Homemade French Fries (flash-fry method)

The best homemade french fries recipe ever – these flash-fried fries are easy and good – this trick gets solid results every time!

There are a few recipes here on Avdaye that our family makes over and over and over again.

Things like our cheesy taco skilletour one pot chicken curry and mexican chicken stir frysand of course, our tried and true method for perfectly crispy fries in the oven.

Our crunchy baked fries are a family favorite- but our husband wanted to come up with an easy way to flash fry them to be a little more sinfully crisp and crunchy- and he came up with this fun twist to our original recipe.

Most restaurants cook their fries twice in the fryer- once at a lower temperature to cook the fry, and once at a hot temperature to crisp them.

Our husband, being the awesome cook he is, decided to bake the fries first to cook them, and then dip them in the fryer to finish them off. This gives the fries the good crunch we love, but is easier, less messy, and a *tiny* bit healthier.

The method he came up with will get you the most good crunchy fries – like from a deep fryer – but right from your oven. There is a bit of soaking and prep time involved, but little active time for this knockout good baked french fry recipe.

Take Me To The Best Crunchy Baked French Fries Recipe Already!

If you'd like to skip over our helpful tips and tricks, similar recipe ideas, and information that will help you get the best baked fries every time, please scroll to the bottom of the post where you will find our easy printable recipe card.

We get a lot of questions and comments on our posts, and requests for additional information, so we try to provide as much as possible for our readers.

If you'd rather skip over the helpful tips, please scroll to the bottom.

Kitchen notes

These easy tips and tricks will help to ensure the best flash fried french fries, every time.

Cut potatoes with a mandoline for easy, solid sticks that will crisp up well.

Make sure your fries soak for at least one hour – preferably changing the water after 30 minutes to new cold water.

Soaking in water helps remove some of the starch, which will help them crisp up better!

Make sure your fries are dry after their little bath.

Pat them with paper towels or a clean dish towel to be sure there is no residual moisture. Wet fries = soggy fries.

This two step method cuts frying time and oil needed way down, since the fries will cook in the oven, and merely crisp in the fryer.

This means less calories, with the same great crunch.

Ensure your baking sheets are well greased, or your fries will stick and become a nightmare.

Aluminum foil works in many situations, but our fries always stick to foil as well – so use plenty of cooking spray if you do.

If lining your baking sheet, we suggest parchment paper or a silicone mat, and we still use an olive oil based cooking spray for those as well.

Always cook fries in a single layer.

Allowing fries to bake separate from each other will help them get crunchy.

Adjust cook time as needed.

We watch our french fries closely while cooking, and make adjustments as needed.

Every oven is different, and we've noticed a ton of things impact cook time and even something as small as the humidity in the air can impact cooktime.

Crispy Fries Flavor Ideas

These flash fried french fries are so good because they can be made with all sorts of different flavors!

Adding different powders and seasonings will help your fries take on new flavors easily – try some of these or come up with your own!

Add onion powder or garlic powder for a bit more flavor.

Add herbs de provence salt for a rustic French twist on your baked fries.

Cajun seasoning sprinkled over the fries gives a spicy Five Guys like french fry flavor.

Brush fries in the final 15 minutes of baking time with butter, diced garlic, and finely diced parsley for a sinfully rich garlic butter fries recipe.

The Best Homemade French Fries – Flash Fry Method

Ingredients

• 5-6 large russet potatoes, or scale up or down- 1 potato per person +1

Method

1. Brush and clean potatoes. At this point you could peal them, our family prefers the skin left on.
2. Use a mandolin to cut your potatoes into the desired fry shape.
3. Soak potatoes in cold water for 1-3 hours. This helps draw the starch to the surface.
4. Pre-heat oven to 350DegreesF.
5. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper and roast fries for 45 minutes or until the fries are cooked through.
6. Pre-heat vegetable or peanut oil to 400Degrees
7. Fry potatoes for 3-4 minutes in small batches until golden brown. Remove to paper towel and salt immediately.
8. Serve hot and fresh.
9. Allow oil to return to temperature before frying next batch of potatoes.