Instant Pot Air Fryer Frozen French Fries (with an Air Fryer Lid)

Instant Pot Air Fryer Frozen French Fries. Crispy, golden french fries with my Instant Pot and its Air Fryer Lid.

What took me so long to air fry frozen French fries?

What took me so long to air fry frozen French fries?

I bought the Air Fryer lid for my Instant Pot when it came out, tried it a few times, and it's been collecting dust ever since. Then I bought my kids Instant Pot Duo Crisps for their college apartments. (Amazon had a sale, and it was cheaper to get them with the air fryer lid than without.)They immediately started air frying and asked me questions about air frying that I couldn't answer. So, I gave my air fryer lid a second chance.

And I may have found its killer app. Frozen French fries come out crispy and golden brown, much better than what I get out of the oven, even with the convection setting turned on. (This has always been my argument against air frying - it's just a mini convection oven - but I was wrong.)

So, I'm going to keep on air frying…if I can come up with anything else. Any air frying veterans out there? What else should I try? Recommendations? Requests?

Ingredients

• Frozen French Fries

See the recipe card for quantities.

How to make Frozen French Fries in an Instant Pot with an Air Fryer Lid

Heat to 400°F and add the fries: Preheat the air fryer lid to 400°F. Sprinkle the frozen fries into the fryer basket, one handful at a time, so they are in a loose pile.

Air fry for 20 minutes, shaking every 5: Air Fry, shaking the basket every 5 minutes until the fries are crispy and a light golden color, about 20 minutes.

Substitutions

Different frozen fry shapes:

The cooking time is determined by how thick the fry is. 20 minutes is the right time for regular thickness times. Here's the list of times

• Shoestring Fries: 15 minutes
• Curly Fries: 20 minutes
• Regular Fries: 20 minutes
• Crinkle-cut Fries: 25 minutes
• Tater Tots: 20 minutes
• Waffle Fries: 25 minutes
• Steak Fries: 25 minutes
  

Equipment

A 6-quart pressure cooker with an air fryer lid. (Or an air fryer.)

Scaling

You can fill the air fryer basket with a whole bag of fries, but this increases the cooking time - I have to cook for 25 to 30 minutes to get the larger amount of fries crisped up.

Top Tip

Don't crowd the frozen fries! While they don't have to be a single layer, they must be loose enough for the air to circulate around the fries. That's why I say to sprinkle them in, one handful at a time, and give them a shake every five minutes. It keeps them loose and moves them around, allowing them to crisp up evenly.