Can you microwave frozen french fries?

French fries are one of the world’s most loved snacks. They work with burgers, they work with cheese, they work on the side of a sandwich, on the side of a pizza, they even work solely on their own. We all love french fries!

They are cheap, easy, and quick to make. This is particularly the case with frozen french fries. Frozen fries are a great product to have in the freezer as a backup option or an easy side dish for your dinner.

Cooking fries can be done in various ways, you can cook frozen fries on a baking sheet in the oven for crispy fries, you can deep fry them for crunchy fries, you can cook frozen fries in the air fryer, and for some people, they like to cook their frozen french fries in the microwave oven.

The microwave oven is a handy gadget used to reheat all types of food, including french fries, but often when we reheat food in the microwave it can end up limp and lifeless.

To a lot of people, the idea of cooking frozen fries in the microwave seems like a recipe for disaster. There is the idea that cooking certain goods in the microwave can cause them to go soggy.

However, if it was possible to cook frozen fries successfully in a microwave oven, this would be an extremely convenient and time efficient life hack. So, today I am going to tell you why people may think it is wrong to microwave fries, and how you can use a microwave oven to turn your frozen fries into perfectly cooked fries!

Table of Contents

• Is it bad to microwave fries?
• Do you need to defrost frozen fries before you cook them in the microwave?
• Top Tips
• How To Microwave Frozen French Fries
• Reheating French Fries
• Final Thoughts
• FAQs

Is it bad to microwave fries?

Deep frying and oven-baking fries allows for them to cook evenly as you can turn them and flip them as they cook. Cooking in the microwave does not allow this as much, and so because of this, many people think it is a bad idea.

The uneven heating can cause the ends to burn but the rest of the fries turn limp and the cooking oil can turn a horrible taste.

It is true that if you heat up fries incorrectly in the microwave they will turn soggy, but this is the case with reheating anything in the microwave. Microwave appliances work by triggering water molecules in the food to help raise the temperature. This can cause foods to lose their original texture and in many instances they turn soggy.

Later I will tell you some top tips on how you can avoid this from happening.

Do you need to defrost frozen fries before you cook them in the microwave?

One of the greatest parts about using a microwave oven to cook your french fries, is that you don’t need to spend time defrosting them first. In fact, you can cook your frozen french fries in the microwave and enjoy eating them all within the space of 10 minutes.

If you allow frozen fries to thaw before cooking them in any appliance, you risk them turning greasy. When they are prepped in the factory before being taken to the grocery store, the surface of the potato is sealed during the frying process.

Frozen fries may have ice on the outside of them which is completely fine, you do not need to let this melt before cooking but try and remove it so that there is no excess water. Instead, make sure you space the french fries out so that they cook evenly and the heat manages to reach all of the french fries more efficiently. You should also cook the fries in small batches so you can assure there is room for them to be spaced out.

Top Tips

Whilst microwaved fries may not turn out as great as oven roasted french fries or when you cook fries in an air fryer, this does not mean that there are not a couple of methods you can use to turn your limp fries crispy.

To understand how to make your french fries crunchy in the microwave, it is important to understand how the microwave works.

Microwaves circulate heat using a fan and this helps to cook the food evenly, similar to a fan oven. The heat is moved inwards and outwards until the food is fully heated through.

The first way to get your french fries crispy, as mentioned already, is to spread them out nicely so that the hot air can evenly reach the fries and cook them all at the same level. You should also only cook small batches at a time so that they have room to spread out and don’t prevent each other from cooking properly.

Then, you should use a microwave crisper pan or place a sheet of parchment paper on a microwave-safe plate. This helps to make sure extra liquid is absorbed and helps to heat up the surface that the fries are on, allowing an even cook underneath as well.

Make sure you microwave is 1000 wattage and use it on the hottest setting. It is also important to avoid using the defrost setting, despite thinking that this would be the suitable setting.

Finally, check on the fries as they cook and turn them halfway through cooking so that they cook even more evenly on each side.

How To Microwave Frozen French Fries

So, now that you have some top tips to keep in mind whilst you cook fries, it is important to know how exactly to do it.

Once you have removed any excess ice, place your fries in a single layer on a microwavable plate lined with baking paper or you can use a microwave crisper pan.

You can drizzle the fries with a little olive oil or vegetable oil as this will help to transfer the heat whilst retaining moisture in the fries and eventually crisping them up.

Microwave these fries on full power for two minutes. Once this is done, flip the french fries and microwave them for another minute. Continue to repeat this process until the fries are crispy and golden brown. This should not take longer than five minutes otherwise they may start to dry up.

Remove the fries when they are cooked and transfer them to a dish ready to eat!

Reheating French Fries

A lot of people use the microwave to reheat their fries. You may have ordered too much food and you want to reheat your leftover mcdonalds fries later on that night.

Reheating fries is very similar in the fact that it is easy for them to go soggy. Again, ensure your fries are nicely spread out and regularly turn them as they cook through. It is a good idea to also use baking paper to help absorb any of the extra grease that may have settled on the outside of the french fries.

Final Thoughts

Cooking frozen french fries in the microwave can be a really quick and convenient way to cook your french fries. Like anything, they will not taste as crispy and delicious as when cooked in the oven, but with a few top tips you won’t be too far off this!

If you make sure you not only understand the way in which the microwave works, but use this to your benefit ensure the french fries are cooked evenly, allowing them to eventually cook through and crisp up.

Whether you use a microwave or an oven, make sure your french fries are golden, crispy, seasoned with some salt and served up with some ketchup and you can’t go wrong!

FAQs