How To Reheat McDonald’s Fries

Out of all the leftover foods, french fries, such as ones from McDonald’s, are one of the most common for people to throw away. They just don’t taste good when they aren’t fresh! Right? Well, that’s not completely true. While french fries that are soggy and cold can be a bit of a hard sell, there are some simple and easy tricks for heating up your old McDonald’s french fries that can zap them back to life.

While heating french fries up in the oven or stove is the preferred option, there are even some easy ways that you can make french fries reheated in the microwave taste almost as good as new! Here are three simple methods for learning how to reheat McDonald’s fries in the oven, on the stove, or in the microwave. Stop wasting old french fries and start enjoying them!

Reheating McDonald’s French Fries in the Oven

While heating french fries up in the oven can be a bit of a hassle when compared to simply just throwing them in the microwave, they are going to turn out quite a bit better. These instructions can be used with either a conventional oven or a toaster oven. Toaster ovens are actually a better option because your old fries will turn out just a little bit crispier, but no all toaster ovens get as hot as conventional ovens so you might have to adjust the cooking time a little bit.

1. Begin by preheating your oven to a high temperature, 450 degrees Fahrenheit should do the trick.
2. Grab a baking pan and line it with aluminum foil. The aluminum foil makes it so that the french fries don’t start sticking to the baking pan as you’re heating them up
3. Take your fries and place them on the pan, spreading them out evenly. Make sure none of the french fries are covering any of the others as this will prevent the ones that are covered up from getting properly heated.
4. You may wish to add some extra salts and maybe some of your favorite spices to the french fries before you stick them in the oven. This is a great way to make your reheated french fries compete with the fresh ones, by giving them a little bit more flavor that you can’t get at McDonald’s
5. Once the oven has been preheated, put the pan into the oven and let it bake for about three minutes. Watch the fries closely to make sure that they aren’t getting burnt, as when they’re at such a high heat just a few seconds can make all the difference between crispy and black
6. After three minutes or so, pull the baking pan out of the oven and inspect the fries by moving them about with a spatula. Make sure none of them are sticking to the pan and make sure they’re nice and crispy. You may need to put the fries back in the oven for a minute or two.
7. Once the fries are crispy and have that traditional McDonalds’ glow back, it’s time to eat! Let them cool for a minute before serving because they are going to be scolding hot.

Reheating McDonald’s French Fries on the Stove

This method is arguably the best method as it’s closest to the method that was used to make the fries in the first place. With this method, you are pretty much refrying your McDonald’s french fries. This method involves using a pan with a little bit of oil and frying your old McDonald’s french fries until they’re nice and crispy, golden, and practically like new. Out of all the methods, this requires the most active work, but you’re going to be getting the closest thing to fresh fries available!

1. Measure two tablespoons of your favorite cooking oil (preferably an oil with a high smoking point such as canola, peanut, or coconut oil) into a non-stick pan. Turn the stove on to medium heat and allow the oil to get hot.
2. When the oil is thoroughly heated and before it starts smoking, pour your leftover McDonald’s french fries into the pan. With a spatula, evenly spread the fries and make sure they’re all thoroughly coated in the oil and all sides are heated. Don’t let them sit too long on one side as then parts are likely to get burnt. Slowly but surely toss the fries for about a minute.
3. After ensuring that all sides are thoroughly cooked and crispy, it’s time to let them cool. You can let the fries cool on a crisper tray so that the fries dry out nice and crispy and excess oil is given the chance to drip off. If you don’t have a crisper tray, you can do pretty much the same thing by allowing the fries to cool on a baking sheet or plate lined with paper towels. While they’re cooling down, feel free to spice them up a little bit just as we talked about in the oven reheating method.

Reheating McDonald’s French Fries in the Microwave

This is going to be the least satisfying method, but if you’re hard-pressed for time and just have to reheat those french fries as fast as possible, there are actually some easy steps you can take to get pretty good reheated McDonald’s fries out of the microwave. It’s not going to be perfect, but this is the best you’re going to be able to do unless you have the time to use the stovetop or oven.

1. Pour your fries out onto a microwave-safe plate covered in paper towels. Gently coat the old fries with about half a tablespoon of your favorite cooking oil (canola, peanut, or coconut oil are once again good choices). Make sure the fries are evenly coated.
2. Evenly space your fries on the plate, making sure they will all be thoroughly exposed.
3. Place your microwave-safe plate into the microwave and begin heating at intervals of 20 seconds. Check after each interval to see if the fries are done. It should only take a few times, but times may vary. Once done, let them cool for a second, add any spices you wish, and then eat!