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4.54 from 143 votes

Crispy Oven Baked Yukon Gold French Fries

These crispy oven baked fries are a great way to eat potatoes no matter how you think about them, but I have to say I find them reasonably convincing as FRIES when they've just emerged from the oven. Here's how to make them great.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Additional Time15 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Sides
Cuisine: American
Keyword: crispy oven baked fries, yukon gold french fries, yukon gold fries
Calories: 306kcal
Author: Carolyn Gratzer Cope

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds (907 grams) Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) safflower oil
  • Fine sea salt

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 450°F. Line two half sheet pans with baking and cooling racks if you have them, or parchment if you don't (no worries).
  • Fill a large bowl halfway with ice water. Cut the potatoes into french fry shape using a mandoline or a knife. (There's no need to peel them.) Add cut potatoes to ice water as you work and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain and dry well with paper towels.
  • Dry out the bowl and add potatoes, oil, and a few generous sprinkles of salt, probably more than you think. Toss gently until all potatoes are glistening.
  • One by one, place the potatoes on the baking sheets in nice orderly rows so that they don't touch. This is my least favorite thing ever and is super-tedious, but it's worth it to get crispy, evenly cooked fries. You've come this far. Don't drop the ball (or all the fries into one crappy pile) now.
  • Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate pans and their position in the oven and bake about 10 minutes more, depending on the size of the fries, until crisp on the outsides and tender inside. Sprinkle with more salt if you like and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

  1. Safflower oil is my high-smoke-point, neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute another oil that has similar properties, such as canola, sunflower, peanut, corn, or vegetable oil blend.
  2. You can cut the potatoes and leave them in the ice water for up to a few hours before proceeding. Dry, season, and bake the fries right before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Reheat and recrisp in the oven or toaster oven.
  3. Try your fries alongside Shake Shack burgers, veggie burgers, or a reuben.

Nutrition

Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 6.2g | Fat: 8.5g | Fiber: 6.4g