These quick and easy Garlic Fries will have you and your guests coming back for more. They make the perfect side dish or appetizer for any occasion. Plus they are the ideal snack for your next binge watching session!
Nothing beats homemade french fries. Give this recipe a try and I promise it will become a family favourite!
So...
yah...
everyone else is posting red velvet this, pink cutie-patootie that and all things heart-shaped...
and I'm over here going "look what I made, GARLIC FRIES".
I want to feel bad. Like I'm not living up to my food blogger potential. But the truth of the matter is I freaking love french fries. So, I made french fries.
Tomorrow I'm posting a burger.
Take that Valentine's Day!
Okay, okay I'm not a total rebel. I'll make sure I fit in 1 or 2 cutesy recipes for all you red velvet, pink cutie-patootie, heart shape loving readers. I love those things too, but I sort of dig french fries more. My bad. Or is it?
Seriously man, look at these things. Screw Valentine's Day. Just eat french fries.
I learned to make fries from my Gramma Doughty. She was an expert french fry maker. She lived in Quebec where you could get fries from the french fry truck.
My gramma perfected her fries over the years and I was lucky enough to learn how to make them from her and my mom. Those gals knew their french fries.
They loved something called a French Fry Sandwich. I could never bring myself to eat one but my sis loves them. I'm not sure how she can eat them and stay so tiny. I swear it's like black magic or something.
Okay I must scoot so I can get some tedious, hard work done. Or watch reality TV. It's a toss-up.
Ingredient Notes:
For the Garlic Oil:
- Oil - You can use any kind of oil you like since this is being poured over the fries after you make them. I used canola oil but grapeseed or olive oil would work too.
- Garlic - Use fresh garlic for this recipe. You can pop the garlic cloves in whole if you are just infusing the garlic flavour into the oil, or you can mince the garlic and leave it in the oil for drizzling over the cooked fries.
For the Fries:
- Potatoes - For this particular recipe, I used russet potatoes. They hold up well to frying. You can substitute Yukon Gold too. They are a really versatile potato.
- Salt - Use the kind of salt you prefer. We love table salt on fries because of the finer texture but on occasion we'll use a coarser salt. It's all about personal preference when it comes to salt.
- Herbs - Personally, I like dried parsley over top of my garlic fries but you can omit it or add any other seasoning or herb you love that compliments garlic.
- Optional - You can add garlic powder or parmesan cheese to this recipe if you like.
How to Make Garlic Fries:
Full instructions and notes are in the recipe card. Please refer to that when making this recipe!
For the Garlic Oil:
- Add oil and garlic cloves to a small saucepan or skillet. Cook over medium heat until the garlic becomes fragrant. If using whole garlic cloves this will take about 2 to 3 minutes. If you mince the garlic cloves it should only take a minute for the garlic to become fragrant.
- Remove from heat and strain the garlic out if you like. If using cloves you can always chop them up finely to put over top of the fries or to use in another recipe.
- Keep the oil in a bowl or measuring cup with a spout to make it easier to drizzle the oil over the fries later. Set the oil aside.
For the Fries:
- Preheat the oil you are using in a deep fryer or large stockpot to 365 degrees F. *Notes below on what types of oil to use for making french fries.
- Cut the fries into matchstick size pieces. You can dunk them in water if you like as you prep but it's not necessary to soak them for this particular recipe. We're going for quick and easy which is why slicing them thinly is recommended.
- If you are soaking them briefly, please be sure to DRY them off REALLY WELL before transferring the fries to the hot oil. You want the potatoes to be as dry as possible.
- Carefully place the potatoes in the hot oil using a spider strainer so you don't burn yourself. If making a lot of fries I suggest cooking them in batches. You do not want to overcrowd fries while they cook. Each batch should only take a few minutes to cook.
- Once each batch is cooked you can place them on a paper towel lined plate or baking sheet to soak up any excess oil.
- Continue cooking all the potatoes.
- Once the fries and are cooked you can transfer them to a large bowl. Drizzle the fries with garlic oil and toss well. Then sprinkle with salt. Add fresh herbs, if desired.
- Serve!
What kind of oil to use for making french fries:
- Vegetable - This is a great all purpose oil for making fries. It has a high smoke point and works really great for making french fries. It works wonderfully for onion rings too.
- Canola - For this recipe, I love canola oil. It tends to be my go to for a lot of simple fried recipes. The smoke point is high enough for frying and the flavour is great.
