Creamy Cheese Fries
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Transform your delicious homemade oven baked crispy French fries to the best creamy cheese fries! Make the most amazing creamy cheese sauce and treat yourself with this special meal.
Are you a French fry lover the way I am? If you know me and follow my stories on Instagram, I eat French fries at least 3 to 4 times a week! Whether they’re homemade or at a restaurant or in the form of poutine from a food truck, I just love my fries! I may air fry my fries or deep fry if I’ve got oil laying around and I want something special.
If you’re subscribed to me on YouTube, I’m hosting a collab on YouTube for the month of July called #funfries. For this collab, I’m making some exciting French fry recipes, and I’m inviting all YouTube cooks to make some tasty fries throughout the month! If you have a YouTube channel, then I really hope you’ll join! Even if you don’t, I would love for you to take on the theme of fries being fun, as fries are an essential part of summer! In my 5 Tips To Make Cooking Fun! free guide, I give more details about how having a theme can really open your eyes to see your potential in the kitchen and whip up dishes you never thought were possible i Sign up for the newsletter to get this free guide along with the Live to Cook one month challenge!
These fries totally are special! These Creamy Cheese Fries have actually been revamped from one of my first recipes when I started to blog over five years ago! As much as I love classic fries, I definitely love to dress them up, and this recipe totally ticks the boxes! Are you looking to elevate your fries for any of these reasons: A special date night? A big game about to start tonight? You just really love cheese? Here I have a warm plate of crispy fries topped with a luxuriously smooth cheddar and mozzarella cheese sauce! This recipe is so simple but so satisfying to enjoy!
Be sure to check out the video recipe at the bottom of this post to follow along as I prepare the recipe! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’re not already and hit the bell icon so you’re notified when all my video recipes go live! I love making videos to go along with the written recipes so you’ve got all the tools you need for success, and for the recipes to put together into one nice package! Let’s get cooking!
What Kind of Cheese is used for cheese Fries?
I’ll be using old yellow cheddar cheese, and an Italian cheese blend that contains mozzarella, asiago and garlic brick. You can pretty much use whatever cheeses you want! However, I would recommend you have mozzarella and old yellow cheddar cheese at minimum. We want the mozzarella to add the stringiness for cheese pulls, and we want cheddar for the colour and the sharpness. Here are some other cheese options you could add into your sauce!
White cheddar
Provolone
Monterey Jack
Havarti
Swiss
Gruyere
You could also finish the fries with a sprinkling of Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese!
What Potatoes are Used to Make Cheesy Fries?
I always use Yukon gold yellow potatoes for my French fry recipes. Whether I bake, air fry, or deep fry, or even make curly fries, I love yellow potatoes for fries. I find they have the most flavour and they become perfectly crispy outside and warm and soft inside. You could use russet potatoes if you have those on hand, but I find they’re more bland than yellow potatoes.
How to get the cheese sauce Smooth and silky?
The cheese sauce I’ll be making here is a modification based off of my Creamy Béchamel Sauce recipe. If you want more details on how to make the best béchamel sauce, I recommend you check out that recipe! However, let’s discuss more specifically what we’re looking for in our cheese sauce for cheese fries.
Don’t stir the cheese when the pan is on the stove. Any excess direct heat might cause the cheese to curdle, resulting in an unpleasant texture.
If reheating using a double boiler, make sure the water is not rapidly boiling - same issue as direct heat from the stove.
Make sure your fries are close to ready before preparing the sauce. You can get ahead on the sauce by preparing the bechamel part of it first - i.e., steps until right before you add the cheese. Then when the fries are basically ready, reheat the bechamel over the stove, add the cheese and serve.
INGREDIENTS For loaded cheesy french fries
It’s time to see what we’ll need to make our awesome Loaded Cheesy French Fries! We’ll go over what we need to bake our fries and how to make the creamy cheese sauce for the fries. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD for all ingredient quantities and full instructions to save for later! You can also scale the recipe based on how many portions of fries you want to make. You can make a plate just for yourself or as an appetizer to serve your crowd for a game day party!
For the cheese sauce
Butter
Milk
Italian blend cheese (or just mozzarella)
Old yellow cheddar cheese
For the fries
Yukon gold yellow potatoes
Salt
Chives (for garnish)
How to make Mozzarella cheesy fries
For the Oven-Baked French Fries
For this recipe, we’ll be baking our fries in the oven. I’ll quickly go over the steps to make your fries in the oven, but for specific tips and tricks, check out the full recipe here!
Preheat the oven to 475 F.
In the meanwhile, cut the potatoes into slices 1/4 inch thick. In a large bowl, add the fries and fill with water. Let the fries soak for at least 25 minutes.
In the meanwhile, set a large pot of water to boil.
Add soaked fries to the boiling water and boil for 3-5 minutes, or until the potatoes are partly cooked but still firm.
Drain the potatoes onto paper towel and gently pat dry.
