Air Fryer Fries (Paleo,Whole30, Vegan)

Air fryer, homemade french fries are not only healthy but easy to make. Use this paleo and whole30 recipe for homemade, oil-free french fries or sweet potato fries.

Air fryers are all over the place right now and I have to admit, I am on the bandwagon. If you follow me on social media then you know that I use my air fryer almost daily now. I absolutely love mine. No, this is not a sponsored post.

What is an Air Fryer?

An air fryer is an appliance that circulates hot air around food at high-speed, cooking the food and producing a crispy ‘fried’ layer. Air fryers come in various sizes. I have 2 air fryers. Two different brands, two different capacities. One is a 5-quart, the other is a 5.8-quart. What size air fryer you should get depends on your needs. I’m a household of two so most days I usually cook 2 pounds of food or less which can go in my 5-quart without having to cook more than 1 batch. Most air fryer recipes are not 100% oil free. More like 90% oil free. For this recipe I used a whopping 1 teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil.

White Potato or Sweet Potato?

Personally I prefer the white potato. That’s my personal preference. What do you like? What fits your dietary restrictions? That’s what you should use. Skin-on or peeled? Again, up to you. I like to leave my skin on for white potatoes but peel it off for sweet potatoes. Whether your fries are skinny or thick wedges, try to cut them all the same size. Unlike mine:-)

Soak your fries first

Soaking your cut fries in cold water removes excess starch. This helps the fries from sticking together and to get nice & crispy. This goes for both white potatoes and sweet potatoes.

If I can remember to give myself enough time, I like to soak my fries for a a couple of hours. I understand everyone might not have that kind of time. Try to soak your fries for at least 30 minutes before you fry them. If you don’t remember to pre-soak them at all, don’t worry it won’t  ruin the dish.

Oil or Cooking Spray?

I tried both ways and personally I prefer using oil. You don’t need much. For 1 pound of potatoes/sweet potatoes, I used approximately 1 tsp of extra-virgin olive oil. Yes, that’s it. I find that anything more than that will make my fries too soggy. You can use the oil of your choice. I prefer extra-virgin olive oil. Of course you can use more than 1 tsp.

I prefer to use oil rather than cooking spray because the fries crisper than when using cooking spray. However you can absolutely spray your fries with cooking spray and they will still fry in the air fryer.

How long to fry for? Depends.

Every air fryer is different. I have 2 air fryers. Two different brands, two different capacities. Using the same recipe, I got slightly different results. This has happened to me cooking other food in my air fryer as well so I’ve come to the conclusion that like the slow cooker, no two air fryers are the same. The temperature and time that works for me might not work exactly for you. I like to start mine by cooking them for 10 minutes before I open to toss them.

I found that a temperature higher than 370 cooked the fries too fast and caused them to prematurely burn. One thing to take into consideration when cooking french fries/sweet potato fries in your air fryer is how big your fryer is and how many potatoes you’re cooking. I have a large 5-quart air fryer so I am able to cook a full pound of fries at once. You might have to cook your fries in batches if you have a smaller air fryer.

If you have a favorite seasoning you want to use, by all means use it. If not, here is my go-to homemade seasoning salt:

Homemade Seasoning Salt
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp pepper

For what you see here in this post:  I used 1 lbs potatoes, pre-soaked for 30 minutes, towel dried & drizzled with 1 tsp evoo and 1 tbsp seasoning salt, cooked for 25 minutes (shaking halfway through). Cooked in my 5-quart air fryer.

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These fries are great served with my homemade Slow Cooker/Instant Pot BBQ Sauce.

White potato or sweet potato – which do you prefer?

 

 

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