Loaded Bacon Cheese Fries
Crispy fries topped with melted cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, green onions, and sour cream.
- Prep
- 10min
- Cook
- 25min
- Total
- 35min
- Serves
- 4
- Calories
- 690per serving, est.
By Time for Burgers, updated
Frozen fries handle the heavy lifting here, which leaves your attention free for the cheese sauce. It is nothing but sharp cheddar melted into a splash of whole milk over low heat, with no flour or processed cheese to hold it together, so it needs patience: stir the whole time and take it off the burner the moment it turns smooth.
Bake the fries a few minutes past golden so they can carry sauce, bacon and sour cream without going limp. Sliced green onions go on last for a sharp, fresh bite against all that fat.
Loaded Bacon Cheese Fries
Prep 10 min, cook 25 min, total 35 min. About 690 calories per serving.
timeforburgers.com/recipes/loaded-bacon-cheese-fries
Serves 4.
Ingredients
Instructions
Tap a step to keep your place.
Bake 2 lb frozen fries according to package directions until golden and crispy.
While the fries bake, cook 5½ oz bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels and crumble.
In a small saucepan over low heat, combine 7 oz cheddar cheese and ¼ cup milk, stirring constantly until smooth and creamy.
Transfer hot fries to a large serving platter or baking sheet.
Drizzle cheese sauce evenly over fries, then top with the crumbled bacon and 1 oz green onions.
Add dollops of ½ cup sour cream on top and season with salt and pepper.
Tips
- Shred the cheddar yourself from a block. Bagged shredded cheese is coated with starch that keeps it from melting smoothly into the milk.
- If the sauce turns grainy or oily, the heat is too high. Pull the pan off the burner and whisk in a spoonful of cold milk until it comes back together.
- Spread the fries in a single layer with space around them. Crowded fries steam and stay soft, and soft fries collapse under the toppings.
- Load the fries right before they go to the table. The longer they sit under sauce and sour cream, the softer they get.
Substitutions
- Monterey Jack or a cheddar and Jack mix: melts smoother and is less likely to split, with a milder taste.
- Greek yogurt instead of sour cream: tangier and a little thinner, with the same cooling effect.
- Vegetarian: skip the bacon and scatter pickled jalapeños or crispy fried shallots on top for the salty crunch it would have added.
Make ahead & storage
Cook and crumble the bacon up to 3 days ahead and keep it in the fridge. Leftover loaded fries keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated but come back soft; reheat them on a sheet pan in a hot oven to 165°F (74°C) and scatter fresh green onions over the top.
