None of us wants to waste food. But that’s the case more often than not at our house when it comes to leftover French fries. We’ve just never been able to return them to that amazing crispy deliciousness that we enjoyed back at the restaurant the night before.

I was just sure there must be a way to salvage these things. So with some sleuthing around the Internet I first found I wasn’t the only one with this dilemma (there’s lots of advice out there on salvaging leftover French fries).

The number one piece of advice? Avoid microwaving them. We could certainly agree to that. Try as we might, they never turn out very good! The fries get hot, but they also get mushy and tasteless. So despite our efforts to avoid food waste, into the trash they would usually go.

But then I found www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com. It just happened she’d been dealing with the same issue recently and she actually figured out how to resurrect their leftover fries. Jillee claimed it “transformed those sad, leftover fries back into perfectly crispy and tasty fries!” Here’s her method:

1.

Start by adding a neutral-flavored cooking oil to the bottom of a large skillet, just enough to coat the bottom in a thin layer. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot.

2. When the oil is sufficiently hot, place the leftover fries in the pan in one layer. If you have more fries than will fit in one layer, reheat them in batches.

3.

When the bottoms are crispy and golden brown, flip the fries over and cook for another couple of minutes until they’re crispy and golden brown all over. Remove the fries from the pan and place them on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

4. Add salt and seasonings, if desired, and serve immediately with the dip of your choice!

How easy is that? Jillee concludes her tutorial by predicting no more leftover fries being thrown away anymore, ever!

It did sound easy and so we gave it a try. Her method worked so well that you would never have known they were leftovers. In fact, this technique is so effecctive that we’re now deliberately buying extra fries to bring home to cook up the next day.

Jillee concluded her advice by asking readers to share their approaches to giving new life to leftover fries. You might want to consider these ideas as well:

· “I put mine on a foil lined baking sheet in the toaster oven for a few minutes. It’s absolutely possible to overcook them so I stay close by. The oven or broiler work the same. No added oil or pan to clean and I think they taste the same as they did at the restaurant.” [We’ve tried that and haven’t had much success.]

• 
  “I also use the toaster oven method—no frying and no pans. But I like jazzing them up with a bit of garlic and Parmesan cheese.” [OK, maybe I’ll give it another shake.]

· “The number one way to reheat French fries (or pizza, for that matter) is on a pizza stone! Not only does your food come out perfectly crispy, there will be a puddle of grease that you would have eaten otherwise! The only thing that doesn’t come out well is waffle fries. They get too dry.”

So there we are. Now we know how to return one of America’s favorite side dishes, those incredible French fries, to that amazing crispy deliciousness that we enjoyed back at the restaurant the night before. Life is good—please pass the ketchup.