The Air Fryer Tip That Ensures The Crispiest Frozen French Fries

If you own an air fryer, then you know that it can be used to make a number of different foods — from various proteins, such as chicken or tofu, to veggies and so on. One of the best things to make in the air fryer? Frozen french fries. By using the air fryer — instead of the oven, as most of the instructions call for — the fries will come out crispier and take much less time to finish. But to make the perfect fries from frozen in the air fryer — ones that are as crispy as you desire — then there's one key tip that you need to keep in mind: Shake the air fryer basket halfway through.

By giving the basket a good shake at the halfway mark, or a few times throughout the cooking time, you'll ensure that the fries are evenly crispy on all sides. Essentially, the airflow in the air fryer won't reach all sides of the fries if you don't rotate them around.

Additionally, giving them a light spray of olive oil will help crisp them up — and the best part is you don't need nearly as much oil as you would if you were making fries the traditional way in a deep fryer. Along with the olive oil, salt the fries to taste and they are guaranteed to be utterly delicious and taste as if they came right out of the deep fryer rather than the air fryer.

You can't just look up any recipe for air fryer french fries because the time and temperature may be different for made-from-scratch fries versus frozen fries. So, if you need a guide, here's what you do: Start by setting your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

From there, add your fries to the basket — make sure to place them in a single layer, rather than trying to overload the basket with as many fries as possible. Even though you may want to make a bigger batch of fries, it's important to keep them in a single layer so that the airflow circulates and the fries are able to crisp up — whereas, if the fries are piled atop one another, this will only create steam.

After placing the fries in a single layer, this is the time to add that light spray of oil, if desired, as well as salt. Finally, set the cooking time to 10 minutes and be sure to shake the basket halfway through that time. If the fries are not crispy enough for your preferences, set the air fryer for another five or six minutes, checking on them — and shaking the basket again — about halfway through. Every air fryer is a bit different, so it's important to keep an eye on them, so you don't overcook them accidentally.

Now that you know exactly how to make sure that your frozen french fries come out perfectly in the air fryer, you may be wondering if there are any ways to upgrade the fries — and the answer is a resounding yes. For one, you can get creative with the seasoning, moving beyond just salt (as delicious as simply salted fries are). You can make your own seasoning blend, using spices such as onion powder or salt, paprika, garlic pepper, or even dried herbs. If you're someone who likes a bit of spice, you can even add in cayenne pepper.

Another option is to integrate cheese — perhaps you could grate fresh Parmesan over the top after the fries are out of the air fryer. Or, you could add shredded cheese (of any kind) to the top of the fries a few minutes before they're done so that the cheese melts and creates gooey, cheesy fries. You can also pair the fries with a fun dipping sauce, such as a homemade garlic aioli or hot honey mustard.