How To Make Crinkle-Cut Fries

Homemade crinkle-cut fries are fun and easy to make with any potatoes you have on hand in the air fryer, stovetop, or oven.

Let's learn how to make crinkle cut fries!

People will always crave these wavy, delightfully crispy fry shapes. They're even more delicious when you know how to make them yourself.

The reason for crinkle-cut fries is that it allows for more surface area which lends for a more crispy texture, and more places for salt and dips to stick.

Why Make Your Own Fries

• You can control the ingredients used and you don't have to use any preservatives.
• It's easy to make just the amount that you need. If you need smaller amounts, you don't have to worry about storing the bag of frozen fries for later.
• You can make these homemade fries for a fraction of the cost too!
• Crinkle fries have a better texture than regular fries. You only need a few simple ingredients and tools to make some delicious homemade french fries.
• Making homemade fries is a great way to use up extra potatoes before they go bad.

Ingredients and Tools

Potatoes- Russet potatoes are preferred first, but any potato will work. Yukon Gold potatoes work nicely as well.

Rice flour- optional, but recommended to dust the uncooked fries with to make them extra crispy.

Salt- obviously, French fries are not complete without a sprinkling of fine salt.

Wavy crinkle cutter- sometimes referred to as a waffle cutter, crinkle cutter, or wavy cutter, for creating the classic crinkle-cut shape just like with waffle fries.

Ice water- in a large bowl, to soak the potatoes.

Oil- vegetable oil, or other neutral oil with a high smoke point for frying, baking, or air frying the crinkle-cut fries.

How to Cut Crinkle Cut Fries

Rinse and peel the potatoes.

Use a crinkle cutter to cut ¼ inch slices through each potato.

Follow by cutting those wavy ovals cross-wise in ¼ inch intervals to obtain crinkle-cut shaped potato sticks.

Soak the cut potatoes in a large bowl of ice water for 20-30 minutes until the water looks very cloudy.

Remove the fries from the ice bath, onto a towel, and dry them thoroughly.

Once the surface of the cut potatoes is dry, sprinkle rice flour over the fries and toss to evenly coat.

Cook the Fries

Homemade crinkle-cut fries are the crispiest when they are air fried in the air fryer, or deep-fried in oil.

They can be tossed in oil and baked, but they won't be as crispy.

To air-fry crinkle-cut fries:

Preheat the air fryer basket to 375 degrees. Add the uncooked crinkle-cut fries to the basket and toss with salt.

Don't overcrowd the basket. Instead air fry the French fries in batches if necessary depending on the size of your air fryer.

For best results, be sure to only add them to the basket in a single layer. If you add too many at one time, they won't all cook properly or evenly in the Air Fryer.

Air fry for 12-15 minutes, tossing them halfway into the cooking time.

To deep fry the fries:

Pour oil into a stockpot 3-4 inches deep, but below halfway up the pot.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees.

Add the cut fries and fry until golden brown and crispy, about 3-4 minutes.

Strain the fries out of the hot oil once golden and crispy, and sprinkle fine salt over them immediately, tossing to coat.

May be helpful to let the fries cool on paper towels to help absorb any excess oil and help keep them nice and crispy.

To bake the fries:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange the uncooked crinkle-cut fries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a nonstick baking sheet).

Drizzle the fries with a bit of oil, toss and sprinkle with fine salt. Bake the fries for 25-30 minutes until golden and crispy.

Serve the hot and crispy homemade crinkle-cut fries with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy.

Take a look at these related recipes below, including some homemade recipes to dip your fries in.

Storage

I find that crinkle fries are best served, nice and hot right when you make them. We rarely have leftovers to store, but if you want to store them, you can. 

Homemade crinkle-cut fries can be stored in an airtight container or zip-top bag in the refrigerator for up to four days.

To reheat, spread the fries on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes until hot and crispy. You may also find it easier to reheat them in the Air Fryer. 

Make sure to season with salt before serving again. Another option is to put the uncooked crinkle-cut potatoes in an airtight container or zip-top bag and store them in the refrigerator for later use.

Can I use sweet potatoes to make sweet potato fries?

Yes, you can swap your potatoes out for sweet potatoes. You may need to adjust the baking, frying, or air frying time depending on how big your fresh cut sweet potato fries are.

Follow the same cooking process as you would according to the instructions above and adjust the time as necessary.

Is it necessary to soak the potatoes? 

Soaking potatoes for french fries can help the crispiness of your final product. Soaking in cold water for at least 30 minutes before cutting and frying helps to draw out some of the starch from the potato, meaning that less starch will be released during cooking.

This helps with achieving an extra-crispy result by reducing the chance of sticking and making sure each fry is coated evenly with oil.

However, if you are pressed for time, you could skip this step without sacrificing too much of the end result if you're short on time, but they may not turn out as crispy.

What's the best potato to use to make french fries? 

When it comes to making french fries, the most popular potatoes include Russets, Yukon Golds and Idaho potatoes.

Russets have an ideal balance of starch and moisture, allowing them to be crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Yukon Golds are another popular potato for their buttery texture and natural sweetness. Regardless of which type you choose, make sure to use potatoes with firm flesh as they will yield the best results for french fries.

Why won't my french fries get crispy?

This usually happens if you don't let the fries soak in the cold water long enough or properly. It is necessary for nice crispy fries, it helps release the starch, that's why the water gets cloudy as they soak.

If you tried these homemade crinkle-cut fries leave a comment or rating in the recipe card below.

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