Not only is this dirty fries recipe quicker to cook in 25 minutes, but they can be healthy, too! You'll find loaded fries are a perfect weekend treat for a feast or supper, topped with cheese, ham, and onions.
Tucking into homemade dirty fries is such a pleasure with almost any dish!
You can coat your dirty chips with any of your favourite spices and top them with things like streaky bacon bits, chicken, tuna, chopped peppers... the list goes on!
And the best thing is, it's also a great way to use up a few odds and ends you have in your fridge if you want to save money!
📖 RECIPE
🍟WHY MAKE 25 MINUTE DIRTY FRIES
✔️ They're much quicker than cooking usual oven baked chips from scratch
✔️ There's fewer calories than chip shop chips
✔️ They're just as quick as a trip to the chippy
✔️ It's a cheap side to feed the family
✔️ They're fun to eat and you can top them with whatever sauces and dips you want (see below for ideas)
🛒 INGREDIENT NOTES
Potatoes - peeled and chipped, or instead of making your own fries, you can use frozen instead.
Oil - you can use rapeseed oil, olive oil, or cooking oil spray for low fat fries
Smoked paprika - adds a delicious smoky flavour, or you could use cajun seasoning, sweet paprika, pinch of brown sugar
Sea salt and black pepper - salt is added to help crisp the fries and black pepper for flavour
Mayonnaise - we use extra light mayo and thin with a little water to drizzle, but you could try mustard sauce, etc
Cheddar cheese - grated mature cheddar melted on top really enhances these crispy French fries!
Spring onions - these are scallions (AKA green onions), for a tasty garnish
Cooked ham - cut into squares, or use turkey bacon, shredded chicken, pulled gammon, etc.
📋 INSTRUCTIONS
First, preheat your oven to 240 degrees (gas mark 9) and line a large baking tray with your silicone mat to prevent any chips from sticking without the need for turning.
Chip the potatoes and wash them under a colander.
Then transfer to a microwaveable bowl and microwave for 5 minutes. Now pour the excess moisture away and dab with paper towels.
Place the chips in a Tupperware container or sturdy food bag along with the oil and seasoning.
Firmly attach the lid and shake well until everything is coated and roughed up a little.
Spread your chips on your lined baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. If you prefer even crispier, bake for a further 5 minutes.
Transfer to a baking dish and sprinkle on your cheese, ham, mayonnaise, onions, and more smoked paprika, then bake in a hot oven for 5 minutes and serve!
Tip: if preferred, you can pop your cheesy fries under a medium-high heat grill until melted.
👩🍳 SUBSTITUTIONS
Here are a few simple swaps, depending on your dietary needs:
- Diabetics - swap for sweet potato fries which have a low glycaemic index (GI)
- Gluten-Free - if desired, you could drizzle GF Worcestershire sauce before the final bake
- Vegetarian - swap the ham or vegetarian meat, and top with black beans, sweetcorn, red onion, chopped bell peppers, etc
- Low fat - swap oil for cooking oil spray like Frylight
- Keto - swap the potatoes for celeriac
⚖️ VARIATIONS
Here are a few ways you can really put a stamp on your own version:
- Spicy - swap paprika for a pinch of cayenne pepper, and banana peppers
- Deluxe - top with crispy bacon, sour cream, ranch dressing, lime juice, and fresh coriander or parsley
- Kid friendly - omit any chili and serve with ketchup
🔪 EQUIPMENT
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- Potato chipper
- Colander
- Silicone baking mat
- Tupperware container or food bag
- Potato peeler
- Baking tray
- Salt and pepper grinder
- Cheese grater
❄️ STORAGE
Storing - we prefer eating {recipe} fresh, but it can be stored in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Freezing - cool to room temperature and again, store in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Reheating - If you want to eat the next day, defrost in the fridge if required and microwave until piping hot, or on the hob or stove.
💡PRO TIPS
Just get creative with simple tweaks, depending on what you have in the fridge that day.
❓ FAQ
I'm not entirely sure where dirty fries come from. But I suspect America due to references on Wikipedia, similar to Cheesy Fries and Carnival French Fries.
However, it seems obvious to me that they're called dirty due to their appearance. Other types that can be confused are loaded chips, which are all about having your favourite toppings on, but just different potatoes.
Either way, this is a dish you can make to suit your own taste buds. For example, the ready-meal version we ate last year had a cheese sauce on top, but to be honest, we don't have time to get a frying pan out.
Yes, you can make it with any kind of chips! Although you may find you need to cook them a little bit longer unless you're working with oven chips, in which I'd follow their instructions.
The potato chipper I use comes with two types, but I use the smaller 8-9mm (⅓") chipper attachment.
Another way you could make them is by spiralising your potatoes or cutting them into ribbons.
Personally, I think dirty fries are best eaten once cooked. If I would reheat, I would put back in a baking dish, cover with tin foil and cook at 150 degrees for about 10 minutes.
If you want to freeze your potatoes, then you would need to parboil them first before adding your seasoning and freeze.
This is important, otherwise they will turn black. Also, some people recommend mixing flour with potatoes before freezing.
Potatoes aren't the only type of vegetable you can turn into chips. I've made many healthy chips in the past, albeit usually in my air fryer for 20 minutes.
I've also made a perfect side dish with the following:
sweet potatoes
butternut squash
carrot batons (they're not as nice as above, but they still work)
celeriac (keto)
We believe a good melted cheese makes a delicious dirty fries recipe. Mostly, we'll make chili cheese fries or mature cheddar, but mozzarella cheese and blue cheese also taste amazing. Also, for a gourmet touch, parmesan cheese, but for Weight Watchers or Slimming World, low-fat cheese is more suitable.
If you don't have time to prepare fresh potatoes (and let's face it, we don't always want to while making a Friday night treat for the whole family), then using frozen fries will still result in a great recipe! All the magic happens when you add your favorite toppings.
Alternatively, if you're not following a special diet, you could even try McCain waffle fries or simple ingredients on tortilla chips.
Alongside your regular French fries, you could also bake them alongside popcorn chicken, and other finger foods while smothered in cheese. Or completely bake them separately. Also, a pot of Southern homemade gravy or BBQ sauce for dipping always goes down well in our house.
If you have good reason to minimize kids squabbling over who gets more chips than who, then you could portion off each serving in foil packets before baking on the same tray. I do recommend trying to place the fries in a single layer though, so every chip gets coated in cheese.
It is exactly the same cooking process. You just need to swap fries for baked potato wedges.
To save money on spice mixes, you can make your own with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and more here.
➕ MORE POTATO RECIPES
Looking for more easy recipes that use potatoes? Why not try these:
🍽️PAIRING
Here are a few of our favourite dishes that go great with dirty fries!
