Loaded Fries

These simple loaded fries are the ultimate snack! The french fries are baked in the oven till crisp and then topped with cheese, bacon, green onions, and ranch dressing. They are perfect to share with friends or enjoy with your family.

Simple Loaded Fries

Who doesn’t like a big pile of delicious french fries topped with melted cheese, crispy bacon, and drizzled with ranch dressing? If you do not like ranch dressing, you can sub with your favorite french fry sauce. You can also serve these fries with sour cream just like how you eat a potato skin.

There are many different types of toppings you can use to make loaded fries, but I wanted to keep things simple and just add a few for this recipe. Loaded fries are a delicious snack you can share with some friends while watching sports or even a more casual night just hanging out. I also like to make this as a meal on days when I need something that I know for sure everyone will eat.

When I make these loaded fries as a meal, I choose different toppings. Adding ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken adds protein to this meal. You would cook the ground meat first and season it, and then add it as a topping during the last 5 minutes of cooking.

For these loaded fries you just need 4 main ingredients plus green onions. I start with a bag of frozen french fries. There are some brands out there that make really great frozen fries these days. I love the ones from Trader Joe’s. They taste like real potatoes and they crisp up well in the oven.

For the cheese, I like choosing two types of cheese, but you can also find one of those “3 cheese blend” bags of shredded so that you don’t have to buy two different cheeses. I like to buy my cheese in brick form because once it is shredded it melts evenly and fast. Some brands add ingredients to their shredded cheese to keep it from clumping together in the bag. So, if you buy a brick of cheese, you eliminate that ingredient from the cheese.

I also prefer to cook my own bacon instead of buying pre-cooked bacon. I find that the pre-cooked stuff is very thin and doesn’t have much flavor. And finally, I use ranch dressing to drizzle on top. If you do not like ranch dressing you can use bleu cheese dressing, thousand island, or a special french fry sauce.

Loaded Fries Toppings

There are many different toppings you can use to make loaded fries. For this recipe I used cheese, bacon, and ranch dressing, but I am listing some of my other favorite topping combinations below. I hope you create recipe pages for all of them one day, but until then, enjoy the minimal descriptions.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Fries – my chicken, bacon, ranch sliders are one of the most popular recipes on my blog and I think it would be really delicious in loaded fry form! Use leftover rotisserie chicken or make your chicken fresh. Bake the plain fries till crispy, add the chicken with ranch dressing, bacon, and cheese, and broil till heated through!

Pizza inspired Fries – top your crispy fries with some marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. If pepperoni isn’t your thing, you can top it with mushrooms, fresh basil, diced peppers and onions, etc!

Taco inspired Fries – To make taco loaded fries you would top your french fries with seasoned ground beef and cheese and then let it melt. Then add some cold toppings like diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and guacamole!

Poutine – I seriously am obsessed with Canadian Poutine and New Jersey has a similar version called “disco fries”. In both cases, you top your french fries with brown gravy. In poutine you also use white cheese curds, but with disco fries you use shredded mozzarella cheese. Both versions are sure to please!

Big Mac Fries – Round up all your favorite big mac toppings and make some loaded big mac fries. You will need season ground beef, yellow cheese, lettuce, pickles, and big mac sauce. Add the beef and cheese on top of the loaded fries. Bake until the cheese melts. Once it is out of the oven, add some shredded lettuce, chopped pickles, and your favorite big mac sauce.

Loaded Fries Ingredients

French Fries – To make these loaded fries you need to start with a great base of french fries. If making homemade french fries is important to you, you can make your own. I prefer to start with a base of frozen french fries for convenience. Also, I really do like the taste and texture of the Trader Joe’s frozen fries it is a win! You can definitely make this recipe in an air fryer if your air fryer has a large basket. I prefer to use a sheet pan and make oven baked french fries. Add the fries to the baking sheet in a single layer. If you layer them too much then they will not get crispy.

Cheese – I like to buy blocks of cheese and shred them myself because they melt faster and better. My favorites to use for loaded fries are cheddar cheese and Monterrey jack. Pepper jack or Chihuahua cheese are other great and delicious options.

Bacon – I cut my bacon into 1″ pieces while raw and then cook them up in a pan. This ensures all pieces are uniform and cook at the same speed. Then I drain off the excess oil and use them as a topping.

Ranch Dressing – My family and I absolutely love ranch dressing. If you are not a fan of ranch, choose bleu cheese or another sauce that you like. I see they sell chipotle ranch or “french fry” sauce in stores now, so that may be a good option for you.

Green Onions – I love the punch of freshness diced green onions give a dish. It also looks really put together at the end with the pop of color.

How to make Loaded Cheese Fries

INGREDIENTS  

• 16 oz Frozen French Fries
• 8-10 oz Cheddar Cheese Block it is best to shred it yourself
• 12 oz Bacon diced and then cooked
• 1/4 cup Ranch Dressing
• 2 Green Onions
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Dice your bacon into 1″ pieces while raw. Then, cook in a pan until crisp. Once they are cooked, add to a paper towel lined plate to absorb any extra oil.
• Preheat your oven according to the french fry package. Mine said 400F
• Bake plain french fries on a baking sheet in a single layer. Make sure they are not layered or else the fries will not get crispy. Cook the fries according to the package directions.
• While the fries are cooking, shred your cheese and finely dice your green onions.
• Once the fries are done and a little bit of salt and pepper on them(just a little because the other ingredients are also salty). Then, then slowly layer on your cheese, bacon, and some of your green onion.
• Put the loaded fries back in the oven until the cheese is melted.
• Remove from the oven, drizzle on your ranch dressing and add some more green onion.