How To Cook Frozen French Fries - You're Doing It All Wrong

On the surface, frozen french fries should be an extraordinarily easy thing to prepare. After all, they generally have clear, unambiguous instructions right there on the package. On paper, all you should need to do is dump them onto a baking tray or a fryer basket, throw them in the oven or deep fryer for the right amount of time, and boom: You'll have crispy potato planks ready to snack on.

But it turns out that there are a few other tricks you need to know in order to truly nail those freezer aisle fries — and Chowhound recipe developer Katie Rosenhouse knows them well, as she explains in this "You're Doing It All Wrong" video. And don't fret: Rosenhouse knows that frozen fries are a convenience food, so her tips don't require much in terms of extra effort. 

And perhaps most importantly, she knows how to get fries that are crisp outside and pillowy inside just by using the oven (skip the air fryer and oily deep-frying). All you have to do is make sure you're handling the fries and bakeware the right way. Take note that you will need some ingredients beyond just your package of french fries, as seasoning is another of Rosenhouse's key tips. However, her add-ins are pretty standard kitchen staples like oil and spices, so it should be no problem unless your pantry is devastatingly empty.

Too often frozen french fries turn out limp and soggy in the oven, but Rosenhouse has much loftier ambitions for her fries. Her french fries come out looking almost like they've been fried — golden brown with a toasty edge, but with a pillowy inside. She says, "It's really full on the interior. It's fluffy. It's light. It's cooked all the way through — nice and soft, but on the exterior I get that really good crunch." Achieving that combination might seem difficult from a package of frozen fries, but the secret is making sure ice cold french fries hit a hot pan. 

While it's standard to preheat your oven, what that french fry package might not tell you is that you should put your rimmed baking sheet in the oven as it preheats. "That's going to give me that crisp exterior right off the bat, it's going to get my fries moving and cooking as quickly as possible," explains Rosenhouse.

To help that crisping, you also want your fries as cold as possible, so don't leave them sitting out to thaw while the oven heats. You should pull them fresh from the freezer, and at most toss them in seasoning before popping them straight onto the pan. Rosenhouse recommends preheating the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, lower than the 425 degrees Fahrenheit that the package instructions might suggest.

Frozen fries may already be seasoned (this varies between brands), but Rosenhouse recommends adding extra ingredients to the fries to boost flavor and texture before putting them in the oven. First up, she recommends a little bit of olive oil, which achieves two things here. Rosenhouse notes, "It's going to help [the fries] crisp up really well but it's also going to give a bit of richness and flavor that we miss by not frying the french fries." 

Then there's Rosenhouse's secret flavor weapon: a teaspoon of vinegar. "That's going to give us a little bit of tanginess that I love on my fries, think like fish and chips, that acidity is just going to wake up our flavors nicely." Vinegar also helps keep the fries firm as they cook. "The vinegar kind of really holds them together, it sort of dries out the surface and firms them up a bit," Rosenhouse explains. 

On top of that, you can also add some pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and salt for more flavor. Combine the oil and vinegar, whisk them with the spices, then toss the cold fries with the seasoning mix before you move them to the baking tray.

When your fries are ready to go onto your baking sheet, make sure they're spread evenly. Since the baking sheet is already hot from the oven, you should hear a satisfying sizzle when the fries hit the sheet. Also make sure they all have a little wiggle room. "If your fries overcrowd the pan or if they're stacked on top of each other, they're going to steam instead of crisp up," says Rosenhouse. 

First bake the fries for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. "That's going to keep our interior really fluffy, really creamy, really tender," Rosenhouse explains. Then, you can blast the heat up to 475 degrees for extra crisp exteriors. When the fries look golden brown, pull them out of the oven. They should look a little toasted and dark brown on the edges, and they should produce a satisfying crunch when you break them in half to reveal their fluffy interior.

When the fries come out of the oven, adding a little more salt is a smart idea. Do it while they're hot so the salt sticks (and seasoning from a distance helps spread out those salt granules). If you're a fiend for flavor, you can also toss some herbs and parmesan in at this point. Finally, serve up your fries with condiments of your choice. Ultimately, it's not a burden to elevate your frozen fries. It's just a matter of seasoning, tweaking the heat, and working with a hot tray — and taking a few extra seconds for these steps seriously pays off.