I Tried 5 Kinds of Frozen Fries and Cooked Them in an Air Fryer: The Final Check

Fries are a delicacy. I am not even speaking about fancy handmade fries, which are great. No, I particularly imply factory-made, flash frozen, packed in a plastic bag, indisputably junk meals selection fries. They’re in a league of their very own.

Whereas eating places may need the assets to deep fry their French fries, most households are should depend on easier strategies. For me, that’s the air fryer. On a quest to find out which sort of French fry fares finest within the highly effective crisping of an air fryer, I cooked 5 differing kinds and judged the outcomes. Let it by no means be mentioned that I will not go above and past to find the reality.

Discovering the most effective air fryer French fry

Credit score: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Whereas wanting by way of my grocery retailer’s freezer part, I rapidly realized that this is able to be no straightforward activity. After some consideration (ought to I examine manufacturers? Flavors?), I made a decision to give attention to fry form: Would some shapes cook dinner higher within the air fryer than others?

I grabbed baggage of straight lower, steak lower, curly, waffle, and crinkle fries to find out which one can be the air fried finest. My standards: texture, taste, and cooking velocity.

For all the fries examined, I put them in my Prompt Vortex air fryer (considered one of my high air fryer picks of 2025) and cranked the temperature as much as 400°F. I take into account excessive warmth and a shorter timeframe to be one of the best ways to cook dinner fries. Ideally you wish to crisp up the surface whereas leaving the middle mushy and potato-y. Too low of a temperature or too lengthy of a cooking time and also you’ll seemingly dry out the fries. 

Not one of the fries had been pre-treated with any oil or salt, however added straight from the bag into the basket, unadulterated. I labored with small batches to permit for higher air stream. When air frying at house, take care to maintain the fries in a single layer—don’t crowd them or the trapped steam will complicate your quest for crispness.

The candidates and the way they carried out

McCain waffle fries

I used to be pleasantly shocked by these waffle fries. After simply 4 minutes at 400°F they had been able to be faraway from the air fryer. I cooled them on a wire cooling rack (this prevents humidity from getting trapped beneath the fries and making them mushy) they usually had been excellent. When it comes to taste, they had been pleasant—not too salty, and an excellent potato taste. The feel was additionally excellent: a crisp exterior, not over-browned, and a mushy, fluffy potato inside. 

Pink Robin steak lower fries

Of all of the fries I examined, these took the longest to cook dinner—about 10 minutes. The steak lower fry is usually a bigger piece of tater. It’s sliced in broad, flat strips and could also be seasoned or not seasoned. I all the time assumed that “steak lower” referred to the form being thicker like a steak, however the ones I examined had been truly seasoned in a method that tasted like steak. In concept anyway—the seasoning was pretty refined and never precisely scrumptious.

On that be aware: I discovered these fries to be pretty bland. And regardless of the additional cooking time, the outside was none too crispy, and what little crisp there was disappeared as a result of the inside steam softened it because the fries cooled sufficient to eat. In brief, this form didn’t fare nicely within the air fryer. On the plus facet, the middle was good and mushy.

Nathan’s crinkle lower fries

Excessive hopes, I had. In my thoughts, these fries would air fry as golden and flavorful as they do on the Nathan’s counter in Coney Island. Sadly, my hopes had been dashed. Just like the steak lower fries, these crinkle cuts had been thickly lower, and it appear that further potato inside merely releases an excessive amount of moisture to crisp the surface earlier than it begins to burn. I had mine in for about six minutes earlier than the crinkled edges started to brown dramatically. They cooked by way of, however they remained mushy. To make issues worse, this model delivered an unpleasantly bland fry.  

Arby’s curly fries 

Again to the skinny shapes we go. The subsequent batch I air-fried had been the Arby’s curly fries. I believe it’s secure to say to be able to qualify as a curly fry, it will need to have a closely orange-colored seasoning. These didn’t disappoint. I popped the Arby’s fries into the Prompt Vortex for about 4 or 5 minutes they usually had been able to go. They didn’t tackle as a lot colour because the Nathan’s fries, however they managed to be twice as crisp. After cooling barely, these curly fries had all cooked evenly. Their taste was wonderful—that excellent steadiness of salt and seasoning that may pair nicely with something from a bowl of ramen to a chocolate milkshake.

Ore-Ida straight lower fries

I ended my style testing with a traditional: straight lower fries. I’ve made these many occasions earlier than, so I knew there can be no problem making them into the platonic supreme of the air-fried french fry. They got here out crispy, well-seasoned, and irresistibly snackable in the best way solely straight lower fries could be. In a method, straight lower fries are the management for all air fryer French fries: The feel yields crunch, however there’s all the time a strip of sentimental potato within the middle, they usually’re flavorful, however not seasoned per se. The straight lower fry nearly looks as if it was all the time made to be air fried.

One of the best French fries to cook dinner in an air fryer

Credit score: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

For crunch lovers

Persist with a traditional: After air frying, straight lower fries will probably be your crispiest possibility, with out getting unpleasantly crunchy. Plus, you possibly can all the time pull them out somewhat early if you happen to don’t like them to be too crunchy.

For pillowy-soft facilities

Steak lower fries are the winner on this class as a result of they’re thickest and regardless of the added cooking time, the middle stays mushy and fluffy. 

For the most effective taste

Perhaps it’s dishonest as a result of they’re actually dusted in scrumptious savory seasoning, however the curly fries tasted the most effective out of the air fryer. Additionally they exuded somewhat extra oil than the others, in order that appears to assist them strike a steadiness with taste and texture. 

One of the best air fryer fries total

Whereas the straigt cuts had been a detailed contender, waffle fries win gold as the most effective air fryer French fry. These fries cooked the quickest, developed each a crisp exterior and mushy, fluffy inside, and provided the most effective unseasoned taste. As an added bonus, waffle fries are large and weirdly formed, and their irregularity makes selecting the following fry out of your plate a steady journey—and a way of journey is one thing I worth in a snack.