Frozen chunky chips in an air fryer
From frozen — the short answer
200°C (392°F) for 11–12 min
- For
- 250g in total, about 15mm at the thickest point, From frozen
- In
- Basket air fryer, single layer, pieces not touching
- Preheat
- Not needed
- Part way
- shake the basket at about 6 min
- Check
- Golden outside and floury inside
- Safety
- Food cooked from frozen must reach the same core temperature as the same food cooked fresh — the frozen centre is the last thing to get there. Full rule below.
Charted twenty degrees COOLER than thin frozen fries, which surprises everybody.
From frozen
Before anything else
From national food-safety authorities, not from us. These take precedence over any cooking time below.
Requirement — Food safety (microbiological)
Food cooked from frozen must reach the same core temperature as the same food cooked fresh — the frozen centre is the last thing to get there.
Target: 70°C in the thickest part.
How to tell, without a thermometer
- No ice or cold spot at the centre when the thickest piece is cut open
- Steaming hot throughout, tested in the middle rather than the edge
If it has not got there: Reduce the temperature by 10–20°C and give it longer. A lower set point lets the centre catch up before the surface passes the point of no return, and it is the single most useful adjustment for cooking from frozen.
Important: If the packaging says the product must be thawed before cooking, follow it. That instruction exists because the manufacturer has tested cooking it from frozen and it did not reach temperature reliably.
The quick answer
200°C (392°F) for 11–12 min
Quantity within the published 100-400g band.
- Assuming
- 250g in total, about 15mm at the thickest point, From frozen
- In
- Basket air fryer
- Loaded
- Single layer, pieces not touching
- Preheat
- Not needed
- Result
- Crisp outside, moist inside
Preparation
Straight from the freezer. No oil is added.
No oil needed.
How to load the basket
Single layer, pieces not touching. The reference condition. Air reaches every surface, and times are the shortest the food will achieve.
While it cooks
At about 6–6 minutes: Shake the basket
The manufacturer's own instruction.
How to tell it is done
- Golden outside and floury inside
- No icy centre
In a different appliance
Multicooker with air fry: 180°C for 15–18 min
Chip thickness, for a published 500g from frozen.
Where these figures came from — from frozen
- Applies to
- Specific to this model
- Why this rating
- A published row with a stated quantity band in grams, from the manufacturer's own manual for this model. The band is narrower than the same manufacturer's 4-litre machine, which is consistent with the smaller pot and is why the two are recorded separately rather than merged.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-13
What this does not cover
- Published by the manufacturer for this model. It is evidence about this appliance and is not general advice.
- This model is subject to an active fire-risk recall. The figure is recorded because it is evidence about published guidance; the appliance should not be used.
Sources (1)
Tower T17023 2.2 Litre Air Fryer — Safety and Instruction Manual (PDF)
RKW Ltd (Tower Housewares) — Manufacturer manual (United Kingdom)
Relied on for: The temperature, time and quantity for frozen chunky chips.
States this directly
Passage read and verified
Retrieved 2026-08-13 from argos-support.co.uk
Retrieved from Argos's manual library for Argos product 745/2194.
What usually goes wrong
Dark outside, floury and cool inside. A thick chip needs the heat to reach a centre that is much further from the surface, and 200°C darkens the outside before that happens — which is exactly why the published figure drops the temperature and adds time.
Running the appliance safely
These apply to every food and every air fryer, so they are here once rather than repeated under each state above. They come from Electrical Safety First, from UK product-safety notices and from the manufacturers’ own manuals.
- Plug an air fryer directly into a wall socket. Do not run one from an extension lead.
- An unusual smell, an unusual noise, or scorch marks on the plug mean stop using it and contact the manufacturer.
- Do not overfill. Food touching the heating element is a fire risk, not a cooking problem.
- White smoke from fatty food is usually normal. Black smoke means unplug it immediately.
- Do not leave an air fryer running unattended.
- Leave clear space above and around the appliance, and never cover the air intake or the outlet.
- Aim for a golden yellow colour or lighter on starchy foods such as chips and roast potatoes, rather than a darker brown.
- Buy from a reputable retailer rather than a third-party marketplace seller.
- Clean the drawer, the plate and the element after use. Accumulated grease is what smokes, and then what burns.
- Register the appliance with its manufacturer. It is how a recall reaches you.
- Do not rely on the appliance's own thermal protection. A UK recall was issued because it did not operate.
Each links to its own page, with what it means in practice, what to do if it has already happened, and the source it comes from. Every safety rule AirfryerHQ holds.
Why potato behaves this way
A potato is mostly water held in a starch matrix. Heat gelatinises the starch and drives water out of the surface layer; when that dehydrated layer is thin, dry and hot enough it becomes crisp. The whole game is getting water away from the surface faster than it arrives from inside, which is why crowding a basket produces soggy chips — the escaping steam has nowhere to go and condenses back onto the food. Sugar content decides browning speed, which is why some potatoes darken far faster than others at the same setting.
Where to go from here
The pages that answer the questions this one tends to raise.
- Using a thermometer, and where to put itThe times above are for a piece that is not the one you are holding. This measures yours — and it is the single change that fixes most dry frozen chunky chips.
- How food actually gets crispyWhy patting it dry, spacing it out and a little oil are all the same instruction — so you can apply it when a page runs out.
- Cooking from frozenUsually cooler and longer than the same food fresh, and never worked out from the fresh figure.
- Why published timings differIf another chart says something else, this is usually why — and which one to believe.
Easily confused with
- Frozen chips — A different cooking problem with a different answer.
- Potato wedges — A different cooking problem with a different answer.