- Peanut - Honestly, peanut oil is perfect for frying, particularly for deep fryers. It also has a high smoke point and is a great choice for this recipe. We use peanut oil often when frying foods.
- Corn - This was fairly common to use when I grew up. Corn oil is a type of vegetable oil that has a high smoke point. That's why it works so well for recipes like french fries.
- Shortening - Using shortening strikes me as a bit of an old school oil for frying but it's one I love. It works great in a recipe like this one. *personal note below
Growing up my Mom and Gramma used to make homemade french fries a lot. They were both from Quebec, which is known to have some of the best fry trucks around. Gramma and Mom used to use shortening or oil, or a combination of both. If you've never tried making french fries with shortening it's worth a try, especially if you love experimenting with different oils. I know most people overlook shortening these days but it does have a purpose in some recipes.
FAQ:
Can you make fries in an air fryer?
Yes, you can. Just adjust the cooking tine for your particular AF model.
Can you make fries in the oven?
Yes, you can. Place potatoes on a baking pan lined with aluminum foil in a single layer. Bake in the oven at 425 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes, flipping them halfway through. You can use my Spicy Oven Fries recipe if you like.
More Side Dish Recipes:
- Onion Strings
- Shallot Rings
- Fried Smashed Potatoes with Onions and Meyer Lemon Dressing
- Aerosmith Potatoes
- Smoked Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
- Lemon Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
- Mini Potato Skins with Sour Cream, Bacon and Chives
- Grilled Potatoes with Garlic and Chipotle Spice from Kiss my Smoke
Other French Fry Recipes from Around the Web:
- Perfect French Fries from Leite's Culinaria
- Perfect French Fries from The Pioneer Woman
- Buttermilk Ranch French Fries by Savory Simple
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries by Sally's Baking Addiction
Places to stalk Cravings of a Lunatic
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Quick and Easy Garlic Fries
Ingredients
For the Garlic Oil:
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 4 cloves garlic cloves
For the Fries:
- 5 large russet potatoes cut into matchsticks
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch fresh or dried parsley
Instructions
For the Garlic Oil:
- In a small saucepan combine the oil and garlic, cook for about 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat. You want to heat the garlic enough to be fragrant but not to burn it. Garlic burns quickly. Take off the heat and transfer to a bowl or glass dish. Remove the cloves, you can toss them or use them depending how garlicky you want your fries. Chop the cloves finely if using them. Set oil aside.
For the Fries:
- Heat your oil to 365 degrees F.
- Cut your potatoes into matchstick size pieces. Drop in water as you cut them and soak them up until you are almost ready to drop them in. For fries that aren't quick and easy you can soak for 1 to 4 hours, but when you're hungry for fries NOW this will get 'er done.
- Once the oil reaches the right temperature take your potatoes out of the water, rinse them and then dry them with paper towels. You can skip the soaking if you've gone past hungry and hit the point of hangry. This is a judgement free zone.
- Once you are sure your potatoes are patted completely dry (trust me, throwing wet fries into a fryer is a good way to get the oil to bubble over and burn the dang house down, dry your potatoes well my friends) you want to carefully drop them in small batches into the hot oil. Let them cook for a few minutes, 3 to 5 should get 'er done. I like mine crispy.
- Use a spider to lift them out, and not I don't mean one of those 8 legged things, it's a wire tool for lifting things like fries out of fryers. Handy dandy, you need one, or three in your life. Trust me.
- You want to toss each batch into a metal bowl and quickly pour some garlic oil over top and toss some parsley in too. Now toss those suckers in the bowl a few times. Keep tossing till the oil and parsley coats the fries well.
- Continue with each batch until all are cooked.
- For added garlic zing you can take the garlic cloves from your oil and slice them up super fine, then toss them in when you do the fry, oil, and parsley flips in the metal bowl. Adds a whole other level of garlic awesomeness.
- Serve with a big old garlic loving smile.
Notes
Nutrition
Thanks for visiting today!
If you’re looking for more vegetable recipes be sure to check out my recipe index. You can find a lot more dinner recipes as well!
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Toodles! xx
John@Kitchen Riffs
Garlic? Fries? Wanna be my Valentine? 😀 Good stuff. But you knew that! Thanks.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
Every single one of these recipes is my favorite. How is that possible? I've just seen Saving Mr. Banks and I'm sure Mary Poppins showed me how.
