What Is The Best Oil For Frying Frozen French Fries?

Last Updated on September 12, 2024 by Shari Mason

Having the perfect plate of extra crispy French fries can be a challenging feat. Not to mention, the dilemma of choosing between affordable and healthy cooking oils with high smoke points.

The smoking point is the temperature at that cooking oils start to burn. Burned oils could affect the texture and flavor of our fries.

But fret not. We’ll tell you what is the best oil for frying frozen French fries. Keep scrolling to find out.

Top 8 Oils For Frying Frozen French Fries

1. Canola Oil

Canola oil is one of the most commonly used blends of vegetable oils for frying because its highest smoke points are at 468° F.

It is also a great choice for frying frozen French fries because it can take high temperatures without altering the flavor of the fries.

Using canola for frying chicken and fries could add crispness to the texture. But this cooking oil can only be used once. After frying, make sure to discard the excess oil or leftover oil.

Read: How Long Do French Fries Last In The Fridge?

2. Sunflower Oil

The sunflower oil also has a very high smoking point at 450° F. This expensive cooking oil is rich and antioxidant, like Vitamin E, and contains healthy fats.

Using this sunflower oil will add the nutty flavor of seed to your fries because it is not flavorless and has a detectable taste.

It is a delicate cooking oil that must be stored in a cool, dark place and can only be used once a year.

Read: What Kind Of Oil And Vinegar Does Subway Use?

3. Corn Oil

Corn oil is not only affordable and chosen by many food institutions but also one of the healthiest cooking oils during the transition to healthy oils in 1990s Fast-Food Restaurants. [1] 

Corn oil is flavorless and would not affect the flavor of your French if you use this for frying. It has the same very high smoking point as Sun Flower Oil at 450° F.

This oil needs to be refrigerated because it has high polyunsaturated fat that could easily deteriorate at room temperature.

Read: What Oil Does Popeye’s Use To Fry Their Chicken?

4. Refined Peanut Oil

Peanut oil is a healthier cooking option because it has many different nutritional benefits, making it the popular choice for making medicines.

It also has a very high smoke point at 450° F and is an ideal cooking oil for a deep fryer. You can also use this to cook frozen French fries or make popcorn because it can hold very high heat.

But because it is made of peanuts, those who are allergic to peanuts have to avoid using it as cooking oil.

Read: Do You Season Fries Before Or After Frying?

5. Vegetable Oil

Vegetable oil is the most ordinary oil among all cooking oils. This soybean oil is versatile and can be used for baking, frying, and sauteing.

This inexpensive oil is a blend of hydrogenated soybean oil and refined oils. It also has a high smoke point that begins to burn at 400° F.

It is also tasteless and won’t affect your food even if you use it on deep fryers for your frozen French fries.

6. Rice Bran Oil

Rice Bran Oil holds the highest smoke point on our list. This cooking oil starts to burn at 490° F and is similar to Avocado Oil. It is great for stir-frying and best for salad dressing for its nutty flavor.

The hot oil of rice barn could make your fries crispier, but because of its expensive fries, it is an impractical deep fryer oil choice.

You can mix Rice Bran oil with peanut oil or vegetable for additional antioxidants and nutritional benefits.

Read: How To Reheat McDonald’s Fries?

7. Coconut Oil

Refined coconut oil starts to burn at 400° F, while unrefined or VCO has a smoke point of 350°.

The refined version of this oil has a neutral flavor and has high fat-saturated content, making it easier to get solid at room temperature.

This oil is ideal for baking goods and can be used in frying French fries or as spray oil for baking russet potatoes.

8. Tallow 

Tallow is made of natural fat from a rendered form of mutton or beef fat. Although it is made of cow lard, this cooking oil is one of the healthier options for frying and adds a natural beef flavor to food.

It has a high smoke point of 400° F. It is solid at room temperature but melts easily in contact to heat. Because of its natural flavor, a famous food chain uses it as a cooking oil to fill its deep fryer.

Factors to Consider

High Smoke Point

A higher smoke point is important when frying french fries. Using lower smoking point cooking oils might get your food easily burned at a high temperature and release free radicals that could affect the flavor.

Because the hot oil has broken down, the frying time of your frozen potato fries will be ruined, resulting in soggy and bitter fries.

Neutral Flavored Oil

Neutral flavored or tasteless oil is a must when making french fries. Choose flavorless cooking oils if you don’t want to add taste to your fries and want typical potato fries.

Cooking oils like peanut and sunflower oil might add a nutty flavor to your fries.

Frozen potato fries absorb oil to cook through, and using flavored oil might affect the natural taste and texture of your fries.

Economical 

Using expensive cooking oils to fill your deep fryer sounds impractical, especially if you’re frying French fries at home to satisfy your cravings.

There are economical but healthier cooking oil options that could help satisfy your crispy fries cravings and your budget.

What is The Healthiest Oil To Fry French Fries?

The healthiest oil to fry French fries is Tallow oil or lard. This is because it contains high saturated fat and monosaturated fat. 

Oils with high free fatty acid content are resistant to extreme heat and are made of natural fat. [2] 

VCO is also a good choice because its high saturated fat content makes it stable and doesn’t change easily during frying, even at 365° F.

Should You Thaw Frozen Fries Before Deep-Frying?

No, you shouldn’t thaw frozen potato fries before frying because they might get soggy and lose their crispiness after cooking. 

Thawed French fries in the fryer is a common mistake for some people. 

If you thaw frozen fries, the ice covering them melts and gets absorbed by the fries, resulting in a soggy texture.

Deep frying frozen potato fries or fried foods is a technique to get the super crispy fries that most of us crave.

FAQs

Can you use olive oil for frying frozen french fries?

No, you can’t use olive oil for frying frozen French fries because of its low smoke point of 374° F.

Extra virgin olive oil might start to burn before the frozen potato fries reach the full frying process, resulting in soggy fries.

But if air frying at an air fryer, you can spray light olive oil on the cooking basket of the air fryer before putting your frozen potato fries.

What oil does McDonald’s use for french fries?

The oil that Mcdonald’s use for cooking french fries is a canola-blend oil.

Can you oil fry frozen french fries?

Yes, you can oil-fry frozen French fries and double-fry them on your frying pan. Then remove when golden brown. Place the fries on layered paper towels for excess oil absorption.

The maximum useful cooking temperature for cooking frozen French fries is 500° F. Hot oil seals the surface of frozen fries, making them soft on the inside but crispy on the outside.

In Conclusion

We conclude the best oil for frying frozen French fries is Canola oil. It has a high smoke point of 468° F that could deep fry to perfection any frozen fried foods.

Canola oil is also flavorless and the cheapest among other oils, making it accessible and affordable to most consumers for their homemade french fries.

All cooking oils on the list are great options for frying crispy frozen French fries, so it basically depends on your preference.

References:

1. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-16-fo-688-story.html
2. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/healthiest-oil-for-deep-frying#animal-fats