Classic Chili Cheese Fries

Chili cheese fries are always a hit! Make a batch of baked fries and top with a simple chili, cheese sauce, and toppings.

When it comes to fries, there’s nothing more epic than a platter of Chili Cheese Fries! Imagine: that combination of deliciously hearty chili, crispy potatoes, and gooey cheese sauce is comfort food at its finest. Why settle for a plate of fries when you can add chili? This spin on the traditionally heavy dish is fresher than most, featuring a black bean chili and a lighter (but just as tasty) cheese sauce. In fact, this genius way to repurpose chili can even count as dinner!

Elements in these chili cheese fries

Chili cheese fries have three essential elements: French fries, chili, and cheese: either melted or incorporated as a sauce. This way of serving fries is very popular in the US, and originated in the 1950’s with the invention of prepared cheese products. Here are the elements you’ll need:

Fries: make these Homemade Baked Fries
Chili: try Black Bean Chili, Quick Chili or any of your favorite chili recipes
Cheese: make the simple cheese sauce below with whole milk and cheddar cheese
Toppings: top with pico de gallo, sour cream, and thinly sliced green onion

Time saving tips!

The elements above are listed in the order we like to make chili cheese fries. Get the baked fries started by cutting them and soaking the fries, then get the chili simmering, and make the sauce just before serving. Here are a few quick tips that can save more time when you’re prepping:

Make the chili in advance, or use leftover chili. This is the perfect way to repurpose leftover chili! Just spoon it over the fries with a slotted spoon to minimize sogginess.
Use baked store-bought fries. There are some great brands of fries on the market that are more whole food spins on this usually processed product. Find a brand with minimal ingredients, then bake them up for quick assembly.

Making the easy cheese sauce

The genius part of this chili cheese fries recipe? The easy cheese sauce! Most cheese sauces require you to make a roux by heat flour and butter together first to give the sauce a thick body. But we’ve created an even easier spin that requires two main ingredients: milk and cheese!

This 2-ingredient sauce has a slightly lighter texture than most. It’s not as thick because it doesn’t use flour. This also makes it gluten-free!
Use whole milk. This makes for the richest, creamiest body.

Chili cheese fries…for dinner!

These chili cheese fries taste decadent: but they’re actually lighter than most recipes. In fact, you can get away with calling them dinner. Here’s why:

The fries are just potatoes and olive oil. This is part of a healthy diet!
The chili is vegetarian and made of mostly vegetables. Black beans, corn, quinoa, tomatoes, onions: all healthy, good-for-you ingredients! You can choose a meaty chili if you like, which will make this recipe heavier and more caloric.
The cheese sauce is minimal. Many cheese sauces pack in loads of cheese. This recipe has just enough. If you’d like to go even more minimal, simply sprinkle with a few handfuls of cheddar cheese and pop it in the broiler to melt the cheese.

Variations: meaty, vegan and more

Want to mix up these chili cheese fries? Here are a few ideas for different variations on the theme:

Meaty fries: Use Quick Chili with ground beef
Vegan fries: Use Vegan Chili and Vegan Nacho Cheese
Sweet potato chili cheese fries: Make it with Sweet Potato Fries or Sweet Potato Wedges instead.

More fries recipes

We love fries over here: and there are lots of ways to make them that are a healthy spin! Here are a few more fries recipes to try:

Try Homemade French Fries or Perfect Seasoned Fries
Opt for Carrot Fries (Ranch Seasoned!)
Go for Greek Fries
Try Baked Avocado Fries
Go gourmet with Parmesan Truffle Fries or Pomme Frites