For the folks who are concerned about all the additives in the food they buy at the grocery stores these days, this homemade crispy oven baked French fries recipe is the go-to recipe for French fry lovers. They are absolutely fantastic tasting! And, they are so simple to make! Just cut the potatoes in strips, soak in water and drain, coat with oil, then sprinkle on the seasonings, and bake!
If you love crispy French fries without all the additives, these are the best homemade French fries you will ever eat. And you don’t need to worry about what you are eating. Pure potatoes with delicious seasonings, that’s it, just like our Air Fryer Potato Wedges and Baked Potato (No Foil). Homemade cooking is the best.
🥔 Key Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 pounds of golden yellow potatoes = about 4 medium potatoes
- 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or your favorite vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
🍟 How to Make Crispy Oven Baked French Fries
These step-by-step instructions are accompanied by detailed photos for enhanced clarity and guidance.
Step 1. Preheat the Oven Temperature
Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. To save energy, you can turn the oven on when you reach step 4 or step 5.
Step 2. Prepare the Raw Potatoes
Wash the yellow potatoes under cold running water. After you are done washing the potatoes, use a sharp knife to slice the potatoes about 1/4 of an inch thick. If you have a French fry cutter, go ahead and use that. After that, put the cut potatoes in a large bowl.
Note: We didn’t peel the potatoes, we left the potato skins on, however, if you prefer to do so, you can remove the potato skins before you slice the potatoes.
Step 3. Soak the Sliced Potatoes
Fill the bowl with cold water from the tap, just enough to cover the potatoes. Let this sit for about 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, put a colander in the sink, then dump the potato slices into the colander, so the water can drain off the potato slices. Transfer the potato slices to a couple of folded paper towels, or lay them on a clean tea towel (cloth towel) to dry. You can pat the potato slices to get rid of the excess water, which will also speed up the drying process. This should only take a couple of minutes.
Rinse and dry the bowl, then return the sliced potatoes back into the bowl. After that, coat the potatoes with 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Toss the potato slices in the bowl to evenly combined the olive oil together with the potatoes. Set aside for now.
Tip: Cold water releases the excess starch in the potatoes, so the French fries are crispier and won’t end up soggy with a gummy texture after baking them.
Step 4. Arrange the Potatoes on a Prepared Baking Sheet
Spray a large rimmed baking sheet or sheet pan (also called a sheet tray or cookie sheet) with non-stick cooking spray. Then, use a basting brush to coat the baking sheet with the remaining 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. After that, place the potato slices in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Once the sliced potatoes are arranged on the baking sheet, sprinkle them with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder.
Tip: Mix the seasonings altogether, then sprinkle on the potatoes. Also, if you need to make a second batch and have another baking sheet, prepare that while the first batch is baking in the oven.
Step 5. Put the Prepared Potatoes in the Oven
Place the sheet pan with the prepared potatoes in the preheated oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 28 minutes.
About halfway through the baking time, flip the French fries over on the baking sheet as best as you can. Don’t worry if you don’t get every single one flipped. Make sure to use heat-resistant oven mitts to remove the baking sheet from the oven, then flip the fries. Return the fries to a single layer on the baking sheet and place them back in the oven for the remaining time left.
Note: The cooking time to get the best homemade fries can vary from one oven to the next. Most ovens do not preform the same. Your oven may produce a slight bit higher temperature or lower temperature than ours. So, with that said, make sure to keep an eye on the French fries while they are in the oven, and especially towards the end of the remaining time left. You can always bake them a little bit longer if they aren’t crispy enough for you.
Tip: For the best results, bake the fries to a golden brown to get prefect and delicious crispy fries. We had our oven rack on the 3rd rack guides up from the bottom. Make sure your oven rack isn’t on the lowest position in the oven.
🛒 Recipe Variations for Crispy Oven Baked French Fries
- There are so many different seasonings you can sprinkle on your fries, and dips you can dip your fries in, so use any of your favorite seasonings and dips besides the ones we use.
- A few other seasoning examples are table salt, sea salt, or chili powder.
- Some great tasting dips that pair well with French fries are ketchup, ketchup mixed together with mayonnaise, honey mustard, Chick-fil-A sauce, or tartar sauce. And you may not believe this, but dipping your fries in yellow mustard is really tasty. I accidentally dipped my fries in mustard one time, and I couldn’t believe how yummy it was.
- In case you don’t have golden yellow potatoes handy, you can experiment with different kinds of potatoes to see which one you like the best. A coupe examples are Yukon gold potatoes, or russet potatoes.
- If you desire thicker fries, keep in mind that the cooking time will be a little bit longer.
🙋 FAQs
We usually don’t have any leftover French fries, but if you do, put them in a sealed container and then store them in the refrigerator. Reheat them in the microwave or oven. Try to eat any leftover fries within a couple of days.
A simple trick that always works great for me is I figure one potato per person for French fries, and then throw in a couple more to boot. So if you have a family of four, use six potatoes. However, if you have some big eaters in your family, toss in a couple more potatoes. It also depends on the size of the potato. If you have smaller potatoes, you would use more. If the potatoes are very large, then you would use less. Your judgment is the best.
🕵️ Final Thoughts
These crispy baked French fries are the best fries you will ever want to eat from now on. Compared to the traditional French fries sold in the grocery stores, these fries are hands down, no comparison.
The next time you are standing by the frozen food section in the grocery store, checking out the frozen French fries, mosey on over to the produce section instead, and grab yourself some fresh raw potatoes. With no additives or preservatives in homemade fries, you can feel good about what you are serving your family. Baked homemade French fries are a delicious and super easy side dish that goes great with many entrées. Enjoy!
🗂️ Recipe Card
Crispy Oven Baked French Fries
🧂 Ingredients
- 1½ lbs golden yellow potatoes (about 4 medium size)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (divide in half)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp onion powder
👩🍳 Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Wash the potatoes under cold water, then slice them about 1/4 of an inch thick. You can peel the potatoes before slicing them if you prefer.
- Put the sliced potatoes in a large bowl. Cover the potatoes in the bowl with cold water from the tap. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
- Use a colander to drain the water from the potatoes. Put the potato slices on a paper towel or cloth towel and pat them dry.
- Rinse and dry the bowl, then put the potato slices back into the bowl. Coat the potatoes with half of the olive oil.
- Spray a little bit of non-stick cooking spray on a cookie sheet, then spread the other half of the olive oil on the cookie sheet.
- Place the potato slices on the cookie sheet in a single layer.
- Sprinkle the seasonings on the potato slices.
- Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 28 minutes. Use heat-resistant oven mitts to turn the fries over halfway through the baking time.
*️⃣ Recipe Notes
- The position of our oven rack was three rack guides up from the bottom.
- Since ovens can vary slightly in temperature, keep an eye on the French fries while baking in the oven, especially during the last few minutes.
- If you want your fries extra crispy, add a few minutes to the baking time.
🥰 More Potato Recipes You Will Love
- We have an easy mashed potatoes recipe using potatoes, butter, salt, and milk. The best mashed potatoes ever!
- These baby boiled potatoes are the best. Super easy to make.
- A delicious potato salad with yellow mustard, hard-boiled eggs, and seasonings.
A wife, a mother to a son and a daughter, and a grandmother to three granddaughters. Flo loves sharing recipes passed down from her own mother, her mother-in-law, and her grandmother as well as new recipes created with her daughter, Tamara Ray.
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