Air Fryer Cajun Waffle Fries

I have been on the quest for the ultimate waffle fry cutting apparatus, and I think I finally found it!!  I had been doing research for a while on waffle fry cutting machines/mandolines, and I decided to give this Swissmar Borner waffle cutter mandoline a try.   I wanted something that wasn’t going to take a lot of space (especially since I own a mandoline already), and it was within my price range ($20).

For the actually slicing, I lowered the mandoline level to the second click (there are three total so you can achieve different heights of slicing), and cut the potatoes as if using a normal mandoline, but with every slice, rotating the potato 90 degrees so you get the criss-cross pattern.

The mandoline I bought did not come with a hand guard, so you need to be careful as you get to the second half of the potato.  I ended up poking the last bit of potato with a fork and using that to slide the potato, but I do think they sell the hand guard separately.

The air fryer that I have been using for the last 8 months is the Avalon Bay 3.7 quart air fryer.  This air fryer has been through some serious paces and has kept chugging along.  If you haven’t invested in an air fryer, I highly recommend one.  This one is no frills–one knob for temperature, one for time, and a drawer with basket–but I have found it to be excellent for all my air frying purposes.

If the spice mixture seems too spicy for your taste, you can never go wrong with a sprinkle of garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and cracked black pepper.  That is my go-to for any french fries when I don’t feel like making a spice mixture.

Instructions:

Wash and peel the potatoes (I used russet, but really, you can use whatever you have on hand).  The biggest factor is size of the potato, since you’ll want larger waffle slices.

Slice the potatoes carefully using the waffle cutter mandoline, rotating the potato 90 degrees after each cut.

Soak the potatoes in a bowl of water (fill until the slices are submerged) for about 10 minutes. This helps to remove extra starch and make your fries extra crispy.

While the potatoes are soaking, combine all the spices to make a Cajun-style spice mixture.

Turn your air fryer on to 375 degrees so it can preheat.

Drain the water, pat the potatoes dry with a lint-free towel or a few paper towels.

Drizzle the olive oil on the fries, tossing in the bowl or by hand until all the fries are coated.

Sprinkle the spice mixture over the fries until coated evenly to your preference.

Layer about half the fries in the air fryer so none are interlocked (if the criss-cross cuts happen to overlap, it will slow down your frying time).

Air fry for 15 minutes on one side.  Flip the fries with tongs and air fry for an additional 15 minutes.  Because all air fryers are a little different in heat distribution, continue checking the fries every couple minutes after the 30 minutes until desired crispiness and color.

Repeat with other half of potatoes.