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    The BEST Homemade McDonald's French Fries Recipe

    Published: Nov 25, 2022 · Modified: Nov 4, 2024 · By: Brendan Cunningham

    Jump to Recipe

    These McDonald's french fries taste just like the real deal! They're crispy on the outside yet tender inside and perfectly salty with an addictive flavor that'll keep you reaching for more. Oh, and the best part is you need just 4 ingredients are all you'll need to make 'em!

    A plate with french fries.

    Table of Contents

    • The Best McDonald's French Fries
      • Ingredients
      • How to Make Mcdonald's French Fries
        • Step 1: Peel and Cut The Potatoes
        • Step 2: Brine The Potatoes
        • Step 3: Blanch The Fries
        • Step 4: Fry The French Fries
      • How to Store French Fries
        • How to Reheat French Fries
      • Wrapping It Up
    • More McDonald's Copycat Recipes
    • The BEST Homemade McDonald's French Fries Recipe
      • Ingredients
      • Instructions
      • Nutrition
      • Did you make this recipe?

    The Best McDonald's French Fries

    There's nothing better than a McDonald's french fry. I mean, Mcdonald's fries are just iconic, and they have to be the best french fries in the world.

    Well, instead of driving to McDonald's to get a taste of that french fry deliciousness, you can recreate them at home with this easy recipe! 

    And, let me tell ya, this copycat McDonald's french fries recipe is incredibly close to the real deal. It makes perfectly slim french fries that have that same crispiness and saltiness you'd expect them to have. They're seriously irresistible, and you'll be grabbing for more and more after each bite.

    By the way, if you want the recreate the full McDonald's experience at home, I highly recommend making these McDonalds chicken McNuggets to go with the fries. I mean, is there anything better than chicken nuggets and french fries? I certainly don't think so!

    And then, to make the meal even better, you can make these McDonalds chocolate chip cookies.

    A plate with a sandwich and a side of fries.

    Ingredients

    As I mentioned before, you'll only need a handful of ingredients to make these homemade McDonald's french fries. And, honestly, if you have potatoes then I can almost guarantee you have everything else at home to make 'em too.

    Anyway, here's what you'll need to make McDonald's french fries:

    • 1.5 lb. Russet potatoes
    • 3 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
    • Cold water
    • Oil, for frying
    • Sea salt, as desired

    See. It couldn't be simpler to make some McDonald's Fries at home, could it?!

    By the way, these french fries are super delicious on their own or with ketchup, but they're also terrific with some dipping sauces we have on the blog. So you might want to check out this Chick-Fil-A sauce, Wingstop ranch, McDonald's sweet and sour sauce, or big mac sauce. All of them pair with the fries really great!

    A plate with whole potatoes and three small bowls with salt, vinegar, and sugar.

    How to Make Mcdonald's French Fries

    Again, this McDonald's Fries recipe is so, so easy to make.

    With that said, it does require a little bit of prep work, but all of it is really a walk in the park!

    So, let's not waste another second and get into how to make McDonald's french fries at home!

    A cutting board with freshly cut potatoes into fries.

    Step 1: Peel and Cut The Potatoes

    First, take all of your potatoes and peel them with a veggie peeler.

    Then, you can cut the potatoes into thin fries and rinse them well with water. I like to cut my fries into just under a ½-inch thick, but you can cut them however you want.

    A bowl with brine and cut fries.

    Step 2: Brine The Potatoes

    So, now that the potatoes are good to go, you're going to make a cold brine. To do this, mix the cold water, sugar, and vinegar in a large bowl until they're well combined.

    Then, submerge the fries into the prepared brine, cover the bowl, and refrigerate it for 2-4 hours.

    A pan of hot oil with a single layer of cut fries frying.

    Step 3: Blanch The Fries

    After the fries have brined for a few hours, you can drain them and rinse them well. Then, place the fries on some paper towels and pat them until they're well dried.

    In the meantime, you'll want to heat 2-inches of oil in a deep skillet - or deep fryer - to 300°F (150°C) and then place a wire rack close by with paper towels underneath it. 

    Now, once the oil is heated you can add the cut fries to the hot oil. Just make sure they are in a single layer in the skillet and let them blanch for 5 minutes. Then, you can remove the fries with a slotted spoon - just to remove any excess oil - and then you can add them to the prepared wire rack to let them cool completely.

    Finally, just repeat this process until you have blanched all of the fries. Oh, by the way, you'll want to wait for atleast 10 seconds before adding a new batch of fries - just so that the oil can heat back up.

    A pan of hot oil with a single layer of cut fries refrying.

    Step 4: Fry The French Fries

    So, once the fries have completely cooled, you'll want to heat the same oil up to 400°F (200°C). 

    Next, when the oil is hot, carefully place the fully cooled potatoes back in the oil and fry until golden brown on all sides. Again, make sure the fries are in a single layer while you're doing this.

    Then, once the fries are well cooked, you can remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel-lined plate. Finally, once you've fried all of your copycat McDonald's fries to golden perfection, you can season them with as much sea salt as you want.

    Serve the fries warm, and enjoy!

    An overhead view of two plates, one with homemade french fries and another with fries and a sandwich on it. A small dipping cup with ketchup sits in the middle of it.

