How to Make French Fries in an Air Fryer
French fries are the first thing most people make in a new air fryer, and the most searched air fryer recipe in Pakistan. Here is how to make crispy fries from fresh potatoes and from a frozen pack, the right time and temperature, plus sweet potato fries, potato chips and how the calories compare with deep-fried fries.
Updated 11 November 2026
Crispy homemade fries: step by step
- Peel 2 to 3 medium potatoes and cut them into sticks about 1 cm thick. Even sizes cook evenly.
- Soak the sticks in cold water for 30 minutes. This washes off surface starch, which is the secret to crisp, not gummy, fries.
- Drain and dry them very well with a clean cloth. Wet fries steam instead of crisping.
- Toss with 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt.
- Spread in the basket in one or two layers. Do not fill it more than half.
- Cook at 200 °C for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the basket every 5 minutes.
- Taste one, add chaat masala or salt, and serve straight away.
In a 5 to 5.5 litre fryer like the Dawlance DWAF-6322 D 5.5 Litre Digital Air Fryer or Xiaomi Smart-5.5L Digital Air Fryer, this makes enough for 2 to 3 people per batch.
Air fryer French fries time and temperature
- Thin fries (about 0.5 cm): 200 °C, 12 to 15 minutes
- Regular fries (about 1 cm): 200 °C, 15 to 20 minutes
- Thick-cut or wedges: 190 to 200 °C, 20 to 25 minutes
- Frozen fries: 200 °C, 12 to 18 minutes
- Sweet potato fries: 190 °C, 12 to 16 minutes
- Reheating leftover fries: 180 °C, 3 to 4 minutes
Most air fryers in our list top out at 200 °C, which is the right setting for fries. Larger loads need a few minutes more, so check and shake often.
How to make frozen fries in an air fryer
Frozen fries are already part-fried, so they need no oil and no thawing. Put them straight from the freezer into the basket, cook at 200 °C for 12 to 18 minutes and shake twice. Do not overfill: one layer to a layer and a half gives the crispest result.
Frozen nuggets, samosas and spring rolls follow the same idea. See the full air fryer cooking times chart for timings.
How to make fries crispy in an air fryer
- Soak, then dry completely. This matters more than anything else.
- Use a little oil. Fries with no oil at all turn out dry and pale.
- Do not crowd the basket. Hot air must touch every fry.
- Shake every 5 minutes so the fries cook on all sides.
- For restaurant-style fries, cook twice: 160 °C for 12 minutes, rest 5 minutes, then 200 °C for 6 to 8 minutes.
- A tablespoon of cornflour tossed with the dry fries adds extra crunch.
A bigger basket helps: a 7 litre fryer like the Kenwood HFP72 7 Litre Digital Air Fryer or Philips NA342/09 7.2 Litre Digital Air Fryer spreads the fries out, so they crisp faster.
Sweet potato fries, potato chips and banana chips
Sweet potato (shakarkandi) fries: cut 1 cm sticks, soak for 20 minutes, dry, toss with oil and a little cornflour, and cook at 190 °C for 12 to 16 minutes. They brown faster than normal potatoes, so watch the last few minutes.
Potato chips: slice potatoes paper-thin (a mandoline helps), soak, dry well, spray lightly with oil and cook at 180 °C for 12 to 15 minutes in a single layer, shaking often. Thin chips can blow around, so a basket with a crisper plate works best.
Banana or beetroot chips: slice thin, brush with oil and salt, and cook at 160 to 170 °C for 12 to 18 minutes until crisp.
Seasonings and fries ideas
Plain salt is classic, but try these once the fries come out:
- Chaat masala and a squeeze of lemon
- Peri-peri or red chilli flakes with garlic powder
- Masala fries: toss with chilli powder, cumin and a little dried mint
- Cheesy fries: sprinkle grated cheese and return to the fryer at 180 °C for 1 to 2 minutes
- Loaded fries: top with tikka pieces and garlic mayo
Add powdered spices after cooking or in the last 2 minutes, because they can burn at 200 °C. Potato skins and wedges work the same way: leave the skin on, cut into thick pieces, oil lightly and cook at 200 °C for 18 to 22 minutes, shaking twice. For a two-dish snack night, a dual basket fryer cooks fries in one drawer and wings in the other, finishing together.
Air fryer French fries calories vs deep fried
Potatoes themselves are not high in fat. Most of the extra calories in French fries come from the oil they soak up in a deep fryer. In an air fryer you add a teaspoon to a tablespoon of oil for a whole batch, so each serving carries far less fat and fewer calories than the same fries from a karahi of oil.
One tablespoon of cooking oil holds roughly 120 calories, so cutting a few spoonfuls of absorbed oil per plate makes a real difference over a week. For more on health, read is an air fryer healthy?.
Best air fryer for French fries
- 1 to 2 people: a 3 to 4.5 litre basket like the Philips NA120/00 4.2 Litre Air Fryer or Xiaomi Smart-4.5L Digital Air Fryer
- Family of 3 to 4: 5 to 6.5 litres, such as the Haier HAF-50DB 5 Litre Digital Air Fryer or Westpoint WF-4257 6.5 Litre Digital Air Fryer
- Big families: 7 litres and up, or a dual basket like the Westpoint WF-4258 9 Litre Dual Basket Air Fryer so fries cook in one drawer and nuggets in the other
A wide, shallow basket crisps fries better than a tall, narrow one. Compare all sizes on Large Air Fryer Price in Pakistan and Dual Basket Air Fryer Price in Pakistan.
