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Welcome to your foolproof guide for how to make Curly Fries! With the help of my secret weapon, a spiralizer, turn regular or sweet potatoes into crispy homemade French fries just like the fast food menu staple.
Growing up in the Midwest, I had a distinct fast-food French fry hierarchy. Coming in third: Wendy’s skin-on fries. Second place goes to the beloved crunchy sticks, McDonald’s fries. And topping them all to earn the first place status in my heart (and stomach)? Arby’s curly fries, seasoned and oh-so-crunchy.
Delivering maximum surface area to amp up the crunch factor, plus infused with far more flavor than the plain-old-salt-only fries, these homemade curly fries deliver all the cravability I remember from the Arby’s order, just minus the trip to the drive-through or restaurant counter.
You can use a spiralizer for many tasks; making zucchini noodles or turning cabbage into perfect-for-slaw slices. But my favorite use for the best spiralizer (based on many trials in our test kitchen), this OXO model, is to create a batch of spiralized potatoes or sweet potatoes for fries. Namely, these zesty, crunchy Arby’s copycat curly fries.
Folks on Team Regular Fries: don’t miss my Homemade French Fries OR my obsessive, personally-researched-and-tested tome on The Best French Fry Cutter. But chances are the curly fry recipe below is about to convince you to switch sides!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Equipment and ingredient notes
- Spiralizer: As I mentioned, I swear by my OXO spiralizer, but any sturdy countertop model will do. For this recipe, look for a 1/4-inch (0.64 cm) blade, sometimes called the “fettuccine” blade.
- Thermometer: Use a digital thermometer to help dial in the oil temperature.
- Russet potatoes: Starchy Russets and Idaho potatoes work well for curly fries. Feel free to leave the skin on, just like Arby’s does (or peel if desired). Either way, give it a good scrub and trim the ends so the potato is stabilized in the spiralizer. Or substitute sweet potatoes.
- Vegetable or canola oil: Opt for a neutral oil with a high smoke point, like canola, vegetable, peanut, or grapeseed for the best frying medium.
Step-by-step instructions
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up, then top with a wire rack. Line a second baking sheet with paper towels. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Fit the spiralizer with a 1/4-inch (0.64 cm) blade. Fit the trimmed potato into the spiralizer, then spiralize the potato completely. Cut any very long spirals into shorter pieces.
- Transfer the spiralized potatoes to a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak the potatoes in cold water for 15 to 30 minutes (the longer the better).
- For deep-frying, In a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat, add 1 ½ to 2 inches of oil and heat to a temp of 375 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 ½ teaspoons pepper. Add 1 cup of water and whisk until a batter forms, adding more water as necessary for a smooth consistency.
- Drain the fries well in a colander, then transfer a single layer on a kitchen towel to remove excess water. Working in small batches, dredge the fries in the batter, turning until well-coated, then place on wire rack over the rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining fries.
- Fry in batches until the potatoes are golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes of total cook time (depending on the size of the batch and how consistent the oil temperature is).
- Immediately transfer to baking sheet lined with paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Transfer the cooked curly fries to the oven to keep warm. Return the oil to 375 degrees and repeat with the remaining curly fries.
Do you need a spiralizer?
To make restaurant-quality curly fries, I recommend using a spiralizer for the perfect curly Qs! The OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Tabletop Spiralizer is the best spiralizer I’ve ever used because it stays in place and is tough enough to take on sturdy vegetables like potatoes. It’s what I use in my own kitchen, and it’s also great for zoodles and other vegetable noodles. You can buy the OXO spiralizer for $44.40 on Amazon.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: My Homemade Curly Fries recipe makes four generous 2-cup side dish servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The easiest way to reheat curly fries is in an air fryer (an oven works, too).
- Make ahead: The potatoes can be spiralized and stored in water up to 24 hours in advance.
- Spices: We think the spice blend in the recipe card mostly closely matches the taste of Arby’s seasoned curly fries. But you are welcome to adjust as you see fit! Cumin tastes good in on the fries, if you love that flavor. Or, dial it all back and start with just a teaspoon garlic powder and a teaspoon onion powder.
- Frying safety: Use a pot that’s large enough for the oil and potatoes. Be sure to allow space on top of the pot for oil to bubble up. You don’t want it to boil over.
- Dipping sauces: Dunk your Curly Fries in ketchup, homemade ranch dressing, or even barbecue sauce. Whatever you love!
