I realize that there is a seriously lack of side dish posts here on the blog. It’s not because I don’t make side dishes for my family. It’s just that most of the time, my side dishes aren’t that spectacular.
Usually they’re more of an afterthought and I just end up warming some frozen veggies in the microwave or sautéing something up in a pan with some salt, pepper, and butter.
I’m usually just so focused on the main part of the meal that I completely forget that I even need something on the side.
Yes, there have been many of nights where I completely forgot to make something on the side and we just ate the main dish… burgers without fries or just chicken without anything else.
However, I absolutely love potatoes and so does most of the family. My oldest daughter, however, does not. I’m not sure why but she refuses to eat potatoes that are not in the “french fry” form.
So in an effort to get her to eat potatoes every once in a while, I decided to try and make my own homemade version of french fries.
I do not have a deep fryer so I figured I needed to make these in the oven. Unfortunately, my previous attempts at making french fries in the oven have ended in disaster (you can read more about that here).
But with a little more effort and testing and quite a few attempts and burnt fries, I think I have finally nailed the oven baked crispy fries!
These fries went perfectly with the pulled pork sliders we were having that night. And of course, the cheese loving hubby just had to melt some cheese on top of his. Which made me think to make some homemade cheese fries of some sort soon that I know he and the rest of the family would devour.
Oven Baked Crispy Fries
Ingredients
- 3 large potatoes
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- With a mandoline, slice the potatoes into fries. If you do not have a mandoline, you can just manually slice the potatoes.
- Place the potatoes into a large bowl and cover with water. Let sit for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400° F and spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Drain the water and pat fries dry with paper towel. Add back to bowl and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste.
- Spread fries onto prepared baking pan, in a single layer. Bake at 400° F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and toss fries.
- Place back in oven, increase temperature to 450° F, and cook for additional 20-25 minutes. Watch them carefully so they do not burn.
- Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes and serve.