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The next time you shop for groceries, you might want to add a bag of frozen french fries to the cart. Not only is this a simple appetizer to whip up for a weeknight meal, but it’s also versatile, and if cooked right, delicious.
What’s the best way to cook frozen french fries? First, start with our favorite store-bought frozen french fries. Next, you’ll need to use the correct setup for cooking. While a baking tray is one of the most common tools used to cook food in the oven, alone, it’s not the best platform for frozen fries. As the fries thaw and cook, the excess water will have a hard time escaping due to the flat tray beneath it. This can result in soggy french fries that stick together and cook unevenly. For a more cohesive batch, use a wire rack set on top of a baking sheet instead. This tool helps ensure frozen french fries get even airflow from top to bottom. They’ll all end up crispy and golden brown — exactly how a french fry should be. Gone are the days of cherry-picking the best fries from the plate.
To cook fries like this, place a wire rack on top of a baking tray, add your fries, and follow the directions on the package as usual. It’s a simple swap, but it makes all the difference. For those who don’t have an oven-safe wire rack, the Spring Chef Stainless Steel Cooling and Baking Rack is dishwasher-safe and can fit in a 10.25-inch by 15.25-inch pan.
Other ways to ensure an evenly-cooked batch of fries
Using a wire rack is key to getting frozen fries to cook perfectly crispy, restaurant-style fries without a deep fryer. To further ensure an evenly-cooked batch of frozen french fries, there are a few other tips to keep in mind. For starters, cook fries on the center rack of the oven for even heat distribution. Next, make sure they are evenly spaced on the rack. Overlapping fries might stick to one another and hide parts of this starch from the heat. To avoid any soggy sticks, make sure every fry has its own space to thaw, cook, and crisp.
Another way to ensure these spuds crisp up nicely is to flip them about halfway through cooking. This again helps the fries cook evenly on all sides. If you’re not keen on the idea of individually flipping every fry, you can always shake the pan halfway through instead to reap similar benefits. Finally, to really make things easy, simply flip the baking tray around halfway through cooking so both sides of the pan receive the same amount of intense heat from the back of the oven. Follow all these tips, and you’ll end up with a legitimately crispy batch of french fries right at home.