Frequently Asked Questions
This helps remove excess starch prior to frying so you’re left with crispier results. Soaking the fries also prevents discoloration as well. Allow them to soak for ideally 30 minutes (if you’re short on time, as little as 10 minutes will make a big difference, however). Use a clean kitchen towel to dry them well before coating them in the batter.
The actual frying time depends on how much your oil temperature drops between batches. It might take anywhere from 5 minutes to 10 minutes to fry your potatoes to crisp, lightly browned spirals during the later batches. Aim to keep the temperature around 375 degrees for the most predictable results. At or around that temperature, your curly fries will likely be done in 4 to 5 minutes per batch.
Before you start frying, line a sheet pan with paper towels or a wire rack (this will help oil from pooling below the cooked fries). Once each batch is golden brown, use a stainless steel spider or similar heat-safe tool to remove the fries from the hot oil. Shake off the excess oil over the pan, then transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Season immediately with salt and pop the pan in the oven to keep warm and crispy.
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Curly Fries
Equipment
- Spiralizer (This one is my long-time favorite, see note 1)
- Instant Read Thermometer (I've been using this thermometer since 2003, see note 2)
Ingredients
- 1 large russet potato about 1 pound, scrubbed, unpeeled, ends trimmed (see note 3)
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups water plus more, for soaking
- 28 ounces vegetable oil or canola oil, plus more, for frying (see note 4)
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy clean up, then top with a wire rack. Line a second baking sheet with paper towels. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- Fit the spiralizer with a 1/4-inch (0.64 cm) blade. Fit the trimmed potato into the spiralizer, then spiralize the potato completely. Cut any very long spirals into shorter pieces.
- Transfer the spiralized potatoes to a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak the potatoes in cold water for 15 to 30 minutes (the longer the better).
- In a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium-high heat, add 1 ½ to 2-inches of oil and heat to 375 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 ½ teaspoons pepper. Add 1 cup of water and whisk until a batter forms, adding more water as necessary for a smooth consistency.
- Working in small batches, dry the fries on a kitchen towel to remove excess water. Dredge the fries in the batter, turning until well-coated, then place on wire rack over the rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining fries.
- Fry in batches until the potatoes are golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes (depending on the size of the batch and how consistent the oil temperature is). Immediately transfer to baking sheet lined with paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
- Transfer the cooked curly fries to the oven to keep warm. Return the oil to 375 degrees and repeat with the remaining curly fries.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Spiralizer: As I mentioned, I swear by my OXO spiralizer, but any sturdy countertop model will do. For this recipe, look for a 1/4-inch (0.64 cm) blade, sometimes called the “fettuccine” blade.
- Thermometer: Use a digital thermometer to help dial in the oil temperature.
- Russet potatoes: Starchy Russets and Idaho potatoes work well for curly fries. Feel free to leave the skin on, just like Arby’s does (or peel if desired). Either way, give it a good scrub and trim the ends so the potato is stabilized in the spiralizer. Or substitute sweet potatoes.
- Vegetable or canola oil: Opt for a neutral oil with a high smoke point, like canola, vegetable, peanut, or grapeseed for the best frying medium.
- Yield: My Homemade Curly Fries recipe makes four generous 2-cup side dish servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The easiest way to reheat curly fries is in an air fryer (an oven works, too).
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
I really like curly fries.
That’s great, Deez! I hope you love these. Please let me know if you have any questions about making them, I’m happy to help! – Meggan
We’d get these from the food trucks at blues and jazz festivals in Kansas City. We liked them so much that I bought a spiralizer just for the purpose although there are plenty of other things it’s useful for. A couple of suggestions:
1. Upon removing the fries from the cooker or pan, place them on a deep-fry draining rack over the paper-towel-lined sheet pan; they’ll be less oily that way.
2. You might also consider adding a little baking powder to the batter. It’ll give you a crisper product with less tendency to soak up the oil.
From a 30+ year veteran of annual fish fries.
I also love Arby’s curly fries! This recipe seems perfect. Can they be baked instead of fried? If so, what instructions do you recommend?
Hi Rachel! Thank you so much for your comment! I haven’t tried it myself, but I don’t see why not. I would bake them in a 425 degree oven, about 20 minutes. I would remove any fries that have crisped up, stir the remaining and continue cooking in 5 minute intervals until they are done. Hope this helps! – Meggan