The best oven french fries you’ve ever had made from potatoes and baked crispy in the oven. Who doesn’t love great homemade french fries?
I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect oven fry recipe for years now. I’ve made many, many batches and tested many techniques. The ingredients don’t often change but the method does vary. After trying gobs and gobs of recipes, it is safe to say that America’s Test Kitchen has the perfect method. Of course there are more steps than others, but that my friends, is why the end result is perfect.
The key to these oven fries is soaking your potatoes in water before using and cooking them on a well-greased pan. The end results are homemade french fries that are light and fluffy in the middle and perfectly crispy on the outside.
Dip them in some homemade nacho cheese and you really have yourself an enjoyable meal. I served these with yesterday’s amazing chicken legs and some steamed broccoli. No one left the table hungry that night. Such a good meal.
Tips for making amazing homemade french fries:
- If you like pepper, add some of that to the baking sheet with the salt.
- Covering the pan for the first few minutes in the oven almost steams the potatoes. This is how you get the middle to cook perfectly without over cooking the outside. Don’t skip that step.
- Be fussy about turning the potatoes, one at time, in the middle of the cook time. This will make sure that each side of the fry is perfectly crispy. It’s a hassle, but worth it.
Can you freeze baked french fries?
Yes! You can make this recipe ahead of time. Remove the hot fries from the pan and let them cool on a paper towel. Once the fries are cool, place them in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. Reheat them in the oven for 25 minutes at 400 degrees or until they are hot and crispy. You can also throw the homemade fries in your air fryer if you have one (I’m new to the game and it’s awesome for this kind of thing).
Perfect Oven French Fries
- Prep Time: 45 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
The best oven french fries you’ve ever had made from potatoes and baked crispy in the oven. Who doesn’t love great homemade french fries?
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 russet potatoes
- 5 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- additional salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into 8 long wedges. Make sure they are all close to the same thickness.
- Put all of the potatoes in a medium bowl. Fill the bowl with hot tap water and let the potatoes soak for 10 to 30 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and then pat them dry with a clean dish cloth or paper towels.
- Wipe the bowl out so there is no water left in it. Put the dry potatoes back in the dry bowl and toss them in 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. On a large, rimmed baking sheet add the remaining 4 tablespoons of oil and spread it all over the pan until it is completely coated (a pastry brush works well here).
- Sprinkle the salt on the oiled pan. Lay the potatoes out in even rows with one side against the pan.
- Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove the foil and continue baking for 15-20 minutes.
- Using tongs or a metal spatula, flip all of the potatoes over so that the other side is now against the pan. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are crispy and starting to brown.
- Remove hot fries from the pan onto paper towels to drain some of the grease, add additional salt to taste, and then serve warm.
Notes
- If you like pepper, add some of that to the baking sheet with the salt.
- Category: side
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: fries, french fries, oven fries, potatoes, potato recipes, homemade french fries, baked french fries, french fries recipe
Want To Save This Recipe?
What can I serve with homemade french fries?
- Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burgers
- Veggie and Lentil Burgers
- Crispy Panko-Crusted Baked Chicken Legs
- Garlic and Herb Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot
- Garlic Herb Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin
Love oven baked french fries? You might also love these awesome side dishes:
- Twice-Baked Potatoes with Bacon
- The BEST Crispy Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
- Simple Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower
- Simple Maple Roasted Butternut Squash
- The Perfect Steakhouse Baked Potato
My kids love this recipe, and I feel like it can go with just about any meal. I mean, hello homemade french fries! So delicious. I can’t wait for you to make these at your house.
About Melissa
Melissa is deticated to helping parents figure out the nightly questions, "What's for Dinner?!" with her no-fuss approach to cooking. Read more...
Lemon Garlic Baked Chicken Legs
Share Your Comments
Want to share a photo of what you’ve made? Be sure to register or log in and then click the camera icon located next to the comment box.
This recipe is by far the best one I have found for oven fries!
★★★★★
I made these with salmon and creamed spinach and they were delicious. Best fries ever and I loved that they are baked in the oven. Wow! Everyone loved them. I’ll definitely be making them again – often.
★★★★★
Hooray! That sounds like a meal my family would LOVE! And thank you for taking the time to leave a review, it’s SO appreciated!
Came out perfectly!
★★★★★
So glad that you liked them Patti!
My family and I loved these so much the first time we made them I made them again that same day! I left the peels on for some added nutrients, and they came out great! Also the second time I forgot to do the tin foil cover for the first 5 minutes and they were still delicious- a little less crispy but good both ways. May skip it again cause I’m always running out of tin foil.
★★★★★
They look absolutely delicious!! I love that they’re baked instead of fried and these are wonderful tips, going to make these for my husband this weekend!
★★★★★
This is the closest thing to fries that I have ever tasted!!! I even cut back on the oil by half, and baked on parchment, which helped cut down the grease.
We love French fries these look yummy ! I will bake some tonight !!
thesse look so good. i am so xcitdd to try them. Also, are there more posts from
Austriala