The best way to reheat fries is to warm up fries in the air fryer. Learn how to Reheat French Fries in the Air Fryer with this easy recipe!
French Fries are one of those things that are generally not good once they've cooled off. Microwaving them just leads to soggy fries and cold fries aren't great either.
Next time you have some extra fast-food fries, try reheating French fries in the air fryer! Sticking your leftover fries in air fryer will give you crispy fries - even the next day!
This method works with leftover sweet potato fries, homemade fries, curly fries, McDonald's fries, steak fries, or any other types of fries. Next time, have your air fryer reheat french fries for you.
Check out a few of my other air fryer recipes like Air Fryer Burgers and Air Fryer Potato Puffs.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The cooking time is shorter than a traditional oven and the air fryer gives the best results.
- Soggy french fries will be a thing of the past in just a couple of minutes.
- Air frying is the easiest way to bring new life to all of the leftovers from fast food restaurants - chicken nuggets, tater tots, hot chips, and the classic french fry.
Recipe Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients to air fry leftover fries.
Leftover French Fries from a fast-food restaurant or even homemade french fries can be reheated in the air fryer.
Avocado oil is optional, but can be used to transform soggy leftover fries into crispy french fries with more of that "fried food" taste.
Kitchen Tools
The air fryer has become one of my favorite kitchen tools! It does such a good job of getting a fabulous crunchy texture without deep frying things with all of that extra oil. And the best part is it rarely takes a long time to cook!
I use my Ninja Foodi Grill to do all my air frying. The Ninja Foodi Grill can grill, air crisp, roast, bake, broil and dehydrate. It can do a lot of the same things a convection oven, toaster oven, countertop fryer, or traditional oven can do.
If you are new to the air fryer, the good news is I have some easy steps for you to follow below to try out your first of (hopefully) many air fryer recipes!
If you want to know how to heat up fries in the air fryer, read on below!
How to Make It
Let me show you how to make fries crispy again. Here are some quick visual instructions. The full recipe with ingredient measurements is below!
Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F.
Put the fries in the basket of your air fryer. For a more crispy exterior, lay them in a single layer in your air fryer basket to allow the hot air to get all around them.
Spray or brush them with a little bit of oil if needed.
Pro Tip: How long to air fry leftover fries depends on how thick the fries are, the type of fries, and how full the basket is. If they are a larger size, they will need to cook for longer. Fewer or smaller fries will take less time.
For thin fries or about 1 cup, check for the first time at 3 minutes.
For thicker french fries or 2 or more cups, check at 3 minutes and then check again every couple of minutes.
Serve your delicious fries with your favorite dipping sauce.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- If using fries that were originally made in a deep fryer, you can skip the step of adding oil. For french fries that were originally air fried or baked, you may want to add a spray of oil to help them crisp back up.
Storage
- Storage: You can store leftover french fries in the fridge for 3 to 5 days from when you got them. Make sure they are cooled before storing and then store them in an airtight container.
- Reheating: To reheat french fries, follow the directions in the recipe card below.
Substitutions
- If using oil on the leftover french fries you can use avocado oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil.
Variations
Try adding some of these fun toppings to your leftover fries the second time around!
- Chili Cheese Fries: Heat up a can of chili or try my Texas Roadhouse Chili Recipe and pour it on top! Sprinkle with cheese.
- Nacho Fries: Serve with some nacho cheese sauce poured on top.
- Taco Fries: Cook up some ground beef with taco seasoning and put it on top of your fries with some cheese and your favorite taco toppings.
- Sloppy Joe Fries: Heat up a can of sloppy joe sauce and pour it over your french fries.
- Parmesan Fries: Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top for a delicious added flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have some leftover Mcdonalds fries or fries from any other restaurant, a great way to reheat them is to warm up fries in air fryer. Air fryer methods lead to crispier food, which is perfect for reheated fries.
How to reheat fries in an air fryer without drying them out is pretty simple! Just brush or spray them with a little oil before cooking them. As for how long to reheat french fries in air fryer, it depends on the thickness and amount of fries. A good starting point is three minutes. Then check them every couple of minutes.
There is no better way to reheat fries than with an air fryer! They make for the best fries because they get crispy on the outside, but stay tender and delicious on the outside.
📖 Recipe
How to Reheat French Fries in Air Fryer
Equipment
- 1 air fryer (I use the Ninja Foodi Grill)
Ingredients
- 1-4 cups leftover french fries
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil (or vegetable oil) (as needed)
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 350° Fahrenheit.
- Add the leftover french fries into the air fryer basket. Spray or brush with oil if needed (skip this step if the french fries were originally deep-fried).
- How long to cook them depends on how many french fries are in the basket and how thick they are. For thin french fries or about 1 cup of french fries check them in 3 minutes. For thicker french fries or 2 or more cups of french fries check at 3 minutes and shake them around. Continue to air fryer them checking every 1-2 minutes.
- Serve the crispy french fries with your favorite dipping sauce.
Video
Food Safety
- Use oils with a high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
Kathleen says
This is fantastic. Now I don't have to throw French fries away. I can save them and reheat.
Jen Talley says
Less waste and crispy leftover french fries is a win-win!
Carrie Robinson says
This will definitely come in handy for the next time we bring leftover fries home! 🙂 Genius idea.
Jen Talley says
Thanks Carrie!
Kushigalu says
Thanks for detailed instructions on how to reheat french fries. Pinned.
Jen Talley says
You're welcome!
Janessa says
I always try to avoid leftover French fries because they are just not as good reheated. But we recently ended up having some extras and I reheated them using your method. They turned out so great!
Jen Talley says
That's awesome Janessa!
Anjali says
We had leftover fries from dinner last night and usually I try to reheat them in the oven, but this time I tried your recipe and they turned out way better than in the oven! They didn’t even taste like leftovers!
Jen Talley says
The air fryer is magical! It is the best way to reheat fries!