Seasoned Crinkle Cut French Fries
Seasoned Crinkle Cut French Fries
Make the crispiest Seasoned Crinkle Cut French Fries in the oven as a family-friendly side dish or snack. This is the easiest method for the best-tasting oven-baked fries that guarantee absolute crispiness and bold cajun flavor. All dairy-free and vegan ingredients.
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These Seasoned Crinkle Cut French Fries are by far one of my favorite ways to eat french fries. Growing up, I actually thoroughly enjoyed a nicely crisp McDonald's fry that was sprinkled with the right amount of salt. Honestly, I think it's safe to say that most of us found ourselves indulging in those fries---right? Haha.
Well, now that I enjoy making my own homemade fries, I definitely love the fact that I can season my fries the way that I like and these crinkle cut fries are well seasoned with a nice cajun seasoning blend. If you're a fries lover, then I recommend trying these Crispiest Seasoned French Fries and Crispiest Jumbo Garlic Herb Fries.
Traditionally, homemade fries are deep fried, but I prefer baking mine to avoid all of the excess oil. And you might think that your fries won't be as crispy as deep frying or air frying them, but you're wrong! Just a few short steps can help to create the same crispy, satisfying experience.
What Are Crinkle Cut Fries?
Basically, crinkle cut fries are wave-like fries that are a bit crispier and has a better texture than regular fries due to the grooves and cuts. Therefore, when it's fried (or baked) it produces a lot more crunch crispiness than most other types of fries.
For these crinkle cut fries, you don't need anything out of the ordinary when it comes to equipment except for an actual crinkle cutter, which is super easy to purchase.
Jump to:
- What Are Crinkle Cut Fries?
- What is the Point of Crinkle Cut Fries?
- Ingredients for Seasoned Crinkle Cut Fries
- Tips for Super Crispy Baked Fries
- How to Cut Waffle Fries Using a Crinkle Cutter
- Can I Make These Crinkle Cut Fries in an Air-Fryer?
- How to Air Fry Frozen Crinkle Cut French Fries?
- Best Condiments to Serve with Seasoned Crinkle Cut Fries
- How to Store + Freeze Crinkle Cut Fries
- Common French Fries Q + A's
- More Delicious Recipes You'll Love!
- MADE OUR RECIPE(S)?
- Seasoned Crinkle Cut French Fries
What is the Point of Crinkle Cut Fries?
The crinkle-cut shape gives a fry more surface area, increasing its outer crispiness, which helps to keep the crisp longer and truly makes for the best dipper in sauce.
Ingredients for Seasoned Crinkle Cut Fries
Aside from getting your crinkle cut fries nice and crispy in the oven, you’ll want to be sure to season the potatoes very well. Here’s how I like to add cajun flavor to my homemade fries:
- Potatoes. Use russet or Yukon gold potatoes for the best texture. You'll need about 3-4 large ones. Gently scrubs and rinse with an organic chemical-free soap for clean skin.
- Cajun seasoning. Use store-bought or my homemade seasoning blend.
- Olive oil. You can also use Grapeseed oil or coconut oil as well.
CAJUN SEASONING BLEND
To make your own seasoning, combine:
- Garlic powder
- Italian seasoning
- Smoked paprika
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- Cayenne
- Dried thyme
- Onion powder
Tips for Super Crispy Baked Fries
These are my top tips to make sure your seasoned crinkle cut fries are as crisp as possible:
- Cut the potatoes to equal sizes as much as possible using a crinkle cutter. This way, they cook at the same rate.
- Soak the potatoes for at least 20 minutes in cool water. This removes excess starch on the outside of the potatoes that prevent them from crisping up.
- Let the potatoes dry for at least 30 minutes. moisture is the enemy of crispiness! For good measure, blot them dry with a towel as well.
- Don’t be afraid to season well!
- Let the oven come fully to temperature before you add the fries to the oven. It needs to be a nice and hot environment.
- Spread the potato pieces out well on the baking sheet lined with wire rack to let the hot air circulate around each individual fry.
How to Cut Waffle Fries Using a Crinkle Cutter
While these crinkle cut fries are similar to waffles fries, the process to making them completely waffle fries is super easy! When using a crinkle cutter, you begin by slicing downward from the top end of the potato---this should create a "crinkle-like" shape.
To make waffles fries, you simply turn your potato 90 degrees after the first cut downward and then cut again----repeating this process until all fries are cut. That simple.
Can I Make These Crinkle Cut Fries in an Air-Fryer?
While I made these crinkle cut fries originally in the oven, this recipe will also work in your air fryer.
I have found that cooking with an air fryer is fast and fairly easy. Air fryers tend to get hotter and have better air circulation than your oven, so the wedgies might need a slightly shorter cook time.
If air frying, check on the fries every 10 minutes to shake the potatoes so they do not stick. After 30 mins, check for doneness every few minutes. Both the oven and the air fryer make excellent crispy potato french fries!
How to Air Fry Frozen Crinkle Cut French Fries?
Basically, you'll air fry frozen fries as you would fries that you were making from scratch. The only difference is that the cook time will be less, but everything else remains the same. If air frying, check on the fries every 5 minutes to shake the potatoes so they do not stick. You'll set the temperature to 400 degrees and after 5-10 mins, check for doneness every few minutes. Both the oven and the air fryer make excellent crispy potato french fries!
