Loaded Cheese Fries
The ultimate snack to share with friends, perfect for game day, or to enjoy while binging your favorite series!
A big pile of crispy french fries smothered in melty cheese and bacon and topped with green onion and your fave toppings!
Serve these fries with sour cream and homemade ranch for dipping!
There’s just something about a big pile of cheesy fries. Perfect for snacking on during the big game or for casual nights when you just want something to snack on with friends.
And these loaded fries are perfect for tv night too! If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan you’ve likely heard that The Rings of Power (which premieres on my birthday, September 2!) is coming out on Amazon. We are excited to have collaborated with Watch Party Network for this “watch party” snack!
Sam Gamgee famously said “PO-TAY-TOES! Boil ‘em. Mash ‘em. Stick ‘em in a stew. Lovely big golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish…. Even you couldn’t say no to that.” We’re pretty sure he would love these fries too (bonus points, swap the fries for onion rings and make some Loaded Lord of the Onion Rings).
Ingredients for Cheese Fries
French Fries – To make cheese fries you’ll need fries of course! You can make them from scratch (check the notes of the recipe) or use frozen fries for a faster snack.
We find thicker steak fries, crinkle fries, or even wedges work well and hold up to the toppings. Make them in the air fryer or try oven-baked fries. Season them with kosher salt & pepper.
Cheese – We choose shredded cheese over cheese sauce because we find the fries don’t get soggy this way.
Shredded cheddar or a shredded cheddar mozzarella cheese blend is great on fries. For most recipes, I recommend that you shred your own cheese but this is one place (along with nachos) where the bagged shredded cheeses work well!
Bacon – Everything is better with bacon, including cheese fries! If you want to fry up some bacon and crumble it on top, that works well but real bacon bits (or precooked) works just as well too!
Other Toppings – Green onions are a favorite to sprinkle on cheese fries (reminiscent of potato skins). Make these into loaded cheese fries by adding any of the following to suit your tastes:
- Ground beef, browned sausage, or taco meat.
- Brown gravy (trust me, it makes them AMAZING), a take from our fave poutine recipe.
- Diced tomatoes, sliced jalapenos, avocado, burger sauce, or even a big scoop of leftover chili.
- Sour cream or homemade ranch for dipping.
How to Make Cheese Fries
- Cook Fries: Air fry, deep fry, or bake french fries in a single layer per the recipe below until they’re extra crisp.
- Broil Cheese & Bacon: Sprinkle shredded cheese and cooked bacon over the crispy fries and broil under high heat until melted and bubbly.
- Add Fresh Toppings: Add any fresh toppings (like diced tomatoes or sliced green onions) and a drizzle of sour cream or dipping sauce.
Feeling Saucy?
While we prefer to make these with shredded cheese to keep the fries more crisp, you can use a cheese sauce instead.
Whisk together a quick homemade cheese sauce with shredded cheeses. For a shortcut, use a premade nacho cheese sauce from the store and drizzle it overtop.
If you’re feeling extra saucy, heat up some brown gravy and pour it overtop. Sounds crazy but it’s SO GOOD!
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Dips and Dressings
Blue Cheese Dip
Dips and Dressings
French Onion Dip
Dips and Dressings
Onion Ring Sauce
Dips and Dressings
5 from 6 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!
Loaded Cheese Fries
A big pile of crispy french fries smothered in melty cheese and bacon and topped with green onion and your fave toppings! SaveSaved! Print 
Prep Time 10 minutesCook Time 30 minutesTotal Time 40 minutes 
Servings 6 
Author Holly Nilsson
Fries
- ▢ 32 oz frozen french fries or 8 cups homemade french fries
Toppings
- ▢ 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese
- ▢ 3 tablespoons cooked and crumbled bacon or real bacon bits
- ▢ ½ cup sour cream
- ▢ 1 cup brown gravy or packet prepared, optional
- ▢ 2 green onions thinly sliced
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (or cook fries in the air fryer per directions in the notes).
- Add the fries to a rimmed baking sheet and cook 25-30 minutes or until extra crisp stirring after 15 minutes.
- Once the fries are crisp, remove them from the oven and turn the broiler on to 500°F.
- Top the fries with cheddar and bacon and place back into the oven for 1-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Top with green onions. If using, drizzle with brown gravy and top with sour cream. Serve immediately.
Thicker fries may need more time, thinner fries may need a bit less time. Appliances can vary but it is easy to check on the fries a couple of minutes early and add more time if needed. To make frozen fries in the air fryer, cook several smaller batches. Once ready to serve, add all fries to the air fryer basket and cook at 390°F for 10-14 minutes or until crisp. Top with cheese and bacon. Cook in the air fryer for an additional 2-3 minutes. 5 from 6 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here! Calories: 577 | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 1257mg | Potassium: 707mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 442IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 236mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Like our recipes?
Follow us on Pinterest!
Follow us on Pinterest
