Do you know anybody that doesn’t love waffle fries! That’s right, because who in their right mind doesn’t love fries in general; and frozen waffle fries in air fryer come out super crispy and delicious.
The best part about cooking frozen waffle fries in the air fryer is that the cooking time is cut down significantly making the whole process quicker and easier.
Convinced yet? Here you’ll find out everything you need to know to cook perfect frozen waffle fries using your air fryer.
The Equipment
In order to obtain flawless waffle fries every single time, we need to talk about the equipment first.
When compared to baking, cooking frozen waffle fries in the air fryer is faster, and the taste and texture is simply a world of difference. In fact, frozen waffle fries is one of my favorite foods to make in the air fryer. Just picture these yummy morsels, served next to a juicy air fryer cheeseburger. It is destiny.
All air fryers are different and some cook much hotter than others. Once you cook your first batch, you’ll know more of what works for your specific air fryer model.
There are three main types of air fryers; there’s the paddle-type air fryer, the basket-type air fryer and the countertop convection oven.
Though there are many air fryers on the market, it is highly recommended to use basket style air fryer to cook your frozen waffle fries.
The basket air fryers are popular because the basket usually has a handle for easy tossing.
As the name implies, these air fryers cook your food in a basket. Since the basket has holes all around, it’s easier for air to get through your food, although you’ll still have to stir it at least once during the cooking process.
Many consider the best basket air fryer to be the Instant Pot Instant Vortex Plus. It is versatile and easy to clean, this multi-cooker rotates the cooking basket while air frying so you don’t need to shake the basket.
Take a look at some its components:
Get deep-fried flavor with little to no oil for healthy and tasty versions of your favorites. Air fry, bake and roast multiple meals at once.
The Instant Vortex Plus air fryer oven circulates super-hot air around your food so it cooks evenly and locks in moisture — giving you the crispy, golden texture and delicious taste of deep-fried, without the guilt.
Sleek surface wipes clean. Plus, the drip pan, cooking trays, rotisserie basket, Rotisserie spit and forks are all dishwasher safe
Another kitchen utensils you may find handy when cooking your frozen waffle fries are spatulas.
Since the coating on an air fryer is nonstick, you should always use plastic utensils such as spatulas.
Using a metal spatula can cause the basket to scratch and possibly even start to peel in those scratched areas.
The Ingredients
All the ingredients you need is your bag of frozen waffle fries
1 bag Your favorite brand waffle fries
1 tsp. Avocado oil (optional)
The Process
You might not have heard of waffle fries yet, or like us you might also know them as criss cross French fries.
Waffle fries are a type of French fries. Instead of making your sliced potato into French fries it is put into a waffle fries maker and made into waffle fries instead.
In a nutshell waffle fries are a cross between potato wedges and French fries.
With the crisp texture provided by the rapid air technology of the air fryer, you’ll enjoy every last crumb of these yummy fries without feeling the guilt. Even better, you won’t have to settle for the uneven, half-soggy result often produced by cooking fries in the oven.
Just like any other frozen food, this recipe requires zero prep.
Then cook up frozen waffle fries perfectly and consistently, with a slight crisp to the outer edges, in the air fryer.
- Mist the basket of your air fryer with a few spritzes of avocado oil.
- Add the bag of fries to the basket. If you prefer crispier fries, mist the tops of the fries with additional oil.
- Cook at 400°F | 205°C for 15-18 minutes or until desired crispiness is achieved. Shake basket a few times throughout that time for even cooking. You may need to adjust your cooking time down if you have fewer fries in your basket. Or add time if the fries are not crispy enough for your satisfaction.
- Plate and enjoy!
Other key tips to the process of making perfect and delicious air fryer frozen waffle fries are:
- No extra oil is required when you cook frozen waffle fries in the air fryer saving you a LOT of calories compared to deep fried waffle fries.
- Some waffle fries brands have a lot of crumbs and broken waffle fries at the bottom. Therefore, be careful when loading your waffle fries into your air fryer basket as you don’t want mess in your air fryer.
- They taste like potato wedges thanks to the seasoning added to them and use a potato cutter to make them look like waffles. No extra seasoning is required.
Do I need to defrost frozen waffle fries before air frying?
Just to be clear, some of the most common questions about air frying frozen hash browns include this one. And the answer is no, you don’t need to defrost your frozen waffle fries prior to air frying.
Because we are talking about frozen food there is no prep to worry about.
How long do you cook frozen waffle fries?
The trick to a perfect air fried potato product is your capacity to food ratio.
With waffle fries, you can cook multiple layers but know your perfect cooking time for a full bag will be different than that for a half of a bag or a single serving. The fewer fries in the basket, the less cooking time you’ll need. Since waffle fries have a lot of surface, they can cook pretty quickly so check and shake them often for best results.
