The Unexpected Kitchen Tool That Makes Leftover French Fries Crispy Again

It's difficult to find fault with any kind of french fries. They're crispy, crunchy, salty, and delicious — so much so that you can turn just about anything into fries, including fruits and veggies. If french fries are a regular side dish in your cooking rotation at home, a waffle iron is the perfect tool for turning your soggy leftover fries into fresh, crispy spuds again.

Your waffle iron might be tucked away on a shelf, pulled out only for big weekend family breakfasts. But it's not just for breakfast anymore and it can make your leftover spuds extraordinary. Since a waffle iron generates an intense amount of heat, it revives your cold, leftover fries back to the crisp, crave-worthy side dish you know and love them to be while also transforming them into something new. 

All you need to do is spray your waffle iron with oil and cook your fries to your desired crispiness (about 10-15 minutes). By using a waffle iron as your vessel of choice, you can transform soggy, cold fries into a crisp, waffle-patterned potato dish that's crispy with deep pockets that are perfect for scooping up ketchup, mayo, or other condiments of choice. (We think the way you dip your fries says a lot about your personality.)

If you're the type of person who loves getting creative with leftovers, french fries give you plenty of options and a waffle iron is a solid choice for your equipment. Just as a panini press can give a sandwich the perfect crunch and texture, a waffle iron seems almost designed to revive fries. You get all the crunch and flavor you know and love in a brand new, pull apart format.

Other methods of reheating work too, but they can be more labor-intensive and may not give you your desired result. Refrying them can get messy and you may not have a deep fryer handy. You could simply throw them in the oven, but you may end up turning them into potato crisps that are plenty crunchy but have none of the lightness and fluffiness left in them. You can also try tossing them in your air fryer. This will get your fries good and crispy but cooking them too long can result in all crunch, and cooking results will vary depending on how full your air fryer basket is.