Best Condiments to Serve with Seasoned Crinkle Cut Fries
Dipping these Seasoned Crinkle Cut Fries is a must and while there are many options out there, I highly recommend serving these fries with any of the following:
- Ketchup
- In-N-Out Sauce
- Vegan Mayo
- Vegan Ranch Sauce
- Curry
- Curry Ketchup
- Chili Sauce
- Honey Mustard
- Tartar Sauce
- Garlic Sauce
- Burger Sauce + more!
How to Store + Freeze Crinkle Cut Fries
Place any leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. For longer storage, simply add leftovers to a freezer safe ziplock bag or container and keep frozen for up to 10 months.
If you're planning to meal prep your own crinkle cut fries as you would frozen fries, simply do the following toy our cut fries:
- Blanch your fries by cooking them for 2 minutes in boiling water and then transferring them to a bowl of ice water.
- Drain your fries and lay them out in a single layer (on a baking sheet lined with parchment) to dry.
- Add the laid out fries (still on the baking sheet) to the freezer for 6 hours or overnight until solid.
- Transfer the frozen fries to a freezer-safe ziplock bag, label/date, and store in the freezer.
- As you would store-bought frozen fries, remove desired servings of fries each time and bake per instructions.
Common French Fries Q + A's
Basically, you can make your crinkle cut fries taste better with seasoning and herbs. This recipe is well-seasoned, however, if you don't want to use a cajun blend, simply add seasonings like: salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, parsley, thyme, etc.
For crinkle-cut fries, simply slice potatoes vertically with a crinkle cutter, also called a wavy chopper or serrated slicer. When potatoes are super thick, I like to pre-cut them with a sharp knife into easy to handle pieces and then use my crinkle cutter/chopper in each side.
The top contenders for potatoes are Idaho or Russet potatoes. However, you can also make french fries using large Yukon potatoes as well as sweet potatoes for a nice twist!
Basically, soaking potatoes in salt water helps to draw out water and removes excess starch, ensuring a crisper, firmer result when cooking + baking your fries.
Yes, BUT you always must soak your potatoes overnight in the refrigerator to adhere to safety measures. Simply tightly seal your bowl with the soaked potatoes and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight, if needed.
Yes! Once you've soaked them, simply drain and rinse before going to the next step which is letting them "air dry".
This issue is rather common if you use very starchy potatoes OR you don't allow for the potatoes to soak correctly. I always ensure ensuring that your water is VERY cold and stirring in the salt so that they are well dehydrated after the soak. In addition, it's never bad to prolong the soak time a bit (adding another 30 minutes) for bigger batches.
More Delicious Recipes You'll Love!
If you love these Seasoned Crinkle Cut French Fries, then you'll love the following recipes:
- Flaky Honey Buttermilk Biscuits
- Herb Roasted Tomatoes
- Ultimate Vegan Mac + Cheese
- Gluten-Free Cheddar Bay Biscuits
- Garlic Herb Smashed Potatoes
MADE OUR RECIPE(S)?
If you tried these Seasoned Crinkle Cut French Fries or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you.
Seasoned Crinkle Cut French Fries
Ingredients
HOMEMADE CAJUN BLEND:
- 2-3 Tbsps Homemade Cajun Seasoning
FRIES:
- 4 large organic russet or Yukon potatoes
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, for soaking
Instructions
PREP + SOAK POTATOES:
- Rinse and pat dry each potato and cut lengthways into halves and then in halves lengthways again, and then one last time----this should create a medium-thick "stick-like" shape. You should have about 6-8 pieces of fries (aka "sticks") when done for each potato. Repeat until all potatoes are cut. Then using a crinkle cutter, slice down the sides of each potato from the top end of the potato---this should create a "crinkle-like" shape. Repeat again and continue to repeat until all potatoes are sliced/shaped.
- In a bowl, add cold water until ¾ filled along with a few ice cubes and salt to keep things cold. Add cut potatoes into bowl and let soak for 20 minutes.
- Once soak time is complete, drain potatoes and pat dry thoroughly before adding them unto a flat surface (i.e. countertop, cutting board, etc.) lined with paper towels for them to "dry" out for a bit (about 30-minutes to 1 hour). NOTE: This process helps them to be extra crispy when baked.
BAKE THE FRIES:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the dry cut slices of potatoes into a large bowl along with the olive oil and cajun seasoning, mixing everything together with your hands until fries are full coated.
- Transfer the fries to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes or until fries are golden and crispy. NOTE: Test the doneness of potatoes by seeing how soft they are and how golden the edges become. If they are tender then they are done.
- Remove the baked fries from the oven and serve with a side of your favorite condiment/sauce (ketchup, mayo, dressings, etc).
- Bon Appetit!
Tips & Tricks
- STORAGE: Place any leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. For longer storage, simply add leftovers to a freezer safe ziplock bag or container and keep frozen for up to 10 months.
- CAJUN SEASONING (STORAGE): Any leftover cajun seasoning mix can be stored in a ziplock bag for later use or used as garnish.
Nutrition
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I'm drooling over these fries! Never made crinkle cut fries before but now I have to because these look like fry perfection!
Thanks for all those helpful tips to make the perfect fries; they came out just as expected! Delicious!
Love that you bake these, they look so crispy!!
These turned out amazing! They're so tasty and crispy on the outside but soft within. I never thought these could be made at home. Great recipe!
I loved the seasoning on these crinkle cut fries, and they went so well with the ranch dressing! I will definitely be making this again and again!