Overall, air fryer frozen waffle fries take JUST 10 minutes at 180c/360f from frozen. This is ideal because they are quick thick and chunky, so the usual 8 minutes for frozen food in the air fryer will not be long enough.
Should I freeze frozen waffle fries before frying?
It really depends on when you want to eat your frozen waffle fries.
If you want to consume your waffle fries as soon as you come back from the market, then keep them outside. However, if you want to enjoy this delicious dish some other time, then keep the bag in your freezer.
What sauce goes perfectly with frozen waffle fries?
This is another personal choice. Some prefer the classic dollop of ketchup while others just like adding a pinch of salt and pepper to go along with their warm and delicious waffle fries.
Other popular dipping sauces for waffle fries include a seasoned sour cream dip, Peri Peri sauce or even a creamy cilantro-lime dipping sauce.
Here we give you the recipe for the seasoned sour cream dip:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 heaping cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1½ Tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
½ tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. freshly cracked pepper
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
*optional: top with chopped green onion
Combine ingredients and refrigerate at least one hour before serving to allow flavors to combine. Makes about 2 cups. Keeps in refrigerator for a couple weeks.
What are the best frozen waffle fries brands?
There are lots of brands that make and supply hash browns. Check out some of our favorite picks
1. Alexia Seasoned Waffle Cut Fries
3. Great Value Waffle Cut French Fried Potatoes
4. Ore Ida Golden Waffle Fries
How to reheat frozen waffle fries
If you would like to reheat your waffle fries in the air fryer then you can! Set the temperature to 160c/320f and the time to 4 minutes.
They will be piping hot again, but without you recooking them.
The secret for making GREAT frozen waffle fries
Thinking about making your own waffle fries? Why not! Freshly made waffle fries can be frozen for consumption at a later date. You get all the goodness minus all the preservatives.
This process makes fantastic waffle fries. It basically involves having the right equipment to make the waffle cut fries. You’ll need:
- Borner Wave-Waffle Cutter or mandolin food slicer with waffle cutting blade
- Air Fryer
- 2 Russet Potatoes
- ½ teaspoon Seasoning Salt
Instructions:
- Peel potatoes, if desired.
- Slice potatoes with the Borner Wave-Waffle Cutter, turning the potato one quarter of a turn after every pass over the blade.
- Place the potato slices in a bowl and sprinkle the seasoning salt over them. Toss the potatoes to evenly distribute the seasoning.
- Transfer the potatoes to an air fryer and cook at 400° for about 15 minutes, tossing them every 5 minutes.
How do you make frozen waffles fries taste better?
The key to a great dish is spices, you need to use lots of different spices in your potato dish until you find one that you really like on potatoes.
If you want to make your waffles fries even tastier, season them before you put them into your air fryer.
Add the frozen waffles fries, olive oil and seasoned salt to a resealable plastic bag, give it a good shake and lay them in the air fryer tray.
You could also sprinkle salt and pepper on them then spray the top with oil, once the frozen waffles fries are in the air fryer. You could put any seasoning you like on before the oil spray, or even put the frozen waffles fries in a bowl with seasoning and oil and toss together before putting in the air fryer.
Another fantastic idea to add some extra flavor is that your waffle fries in the air fryer can be loaded up with toppings! The key is to add in your favorite extras in the last five minutes of cooking. Check out the ideas below:
Waffle Fries With Cheese: Add a layer of grated cheese on top and let the air fryer melt it.
Waffle Fries With Cheese & Bacon: Add a layer of grated cheese and lots of bacon bits. The bacon will even come out crispy once cooked.
Can frozen waffle fries be thawed and refrozen?
There’s no need to thaw if intend to use the whole bang. That said thawing your frozen waffle fries is super easy. Simply remove the desired quantity of waffle fries from the bag and thaw on a paper towel to allow any excess moisture to be absorbed.
Then re-seal the bag with the remaining waffle fries removing any excess air, and place back in the freezer.
How to keep frozen waffle fries fresh?
The most practical way to preserve homemade waffle fries is to partially cook them first and then freeze also known as flash freezing.
How to stock your freezer with frozen waffle fries or use make-ahead frozen waffle fries
Fries are quickly boiled before flash freezing.
This quick dip in boiling water partially cooks the potatoes and draws out some of the starch, rendering the fries tender and fluffy on the inside, while crisp on the outside once frozen and cooked.
The blanching water can also be seasoned with salt to enhance the fries. Dunk the blanched fries into a bowl of iced water to prevent overcooking.
Spread out into an even layer on a baking sheet to freeze so that they don’t stick together.
Once fully frozen, move frozen fries to a zip-top freezer bag for longer storage. Frozen fries can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months.