How to Make Curly Fries Using a Spiralizer
Updated: Jul. 11, 2022
All it takes is a spiralizer and a potato!
When I brought home this spiralizer, my teenage son laughed and started pointing at various other gadgets I’d purchased over the years, only to come to discover that the best way to make, say, a cherry tart isn’t with a pastry tart maker, but with a regular tart pan and a great cherry tart recipe. But then I used the spiralizer to whip up a crispy batch of homemade curly fries. That’s when the young know-it-all in my house had to admit he was quite off base!
Deep-Fried vs. Baked Curly Fries
First things first: if you want your homemade curly fries to turn out just like the ones you get Arby’s, you’ll want to go with deep frying as your mode of cooking. Before you get started, please check out this guide for how to deep fry because it’s really useful (especially the thing about water and oil not mixing…you don’t have to tell me twice).
If you just can’t see yourself deep-frying your curly fries, then by all means, you can bake ’em. Preheat your oven to 450°!
Pro Tip: The important thing is to decide how you’ll cook the fries before you take your spiralizer to a potato. You don’t want your prepped potatoes sitting for too long before you cook them because they start turning brown pretty quickly.
How to Make Curly Fries with a Spiralizer
Wash a nicely sized russet potato (the bigger the better so that you can get as many fries as possible out of a single potato). Leave the skin on because it has all the potato’s nutrients. Using a medium-sized spiralizer plate (not the skinny spaghetti size, but slightly larger…you know, curly fries size!), spiralize that potato, catching it in a bowl.
Snip the spirals to manageable size
What you’ll likely end up with is a couple of super-long curly strands of potato. You’ll want to snip them into several-inch-long pieces. You’ll also end up with some tiny crescent-shaped potato pieces, which fry up nicely too. Fill the potato bowl with water. The water will absorb the surface-starch, which is what would otherwise turn your prepped potatoes brown.
Heat your oil
I’d like to suggest my own personal fries-friendly blend of oil: 1/3 corn/canola oil, 1/3 olive oil and 1/3 peanut oil. This combo cooks the fries effectively while imbuing them with a subtle flavor that I believe requires no salt (although I use salt just the same because…fries). See all our recommended oils for deep frying.
Pro Tip: Plan to bake instead? Drizzle fries with olive oil; then sprinkle with your seasoning. Toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer on baking pans coated with cooking spray. Bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned, turning once.
Fry in small batches
You don’t want to crowd the oil because that can interfere with the golden-brown color you’re probably looking for. To make life easier, use a basket (or a strainer, if you don’t have a fries basket). Use tongs to shift them around once they start turning brown. It should take about 10 minutes for your fries to get golden and crispy. At that point, take them out and drain them on paper towels.
Salt/season while they’re still warm
Your seasoning will stick better while your curly fries are still warm. Also, go ahead and season them while they’re draining because that will save you on clean-up. In addition to good ol’ kosher salt, here are some seasonings you can consider:
Enjoy your golden-brown goodness! If all my spiralizer were capable of making were curly fries, I’d say it was well worth the price (under $40) and the space it takes up (about a foot of horizontal cabinet space).
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I can never get enough of this baked sweet potato fries recipe! Even though my grocery store sells them in the frozen foods section, I still love to pull them out of my garden and chop them up fresh! —Amber Massey, Argyle, Texas
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My husband and two grown sons really enjoy these fun nachos—they can devour a platter of them in no time. They're also fun to make when friends come over. —Debra Morgan, Idaho Falls, Idaho
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I love Reubens, so I turned the classic sandwich into a fun appetizer with corned beef and sauerkraut on waffle fries. —Gloria Bradley, Naperville, Illinois
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I taught my nieces to make these easy, cheesy oven-baked potatoes. When the whole family comes over, we triple the recipe—and have no leftovers. —Ann Brown, Niles, MI
