How to Prepare French Fries in a Convection Oven

Convection ovens use fans to circulate hot air throughout the interior of the oven to cook the food more thoroughly and uniformly. For this reason, the food also cooks more quickly, retaining more moisture and losing fewer nutrients. When you are using a convection oven, you can choose to cook the food for a shorter amount of time at the same temperature as a standard oven, or at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time.

A plate of cooked french fries. (Image: Thinkstock Images/Stockbyte/Getty Images)

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, which is about 75 degrees cooler than you would preheat a standard oven. Be sure to preheat the oven so that the food cooks properly and thoroughly.

Step 2

Use a baking sheet and spread the French fries in a single layer on the pan. Baking sheets are more effective in a convection oven because the heat circulates on the flat layer, while a deeper pan would block the heat. You also will not need to flip the fries in the convection oven as the heat is circulating and cooking the food thoroughly.

Step 3

Bake the fries for between 14 and 18 minutes. Check the French fries about five to 10 minutes before the suggested time frame. If you like your fries to be softer, you will want to take them out of the oven earlier, but if you want crispier fries, leave them in the oven past the suggested time frame.

Tip

Spray the pan with a nonstick spray so that the fries do not stick to the pan.

Try different types of salt, peppers and spices to season the fries to your liking.

Baking fries provides a healthier option than frying. You can make your fries even healthier by opting for homemade sweet potato french fries. As well, leaving the skin on will provide additional fiber and nutrients.