Easy Homemade French Fries
Before making these French fries, I had never deep-fried anything in my life. Sure, I had watched my and grandma fry calamari for Christmas Eve dinners, and the lingering smell of fried fish in my hair and on my clothes was proof that I had witnessed the frying, but I had never taken any frying projects on myself. Then last week, I decided it was high time to jump right in and made not only one, but two, fried recipes. Both will be featured here this week, starting with these French fries. Now, I love French fries. Love them with ketchup, with ranch, alongside burgers and sandwiches, on their own, piled high with cheese and bacon. However and whenever. It never really occurred to me to make them at home, however, because I (mistakenly) thought they would be a hassle – messy and time-consuming – and I wasn’t totally convinced that they would be all that much better than French fries I consume away from home. I couldn’t have been more wrong. These are easy, quick and DELICIOUS.
Prep is super easy – all you need to do is get your Yukon gold potatoes and slice them up into your French fry batons, which should take less than 10 minutes.
Then you toss the potatoes into the oil, together. Without heating up the oil first. I know, it sounds crazy, but it totally works.
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You get the oil up to a boil, cook for about 15 minutes, then start tossing the potatoes while frying an additional 5 to 10 minutes until they are nice golden brown. And that’s it! Seriously couldn’t be easier.
You take them out of the oil, drain them on some layered paper towels, season them how you’d like, and then dig in!
I am so excited about adding these homemade French fries to my cooking repertoire – totally delicious and any time I’m craving French fries I know I don’t have to wait until I’m eating out somewhere, I can make them right here at home! And I have the ability to season them however I’d like. Such a liberating little frying adventure!
One year ago: Peanut Butter Cup Rice Krispy Treats
Two years ago: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Three years ago: Hearty Whole Wheat Bread
Easy Homemade French Fries
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds (1.13 kg) Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed, dried, sides squared off, and cut lengthwise into ¼-inch by ¼-inch batons
- 6 cups (1.3 l) peanut oil
Instructions
- 1. Combine the potatoes and the oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot. Cook over high heat until oil has reached a rolling boil, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, without stirring, until potatoes are limp but exteriors are beginning to firm, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with a double layer of paper towels.
- 2. Using tongs, stir potatoes, gently scraping up any that stick, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Using a skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer fries to paper towel-lined baking sheet. Season with salt (and pepper, if desired) and serve immediately.
- Note: Do not use sweet potatoes or russet potatoes; the starch content won't hold up to frying in this manner.
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Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Even though this goes against everything I thought I knew about frying, tonight I made these as written and THEY WERE EVERYTHING YOU SAID THEY’D BE. I will say you have to watch them the last few minutes because they go from golden to dark pretty quickly. These were really, really good and I’d just bought Yukon gold potatoes today. Will be my go to fries from now on. Thank you.
Got to say, these were probably the best French fries I’ve ever made. I like my fires in between chewy and crunchy and this was excellent! I rate this 5/5. Would DEFINATLEY RECCOMEND.
Have always been afraid of frying and have the burn marks to prove why but hubby loves french fries and rarely gets them unless out of a bag and into the oven-not his preferred type. Am going to try this tonight in the hopes of finally overcoming the fear and ending up with a great new way to have a good french fry. Thanks!
Just made these exactly as written – AMAZING! I will never be able to eat a subpar restaurant french fry ever again knowing I can easily make them at home. This was my first time frying anything – I was nervous but it was surprisingly easy – dangerous knowing I can now make amazing fries from home. I seasoned with garlic pepper and salt, so good thanks for sharing :)
Hello,
Wanted to try these in a crock pot with adjustable temperature. What temp do you recommend setting the thermostat at ?
Thanks!
Mo
Hi Mo, This would not work in a slow cooker. You need to fry over a direct heat source.
Hi Michelle,
I found out what we have is a slow cooker/fryer combo Dazey Chefs pot. . It has a basket and all for frying. So what temp do you recommend me setting the dial for? It goes up to 400. Thanks so much LOVE primanti sandwiches cannot wait to try these out!
MO
Hi Mo, While I haven’t tested specific temperature, but I would guess that 350 F would work well. You may have to do some trial and error.
I made these today and oh my! They’re just as simple as the instructions indicate! The only thing I did a little differently was turn down the heat from high during the first 15 minutes they cooked. I kept the rolling boil still going, but I was afraid on high heat, I’d be reaching for the fire extinguisher before long. lol
I love crispy home-made fries. Yours look wonderful. I always drain mine really well, then pour them into a paper bag lined with a few layers of paper towel. I shake a bit of salt over them, close the paper bag and shake like crazy. This gets most of the oil off of them and they are nice and crispy and ready for a side of dipping gravy!
Oooh thank you for the paper bag tip, I will definitely try that next time!
If the fries turned to mush my guess would be you had too many fries i the pan in relation to the amount of oil. I tried this and it worked fine.
Completely DID NOT work.. Fries turned into mush and had my bubbie had to through it all away…. He was so pissed. Horrible recipe!!!
Yum! Love homemade fries! We like coarse salt & freshly ground pepper on ours. I also put mine under the broiler for 1-2 minutes at the end to get them a little extra crispy.
Oh goodness. I wish you hadn’t posted this. Now I don’t have a reason to ever leave my house…
I made these tonight, and they were the best homemade french fries I’ve ever made or had. They were out of this world.
I was going to point out the double fry method as being better but I am glad i read the comments and responses. I am amazed that this method has less absorption. This is so much less hassle and with a spatter guard you are made.
Siracha has become my new ketchup
I’ve made this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated’s website and it does work. It’s pretty amazing, but they turn out really well. You just have to use Yukon Gold potatoes according to their site – nothing else will work.