How to turn basic potatoes into crispy French Lyonnaise fries at home
By Dan Kauna, August 15, 2026In almost every home, weekend meals feel incomplete without a plate of hot potato fries. The usual recipe is simple: peel potatoes, cut them into long strips, drop them into hot oil, and deep-fry.
While deep-frying works, oil temperatures often drop mid-cook, leaving you with soggy chips. Trying out French-style Lyonnaise fries offers a way to fix this by combining a quick boil with shallow pan-frying.
Ditching deep oil for quick boiling and pan-frying
Instead of cutting raw potatoes into batons, Lyonnaise fries start by slicing round potato coins and parboiling them in salted water. This initial step softens the potato before it touches cooking fat.
Boiling relaxes the internal starches, ensuring the potatoes cook through evenly without burning on the outside.
After draining and drying the potato rounds, you move them to a wide pan with a small amount of oil or butter costing around Ksh50. Shallow pan-frying gives the flat sides of each potato coin direct contact with the pan.
This pan contact crisps the edges into a uniform golden crust while keeping the interior soft and light.
Sweet onions and fresh parsley for maximum flavour
What sets Lyonnaise fries apart is how onions cook directly alongside the potatoes. Standard fries usually rely on kachumbari or tomato sauce served on the side, but this pan method builds taste right in the skillet.
You slice two red onions into thin rings and cook them slowly over low heat with a bit of butter. As heat breaks down natural sugars in the onions, they turn soft, sweet, and brown.
When the potato coins are golden, you toss the caramelised onions back into the pan. A final spoon of butter binds the onion juices directly onto the crispy potato crust.
Top everything off with chopped fresh parsley for a clean herbal finish. For under Ksh200 in basic local ingredients, this simple pan trick brings restaurant quality straight to your family dinner table.