    How to Store French Fries

    This recipe for McDonald's french fries makes about 4 servings. Honestly, they're so addicting I doubt you'll have any of them leftover. But, if you do, you can store your leftover french fries in a shallow airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.

    With that said, the best way to store the leftover fries is in the freezer. I usually always double or triple this recipe when I make it so I can store a bunch of fries in the freezer for whenever the McDonald's fry cravings hit.

    So, to store them in the freezer, just let the fries cool completely and then transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then, after you've got them in a single layer on the sheet you can pop the fries in the freezer. Finally, once they're frozen, transfer the fries to a freezer-safe bag and you can store them in the freezer for 10-12 months. 

    A plate with fries.

    How to Reheat French Fries

    Now, if you store the fries, they're best enjoyed reheated and hot.

    With that said, if you're heating the french fries from the fridge, I recommend reheating them in the oven. Just place them on a baking sheet in a single layer and cook them at 425°F for 8-10 minutes - flipping the fries halfway through.

    For frozen fries, you can reheat them the same way in the oven but for a little longer. I recommend reheating the frozen french fries for about 15 minutes at 425°F.

    Alternatively, you can also reheat the fries in an air fryer and cook 'em at 400°F for about 3 minutes, give the air fryer basket a shake, and cook for another 3 minutes. With that said, if you're trying to reheat frozen french fries in the air fryer you'll want to do so at 400°F for about 6-8 minutes a side.

    An overhead view of a plate with french fries.

    Wrapping It Up

    Well, that's how to make Mcdonald's french fries at home!

    I know I'm biased, but I think these are the best homemade french fries that you'll ever make. They're just so crispy on the outside, soft inside, and perfectly salted.

    Gah, they're good.

    Honestly, everyone I've made them for just loves them and asks me to make them all the time.

    Anyway, I hope you like these Mcdonald's fries as much as I/we do at our house. As always, if you give this recipe a try, let me know how it goes in the comments below!

    More McDonald's Copycat Recipes

    If you enjoyed this McDonald's copycat fry recipe, we have a ton of others on the blog you can make next!

    Here are some more Mcdonald's copycat recipes to try next:

    • McDonalds spicy chicken McNuggets
    • McDonalds spicy chicken sandwich
    • McDonalds snack wraps
    • McDonalds egg McMuffin
    • McDonalds steak bagel

    Oh, and for more deliciousness, don't forget to follow us along on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram! We post new recipes on them every single day.

    Print

    The BEST Homemade McDonald's French Fries Recipe

    A plate with fries.
    Print Recipe

    ★★★★★

    5 from 4 reviews

    These McDonald's french fries taste just like the real deal! They're crispy on the outside yet tender inside and perfectly salty with an addictive flavor that'll keep you reaching for more. Oh, and the best part is you need just 4 ingredients are all you'll need to make 'em!

    • Author: Brendan Cunningham
    • Prep Time: 2 hours
    • Cook Time: 10 minutes
    • Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
    • Yield: 4 servings 1x
    • Category: Side
    • Method: Frying
    • Cuisine: McDonalds

    Ingredients

    Scale

    1.5 lb. Russet potatoes

    3 tbsp sugar

    1 tsp white wine vinegar

    Cold water

    Oil, for frying

    Sea salt, as desired

    Instructions

    1. Peel the potatoes with a veggie peeler.
    2. Cut the potatoes into thin fries, just under ½-inch. Rinse them well. 
    3. Mix cold water, sugar, and vinegar in a large bowl.
    4. Submerge the fries into the prepared brine. 
    5. Cover the fries and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
    6. Drain the fries and rinse them well. Place the fries on paper towels and pat dry them well.
    7. In the meantime, heat 2-inches of oil in a skillet to 300°F. 
    8. Add fries to the oil. Make sure they are in a single layer. Do this in batches and wait for 10 seconds before adding a new batch of fries, so the oil can heat up.
    9. Blanche the fries in oil for 5 minutes. Remove the fries with a slotted spoon and place them on a wire rack, lined with paper towels. 
    10. Cool the potatoes completely.
    11. Heat oil to 400°F. 
    12. Carefully place the cooled potatoes back in the oil and fry until golden brown.
    13. Remove the fries and place them on paper towels. Season the fries with sea salt, as the table salt has a tendency just to bounce off. The sea salt will stick to the French fries.
    14. Serve them warm.

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: 1 serving
    • Calories: 162
    • Fat: 3
    • Carbohydrates: 39
    • Protein: 3

    Keywords: mcdonald's french fries recipe, mcdonald's fries, mcdonald's fries recipe, mcdonalds french fries recipe, mcdonalds french fry recipe, mcdonalds french fries, original mcdonald's french fries recipe, how to make mcdonald's french fries,

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag us @ImHungryForThat — we can't wait to see what you've made!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Amanada Jeinken

      November 27, 2022 at 12:00 am

      Oh my god I am in love!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Ted

      April 24, 2023 at 3:30 pm

      These were damn good.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    3. Steph Marow

      May 12, 2023 at 5:17 pm

      I will make them again. The recipe was not hard and the fries were delicious.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    4. Naomi

      May 23, 2023 at 4:59 pm

      I can't get over how good these were! I cut them into thinner slices and they actually were like McDonalds!

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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