Air Fryer French Fries: Homemade and Frozen
Frozen french fries and homemade french fries are different cooks. Frozen fries go in at 400°F (200°C) for 15–18 minutes, from the bag, usually with no oil. Homemade fries cut from russets are soaked, dried, tossed with a tablespoon of oil, and cooked at 380°F (190°C) for 18–22 minutes. This page is the comparison. Each method has its own recipe.
Use the method that matches the potato you have
A frozen fry is already par-cooked, which is why a high temperature and a short clock work. A raw stick is not. Running raw potato on the frozen clock browns the outside and leaves a chalky middle. Running a frozen bag through the soak-and-380°F method makes a soft fry and wastes the soak.
If you want a side in the time it takes to heat the basket, use the frozen french fry recipe. If you have russets and about 15 minutes to soak them, use the homemade french fry recipe. Both want a single layer and a shake. Neither wants to be piled.
Other frozen foods are not this page
Nuggets, fish fingers, and leftover takeaway fries show up in the same searches. Nugget timing is on the cooking times chart. This hub is only french fries, homemade and frozen, so the two recipes do not compete for the same title.
Recipes in this collection
Air Fryer Frozen French Fries — 400°F, 17 min
Air fryer frozen french fries at 400°F (200°C) for 15–18 minutes, shaken every 5 minutes. No thawing and no oil required.
Air Fryer French Fries (Homemade) — 380°F, 35 min
Homemade air fryer french fries at 380°F (190°C) for 18–22 minutes, from soaked russets and 1 tablespoon of oil. Not the frozen method.
Questions
What temperature for french fries in an air fryer?
400°F (200°C) for 15–18 minutes if they are frozen. 380°F (190°C) for 18–22 minutes if you cut them from raw russets, after a soak and a dry. Do not swap the two clocks.
Homemade or frozen fries in the air fryer?
Frozen is faster and needs no oil. Homemade tastes more like a potato and takes a soak plus about 20 minutes of cooking. The recipes below are written separately so the steps do not get mixed.