Transfer fries to a large enough bowl and season with salt and olive oil. Layer a large baking tray with parchment paper and place the fries on it. Bake the fries on the middle rack for 20 minutes or until they are light golden brown
Once lightly browned, move the rack and tray to the lowest oven rack bake until crispy, about 15-20 minutes flipping once to ensure each side is crisp.
For the Cheese Sauce
When the fries are almost done, start the sauce. Heat a pan on medium heat and add butter. Once the butter melts, mix in the flour and whisk for 2-3 mins until the rawness of the flour is cooked out. The rue will begin to smell nutty, which is a good indicator.
Pour in your milk, little bit at a time while whisking to work out any lumps. Once all your milk is mixed in, wait until your sauce starts to come up to a simmer.
As soon as the sauce comes to a simmer, it will begin to thicken. Once the béchamel is thick enough to evenly coat the back of a spoon, season with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.
Remove the pan off the heat and add in all of the cheese. Whisk well to combine until the cheese is molten.
To assemble the cheese fries
Remove the fries from the oven and arrange in a bowl or plate.
Pour the cheese sauce over the fries and garnish with chopped chives. Enjoy!
Can I make the cheese sauce ahead of time?
If you can avoid it then please do so! It is hard to replicate the same cheesiness and texture as a freshly made cheese when you reheat the same thing. My tip would be to make what you need and use the rest for mac and cheese.
However, there is a specific way you can reheat your cheese sauce for cheese fries without making it curdle. The key is to reheat at a super low heat while stirring constantly. Anything off beat, and you run the risk of the sauce curdling.
What if I have extra sauce?
I actually had a lot of extra sauce! I used the rest for lunch the next day and added some macaroni to it! It was just the obvious answer, and wow was my pasta amazing and creamy! This cheese sauce can be used in so many ways, however! It would also be excellent for nachos, as a dip for bread or pita chips, or even to top your veggies such as broccoli or cauliflower! This is a multi-purpose sauce, so if you want to make extra then you can! However, just be sure to reheat it properly as described above so you have the desired texture and it stays smooth and creamy!
Tips for Amazing Cheese Fries
The cheese sauce needs to be warm to allow the sauce to remain cheesy. A cold sauce will be quite unappetizing. Make sure to prepare the sauce only when you are ready to serve for the best dining experience.
Avoid reheating if you can, the texture will not be the same for a reheated sauce.
Load the cheese fries as you want with toppings like bacon, scallions, bbq chicken, peppers, and so much more!
Will Store Bought Fries Pair Well With The Cheese Sauce?
Yes, of course! You can totally use them to save time. However, I really do recommend you make your own fries for the best experience! While it does take some time for French fries to bake in the oven, they are super crispy and delicious and don’t contain the preservatives and extra sodium that store-bought frozen French fries contain!
Switch It Up!
The fries with the cheese sauce are just amazing on their own! But you could also take these up a notch, if you’d like!
Watch How to Make Creamy cheese Fries Here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!
Creamy Cheese Fries
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Cup cold milk
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Cup Italian cheese blend (or mozzarella), shredded
- 1 Cup cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475 F.
- In the meanwhile, cut the potatoes into slices 1/4 inch thick. In a large bowl, add the fries and fill with water. Let the fries soak for at least 25 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, set a large pot of water to boil.
- Add soaked fries to the boiling water and boil for 3-5 minutes, or until the potatoes are partly cooked but still firm.
- Drain the potatoes onto paper towel and gently pat dry.
- Transfer fries to a large enough bowl and season with salt and olive oil. Layer a large baking tray with parchment paper and place the fries on it. Bake the fries on the middle rack for 20 minutes or until they are light golden brown
- Once lightly browned, move the rack and tray to the lowest oven rack bake until crispy, about 15-20 minutes flipping once to ensure each side is crisp.
- When the fries are almost done, start the sauce. Heat a pan on medium heat and add butter. Once the butter melts, mix in the flour and whisk for 2-3 mins until the rawness of the flour is cooked out. The rue will begin to smell nutty, which is a good indicator.
- Pour in your milk, little bit at a time while whisking to work out any lumps. Once all your milk is mixed in, wait until your sauce starts to come up to a simmer.
- As soon as the sauce comes to a simmer, it will begin to thicken. Once the béchamel is thick enough to evenly coat the back of a spoon, season with cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.
- Remove the pan off the heat and add in all of the cheese. Whisk well to combine until the cheese is molten.
- Remove the fries from the oven and arrange in a bowl or plate.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the fries and garnish with chopped chives. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
360.26Fat (grams)
18.73Sat. Fat (grams)
7.75Carbs (grams)
35.19Fiber (grams)
3.84Net carbs
31.34Sugar (grams)
4.33Protein (grams)
14.74Sodium (milligrams)
279.58Cholesterol (grams)
37.51Nutrition info is an estimate.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
