Baked Garlic Herb Fries with Avocado Ranch

These Baked Garlic Herb Fries are the perfect easy side dish! They’re extra crispy, loaded with garlic herb goodness and dipped in a refreshing avocado ranch!

This post was originally published in April 2019 – I’ve since updated the photos!

French fries have, and probably always will be, my weakness. There is just something about going out to a restaurant and eating a big batch of fresh, crispy, golden brown fries smothered in salt, grease and ketchup (or ranch because I literally put ranch on everything) that makes my heart soar.

So when I figured out a few years ago when you could actually bake your fries at home and you could produce the same delicious result sans the grease and additional health benefits I WAS SOLD. 

Why You’ll Love These Fries 

My husband and I make homemade fries literally every week to accompany our Easy Black Bean Burgers. They’re easy, delicious, and make you get that feeling like you’re actually out at a restaurant but you’re actually staying at home saving a ton of money. Win win!

These take “baked fries” to a completely different level! Not only are they super crispy, but they’re also tossed in a garlic butter sauce with fresh herbs. They go from “meh” to OH MY GOSH SKIP THE PAPER TOWELS I’M LICKING MY FINGERS CLEAN WITH EVERY BITE.

The garlic butter sauce is my love language. The herbs add a necessary freshness that coats the crispy potatoes. Oh, and the shredded parmesan on top is equivalent to the cherry on top on the sundae!

Oh, and did I mention that they’re meant to be dipped in the most amazing avocado ranch?!

You guys know how much I love ranch. This particularly ranch is particularly creamy, smooth, tangy, cooling and so refreshing. Baked Garlic Herb Fries and Avocado Ranch is like, the new Peanut Butter and Jelly. At least in my mind – ha!

So many people are afraid to bake their fries because they think they won’t be as crispy or they’ll just turn out super soggy and underdone. Look below for some life changing tips for homemade fries!

Keys to Crispy Baked Fries:

• cut them super thinly – almost like shoestring fries
• once you’re done cutting them, dry them off as good as you can with a paper towel.
• toss them in oil and salt and pepper in a large bowl prior to laying them on the baking sheet.
• make sure they aren’t touching on the baking sheet.
• individually turn them using tongs halfway during the baking process.

So now that you know how to make delicious homemade baked fries – let’s get into how to make this recipe!

Ingredients You Need:

• Large russet potatoes
• Minced garlic
• Salted butter
• Fresh parsley
• Fresh garlic 
• Olive oil, salt and pepper
• Avocado
• Mayonnaise
• Whole milk
• Spices (garlic, salt, pepper, oregano)

How to Make the BEST Baked Fries:

Preheat the oven to 450. Thoroughly wash the potatoes. Dry them off with a paper towel prior to cutting.

The best way I achieved the shoestring fry was this: Cut the potatoes in half longways. Cut the half you just cut into half again. Slice the fries long ways and then chop the fry you just sliced in half AGAIN. This should get you the long, thin shoestring fry you want that will crisp up.

Once the fries are chopped, dry them thoroughly with a paper towel! Add them to a large bowl. Toss with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and at least ½ tsp of salt along with cracked pepper. Toss around with your hands to make sure they are fully coated.

Place them in one layer on the baking sheet, side by side, making sure they aren’t touching each other! This is extremely important to achieve that crispiness that we’re hoping for. You may need to separate them onto 2 baking sheets depending on how big baking sheets you have.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Take them out and flip them individually and roast for another 15 minutes – keeping an eye on them.

While this is baking, make your avocado ranch! To a food processor, add ½ of a ripe avocado, about 4 tbsp of mayonnaise, 2 tbsp of milk and spices of your choice! I used about 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp oregano, ¼ tsp salt and a crack of black pepper. Pulse until it’s blended and super smooth. If it’s too thick, add a splash more of milk to thin it out! It should be smooth, creamy and delicious.

During the last 10 minutes of the baking process, mince 3 large cloves of garlic very finely. In addition, roughly chop about ¼ cup of fresh parsley.

In a non-stick skillet, melt 1 tbsp of butter on medium heat. Once melted, add in your minced garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes, continually stirring it around and making sure it doesn’t burn, which it can quite easily! You want the garlic to just become fragrant before taking it off the heat.

By now, your fries should be done baking. Place them back in the large bowl from earlier. Pour the fresh garlic/butter mixture over the fries as well as the fresh parsley and toss them. Grate some fresh parmesan on top of them and add a generous pinch of salt if needed.

Eat while hot and maybe also have a cold beverage and definitely dip these in the avocado ranch but most importantly, ENJOY!

Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few more you might like:

Loaded Southwestern Sweet Potato Fries

Rosemary Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes

Crispy Cajun Sweet Potato Fries

Cheesy Potatoes

Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie