How Do You Even Cut Waffle Fries, Anyway?

There's something about waffle fries that makes them perfect for dipping. With their super-crispy texture and nooks and crannies that capture flecks of salt and ketchup (or your chosen dipping sauce), waffle fries are definitely #lifegoals for foodies and home cooks. That's why Chick-fil-A's waffle fries are among our favorite fast-food fries. Part of what makes us crave waffle fries is that they seem too hard to make at home ... but are they? We have a few tricks for making them at home, and it turns out they aren't much more difficult than regular fries.

There are several methods for cutting waffle fries. Some recipes suggest using a mandoline with a waffle blade. This tool is usually available for under $50. It has a flat plane with the edges of two blades meeting in the middle. With a potato placed safely under the hand guard (thus away from your fingers), you simply slide it up and down the plane so that each downward movement creates a slice. A waffle blade has ridges and forms ridged cuts.

The trick for cutting waffle fries with this tool is to cut a slice, rotate the potato about 90 degrees, then cut again. That way, the ridges on each side crisscross for that distinctive waffle shape.

If you don't have a waffle-blade mandoline (and don't feel like buying one), you have a few other options. You could try a crinkle cutter. This handheld tool features a wide, ridged blade on one side and a handle to grasp on the other. Like the mandoline, you can slice a potato manually with a crinkle cutter, rolling the potato sideways 90 degrees after each cut to create that crisscross pattern. You can do something similar with a ridged cheese knife.

Another option is to put the takeout chopsticks sitting in your kitchen junk drawer to use! Cut your potatoes into ½-inch thick slices. Then, lay a slice flat with one chopstick placed against the top edge and another against the bottom. Use a knife to score the slice across the surface; the chopsticks keep you from slicing all the way through. Then, flip the slice over and do the same thing with perpendicular cuts.

Finally, you could make waffle-maker fries — one of the many things you probably didn't know you could do with a waffle maker! Peel and grate a potato as you would for hash browns. Toss in a little melted butter, create a patty of grated potato, and place it on a hot waffle iron until you have crispy waffle fries. You can even reheat leftover shoestring fries in a waffle iron to make waffle fries.