How to reheat french fries in the microwave?
There is no denying the fact that French fries are one of the most loved foods, especially in the United States. Many takeout options come with fries, and cooking some at home is easy and delicious.
A lot of people don’t bother with day-old fries as they never seem to heat up properly. But leftover fries can be the perfect snack for any time of the day, but you just have to know how to reheat them properly.
When you have a sudden craving for French fries and have some left over in the fridge, you don’t want to have to wait ages for the oven to heat up, or dirty more dishes than necessary in the kitchen.
If you want to make it quick and easy, you can always give your leftover fries a quick “shoe.”
How do you reheat French fries in the microwave?
To reheat fries in the microwave, let them come to room temperature first, then layer the fries on paper and reheat in 20-second intervals. Add some extra moisture so they don’t dry out. You can also use a microwave crisper plate to get them crispy again.
Whether or not you have a crisp tray, you can reheat fries in the microwave in no time.
Reheat fries in the microwave
You’ll need to take a few steps to make sure your fries still taste good when reheated in the microwave, and aren’t too soggy or dry.
When reheating fries in the microwave, you need to add a little more moisture. In the case of French fries, you must do it with olive oil.
Drizzling a bit of olive oil over your fries before microwaving them will give them a better chance of being crisp rather than soggy.
Olive oil is the key to preventing chips from coming out soggy from the microwave. You can also use vegetable oil if you don’t have olive oil.
Here’s how to reheat French fries in the microwave:
- Take the fries out of the fridge and let them rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Place two or three paper towels on a microwave-safe plate.
- Place the fries on the paper towels, but be sure to spread them out so they are not touching or overlapping.
- Drizzle a little olive oil or vegetable oil over the fries, just enough to give them a light coating.
- Place the plate with the fries in the microwave and heat them on full power for 20 seconds at a time until they reach the right temperature.
- Once heated to the right temperature, remove the fries from the microwave, remove the kitchen paper, and allow them to cool before eating.
Using the microwave to reheat fries is the fastest way to do it. You don’t have to wait for anything to preheat, and you can leave the fries in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up.
The only problem with using the microwave is that the fries can get soggy if you don’t cook them right.
However, simply drizzling a little olive oil and laying the fries flat on a paper towel-lined plate is enough to make them as delicious as possible.
Microwave Crispy Trays
The answer to getting crispy fries in the microwave is to use microwave crisper plates.
Microwave crispers are specifically designed to help crisp the exterior of food when cooking or reheating in the microwave.
This avoids the usual mushy, mushy food that you get when using the microwave.
Using a microwave crisper tray will give your fries a crisp, which makes them taste much better. The trays heat the food from the bottom, which helps to crisp it up.
Different microwave crisp trays have their own instructions on how to use them for best results, but most work the same.
With a few variations of the crisp tray you use, you can follow these steps to have crispy microwave reheated French fries in no time:
- Take the fries out of the fridge.
- Preheat the chip pan in the microwave as directed, but this is usually about a 3-4 minute preheat. Preheating the chip tray helps transfer heat directly to the outside of the fries, making them crispier while the rest of the fries heat through.
- Arrange the fries in a single layer on the crisper tray, leaving space between each one if possible. You may need to make two or more batches, depending on the amount of fries you are heating and the size of your microwave and crisper tray.
- Drizzle a little olive or vegetable oil over the fries, but just a little, you don’t want to soak them in oil.
- Microwave the fries for about 30 seconds before checking. If they start to get crunchy, turn them over and repeat the operation. The side of the fries that touches the crisp tray will brown and crisp, so you may need to flip them several times to get them crisp all over.
- Use the crisper tray handle or an oven mitt to remove the crisper tray from the microwave once the potatoes are done. Allow to cool slightly, then transfer to a plate to enjoy.
Crisper trays are the easy answer to reheating fries in the microwave, without worrying about getting too soft.
Most of us prefer not to eat soft, soggy fries, but we don’t have the right tools to quickly heat up fries without making them mushy.
The French Fry Pan works with a preheat, so once you place the fries on the pan, the heat is transferred to the fries to keep them crispy, while the microwave continues to do the standard reheat throughout the potatoes.
Some crispy fries come with grooves, holes, or even a grill shape.
The air pockets that form between the fries and the crisper plate create an effect similar to grilling, which concentrates a more intense heat on the surface of the food instead of an even heat that sinks into the center of the fries.
Another option you have with a crisper tray is to use one with a lid. This allows the fries to cook using only the heat generated by the crisper, and without the energy of the microwave.
This is best suited for very thin fries that do not need to be overheated throughout. French fries heat up quickly and easily, and are crispy.
How long can you keep French fries before reheating them?
Like all foods, French fries can only be kept in the fridge for a certain amount of time before they are unsafe to eat.
When stored in the refrigerator, French fries should be stored in a shallow, airtight container. They can also be well wrapped in plastic or aluminum foil.
If stored correctly in this way, French fries can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Once the French fries are reheated, you should not reheat them again. There is a risk of bacteria growing, no matter how hot you reheat them in the microwave.
To be on the safe side, keep the fries in the fridge, well stored, for a maximum of 5 days, and only refry them once.
Related questions
What is the best way to reheat French fries?
The best way to reheat French fries would be in the oven.
However, this takes considerably longer. You can have your fries piping hot and eat them with a microwave in the same time it would have taken you to preheat the oven.
Using a fry pan allows you to have your fries as crispy as they would be by reheating them in the oven, and keep them heating, but in a fraction of the time.
Why do cold fries taste different?
Temperature plays an important role in the taste of food. The flavor of the chips changes when they cool down, and when they get hotter, the flavors intensify.
Can I reheat fries to go?
Takeout French fries can be reheated just like regular fries.
Add a little olive oil to the fries if you microwave them, but be sure to brush off any excess oil so they don’t get too soggy, and place kitchen paper under the fries to soak up the oil.
Remember that you can’t be too sure about the age or handling of take-out fries, so don’t store them as long as you’ve cooked yourself.
Reheat fries in the microwave
Using a crisp tray, you can reheat fries in the microwave to keep them that delicious crunch. If you don’t have a crisping tray, you can reheat the fries using the microwave, a little olive oil, and some paper towels.
This simple method allows you to quickly reheat fries without having to worry about preheating anything, and have them ready to eat in less than a minute.