- Soak the fries in hot water for 10 minutes
- Preheat the air fryer
- Drain and dry the potatoes and toss them in oil and salt
- Cook in batches for about 12 minutes per batch and flip halfway
- Warm all the batches in the air fryer for one or two minutes before serving
Sprinkle with extra toppings
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