Homemade crinkle-cut fries are fun and easy to make with any potatoes you have on hand in the air fryer, stovetop, or oven.
People will always crave these wavy, delightfully crispy fry shapes.
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.
Ingredients and Tools
Potatoes- Russet potatoes are preferred first, but any potato will work.
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.
Cutting the Crinkle 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 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.
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 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.
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.
If you tried these homemade crinkle-cut fries leave a comment or rating in the recipe card below.
Homemade Crinkle Cut Fries
Equipment
- Crinkle Knife (French fry cutter)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes about 5-6 russet or Yukon Gold
- 3 tablespoon rice flour optional, for dusting
- salt to taste
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Pour oil into a deep pot, to about 3-4 inches deep. Heat to 350 degrees. (This is around medium high heat, but not smoking.)
- Wash and peel potatoes.
- Use crinkle knife to cut ¼ inch parallel cuts through the potatoes, then cut those cross wise, at ¼ inch wide to create ¼ inch sticks with wavy edges.
- Soak the cut french fries in an ice bath for 20 minutes to absorb excess starch.
- Remove from water and dry thoroughly with a towel.
- Toss the dried fries with rice flour to absorb excess moisture and aid in extra crispiness (optional).
- Sprinkle the fries with fine salt.
- In a few batches, air fry the french fries in a preheated 375 degree air fryer for 12-15 minutes, tossing halfway through until golden (see recipe notes for deep fry or bake instructions).
- Remove cooked fries from the oil using a slotted spoon or deep frying basket, lie in a single layer and toss immediately with salt. Repeat with remaining batches until all the fries are cooked.
Audree says
So crunchy, especially when dusting with the rice flour!