Learning how to air fryer frozen curly fries can lead to a delicious obsession! We absolutely love our curly fries but now it’s so easy to make at home in a fraction of the time!

Curly fries on a plate

What Brands of Frozen Curly Fries can you Air Fry?

There’s so many different brands of frozen curly fries and now there’s so many delicious possibilities. They’re all pretty standardized and about the same size and thickness. But use our base timing for a small test batch and from there customize the time to your specific frozen curly fries during air frying.

The great thing about air frying frozen curly fries, is that you don’t need to add any extra oil, or thaw them first. Take them straight from the freezer to air fryer and watch the magic happen.

How to Cook Air Fried Frozen Curly Fries

  • When you air fry frozen curly fries, it takes about 10 minutes to get them crispy perfect.
  • You don’t need any extra oil at all. There is enough in the crust from their pre-cooking. All you need to do is put them straight in the air fryer.
  • Put the frozen curly fries straight into the air fryer. Don’t thaw them first.
  • Spread the fries evenly in the air fryer basket/tray and don’t put too much in. For even cooking, it is better to cook in a couple small batches instead of a big overfilled batch.
  • All the recipe details and notes are in the recipe box below. Enjoy!
  • Make fish & chips! Serve these with some fish fillets frozen or fresh homemade fish fillets or shake-n-bake style fish fillets
  • Pro-Tip: here’s our favorite tools to help make air frying easier:
Evo Oil Sprayer
Evo Oil Sprayer

We LOVE Evo Oil Sprayers. Not the prettiest, but they’re functional and spritz oil great! They don’t clog up like many others we’ve bought. There’s different styles, but all seem to have the same great spray head. Works great for grilling!

8.5" Square Blue Silicone Mat
Perforated Silicone Mat

There are Square Mats & Round Mats. These perforated non-stick silicone mats are used to cook food in your air fryer or steamer to minimize sticking. Holes allow hot circulating air to cook the food & keeps the food from sticking.

Perforated Parchment Paper
Perforated Parchment Paper

Parchment sheets are great for your air fryer or bamboo steamer (food tends to stick most on wire basket or tray). Choose from different sizes, shapes, white and brown (unbleached). Holes allow air to cook food evenly.

cooked curly fry held in tongs

Video making Frozen Curly Fries in the Air Fryer:

step by step cooking curly fries in the air fryer

Are Ore-Ida Curly Fries Good in the Air Fryer?

This is the brand of curly fries we used for the photo: Ore-Ida Zesty Curly Fries. They tasted great and were well seasoned too. There’s so many different brands out there and the fries vary in size and thickness. Also, air fryers cook different too as some cook hotter and quicker than others. So our time and temp is a starting point for you. You can test a small batch first and see how it works for your specific model and type of fries. Hope you enjoy our air fryer frozen curly fries tutorial!

bag of ore-ida curly fries
Air Fryer Frozen Curly Fries in Air Fryer | AirFryerWorld.com

Air Fryer Frozen Curly Fries

Lots of factors influence outcome of how curly fries cook. They all vary in size, thickness, and sometimes the coating so you’ll have to adjust timing. For smaller air fryers (less than 5qt.) 1 pound is about the max without overcrowding the air fryer. The more you fill the basket the more frequently you’ll want to shake the basket to help them cook evenly. If you have a larger air fryer, you can cook more so long as the basket isn’t filled more than 1/2 full. 
All air fryers are different and some cook much hotter than others. Once you cook your first batch of fries, you’ll know more of what works for your model of air fryer and size of food. These were tested on basket style air fryers. Read more recipe notes below the recipe.
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb. (454 g) Frozen curly fries
  • salt , to taste
  • black pepper , to taste

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Place the frozen curly fries in the air fryer basket and spread out evenly. No oil spray is needed.
  • Air Fry at 400°F/205°C for 10 minutes. Shake and gently stir about halfway through cooking. If cooking larger batches, or if the curly fries don't cook evenly, try turning them multiple times on following batches.
  • If needed air fry at 400°F/205°C for an additional 1-4 minutes or until crisped to your liking. Season with salt & pepper, if desired.

Notes

Air Frying Tips and Notes:
  1. No Oil Necessary. Cook Frozen – Do not thaw first.
  2. Shake or turn if needed. Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket.
  3. Recipe timing is based on a non-preheated air fryer. If cooking in multiple batches of fries back to back, the following batches may cook a little quicker. 
  4. Recipes were tested in 3.7 to 6 qt. air fryers. If using a larger air fryer, the curly fries might cook quicker so adjust cooking time.
  5. Remember to set a timer to shake/flip/toss as directed in recipe.

If your air fryer is preheated or if you are cooking multiple batches, you may need to reduce timing by a few minutes (unless preheating is called for in the recipe).

Video

YouTube video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 295kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 556mg, Potassium: 488mg, Fiber: 5g, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 10mg, Iron: 1mg

Best Dips for Air Fryer Curly Fries

We love dipping our curly fries! there’s so many possibilities which gives us more opportunities to eat them. 🙂

  • marinara sauce or pasta sauce: these are so much more flavorful than plain tomato sauce. Don’t use the cans of tomato sauce. Buy the seasoned pasta sauces.
  • ketchup : can’t go wrong with this classic
  • bbq sauce : we love the flavors of the smoky bbq sauces
  • hot sauce: the spicy dips are an awesome balance against the air fryer curly fries Use sriracha or even chili garlic crunch (chili crisp) for these air fried curly fries.
  • ranch : this creamy dip is always a favorite
  • blue cheese dip: the tangy, rich flavors of blue cheese are great.
  • honey mustard sauce : sweet, tangy and always delicious
  • tarter sauce isn’t just for seafood. Try it with these curly fries cooked from the air fryer
  • thousand island dressing isn’t just for burgers!

Does light oil spray help fries get crispier?

No, not really. We tested this method by spraying the curly fries with oil before air frying. It didn’t make the air fried curly fries any crispier but what you do end up is with more calories from the oil. The frozen fries are already pre-fried so there’s oil in them already. Air frying will release those oils to help the rings get crispy.

Here’s some cool recipes with curly fries.