Rebecca @ Dorm Room Baker
Um give me french fries over cutie patootie red velvet any day! My Pinterest boards are so cluttered with the stuff I don't even know what to do haha. Definitely pinning for some delicious variety!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress)
I like fries and burgers. Valentine's Day or no!
I love these, Kim! I love the garlicky, crispy goodness, mmmm!
Coco in the Kitchen
Oh mah gawd, these look so good!
Very Francais ooh la la.
That smidge of parsley is supposed to clean the stench from the garlique! Haha
Todd
I just started making fries at home using the 300/400 method and they are really good but to this point I've just used a cajun seasoning after the oil stage. I'm thinking these will go really well with some stuff we have coming up and, to try to take this ship plaid, I'm going to grate some good 'ole basic Parmesan over the finished product. Good stuff!
Kim Beaulieu
I like the 300/400 when I have more time. I also like the triple fry when time permits. I swear I'm just a sucker for fries. I love the idea of cajun seasoning over them. I am a huge smoked paprika girl and chipotle spice rocks my world. I'll have to try some parmesan next time. I typically don't like cheese fries, which really should be cause to kick me out of Canada. I hate poutine, downright un-Canadian I think.
Todd
I've seen pictures of Poutine and I instantly imagine a KFC famous bowl - in other words, no thanks. Have you tried fries at 1/4" square instead of matchsticks? All preference I know, I just prefer a bit meatier fry. Still can't wait to try this 🙂
Kim Beaulieu
I do meatier fries more often than not. My daughter likes them that way. Our deep fryer bit the dust and I've been using my dutch oven on the stove. I swear the temperature just doesn't hold like a deep fryer does. The fries don't come out as well when they're thick. So we've been doing more thin as of late. I need to invest in a new deep fryer. But I'm waiting for a sale, ha. Cheapskate big time.
And omg, poutine just makes me want to hurl. If they kick me out of Canada for hating it so be it.
Choc Chip Uru
Fries with a nice big twist, I love the extra flavour 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Ramona W
Mmmm... love the idea of garlic fries. 🙂 YUM!
Abbie @ Needs Salt
These fries look awesome. End of story.
Pinning!
Renee
I love good garlic fries. Reminds me of hanging out at the beach boardwalk or the ball park, but the best garlic fries I ever had were at a little diner in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Jennie @themessybakerblog
I love that you've gone all V-Day rogue. I'll take garlic fries over red velvet any day. Yum!
Valerie | From Valerie's Kitchen
I'm totally with you on this, Kim. I'd go for the fries over dessert any day. I should know better than to stop by your blog when I'm hungry!
Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Just share your garlic fries with your sweetie, the garlic cancels each other out, and you are good to go.
foodwanderings
No wonder these garlic fries look so mouthwatering. You didn't take any alternate cooking methods or shortcuts. Crazy enticing, Kim.
Kim Beaulieu
I swear sometimes people get carried away with fry prep. Easy peasy and quick to the belly always gets my vote.
Amy @Very Culinary
Whoa! You threw me for a loop talking about Valentine's Day, and then realized this is an older post. I love that you posted fries instead of chocolate. You're a rebel!
Kim Beaulieu
Ha, I've got the flu so I haven't posted anything new to comment on. I'm a slacker Amy.
I'm a simple girl. Bring me fries and walking dead dvd's and I'm a happy girl.
Nutmeg Nanny
I love homemade french fries! It gets even better when you throw garlic into the mix!
Kim Beaulieu
These are a favourite around the B household. Love homemade fries.
Samantha
I think that these fries are better eaten alone. I don't want to share.
Kim Beaulieu
Ha, I like the way you think Samantha. xx
Joelen
I love how thin and crisp you got them - yum!
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks. I love fries way too much.
Dawn Lopez
Let me tell you that if I didn't like fries.. you basically would have changed my mind right now. But.. I soooo do love fries! I've never actually made "real" fries at home, this recipe looks like it might be life changing! Yum!
Kim Beaulieu
Omg Dawn, you HAVE to try making them at home. If they're thin you can get away with a single fry method, if you cut thicker go double fry. So good. I usually soak mine in water for a bit first but I was freaking hungry this day. Sometimes a girl just has to eat, and now.
Angie
These garlic fries look amazing!
Kim Beaulieu
Thanks so much Angie.