How to Reheat French Fries

how to reheat french fries

French fries is one of that food that’s hardly ever reheated. Regardless of how good they are, there’s a general consensus that you either have to finish them up or throw them away. 

The reason? 

French fries are not the best food to reheat. Once they are kept away for some time, they go from being crispy and delicious to soggy and limp. And it’s quite hard to bring them back to their former glory.

But that does not mean you should throw out your leftover fries. There are several ways to not only reheat them but make them delicious and crispy again. In this article, we’ll show you just how to do that.

Using a good ol’ oven is one of the most underrated methods to reheat French fries. It’s simple, easy, and gets the job done in no time.

As you may already know, ovens are a great way to cook frozen fries into golden, crispy fries. So, it’s obvious that they will be able to turn soggy leftover fries back into crispy fries. 

To reheat French fries in an oven, there are two things you need to keep in mind to ensure crisp and perfect leftover fries. The first thing is that the oven must be hot. And the second thing is to ensure that all the fries are evenly spread and layered on a large tray. This will guarantee that all fries are properly reheated.

Start by heating your oven to 425°F. Once the oven attains the desired temperature, you can lay out your leftover fries and roast them for a good 5-10 minutes. For the best results, give your fries a little shake while they’re halfway through the roast. This will make sure that they’re evenly cooked.

If you want to take it a step further, you can also use a wire rack for an even better result. A wire rack allows for better heat distribution so that you won’t even have to shake them while cooking.

If you want your leftover fries to taste and feel just like freshly fried fries, reheating them with an air fryer will give you the closest result. An air fryer works by circulating the heat inside with the help of a fan. This ensures all your fries get the same amount of heat so that they are equally reheated, and there are no soggy fries in between. 

One of the best things about using an air fryer to reheat French fries is that preheating is not required, unlike the oven. This results in a much faster and easier process of reheating fries. 

To reheat your fries in an air fryer, simply take your leftover fries and toss them in a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and lay them out in the air fryer basket. Now set the temperature to about 370° to 380° and leave them there for about 4 to 6 minutes, depending on how crisp you want them to be. An air fryer is one of the easiest ways to reheat just about any leftover food, not just fries. So, if you don’t have one, you might as well just go and get one today. 

Pan fry is another simple method to reheat French fries, which will give you amazing results. If you don’t have an air fryer or oven or simply don’t want to use one, this method is for you. 

All you have to do is place a large pan over medium to high heat and throw in some oil. Once the oil starts to simmer, place your leftover fries on the pan and fry them for about five to six minutes. Make sure to flip them so that they are evenly reheated and crispy on all sides. Once the fries are done to your requirements, simply move them on a plate or power towel to drain the oil. It’s that simple! 

While all of the methods mentioned above are great for reheating French fries, none of them will ever come close to refrying them in a hot pot of oil. While this method is not possible for everyone, if you have lots of leftover fries and tons of oil, simply refrying them is the best method. Refrying will have your fries looking and tasting just as good as when you first bought them. 

AVOID Microwaving Fries

For most people that own a microwave, you might be tempted to try and reheat your fries by microwaving them. However, that is the worst possible way to reheat your fries. As a matter of fact, you should never reheat leftover food in a microwave if they are supposed to be crispy. Microwave works by cooking from the inside out. So, while it can be great for food like chicken and soup, it’s not suitable for crispy food like fries. In fact, microwaves can make your fries limper than they were in the first place.