These Loaded Chili Cheese Fries are a finger food masterpiece! They’re made with your choice of crispy fries layered with melty cheddar cheese, made-from-scratch beef chili, and all the best toppings!
Why You’ll Love Loaded Chili Cheese Fries
Chili fries are the perfect appetizer. Whether you get them at a Sonic drive-in or at a BBQ restaurant, cheesy fries coated in meaty chili are a combo that you just can’t get wrong. Today I’m going to impart my treasured chili cheese fries recipe with homemade chili and melted cheese to you.
It’s the best way to add a little kick to your next party, game day tailgate, movie night, cookout, or board game night. After 30 minutes of prep time and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking time, you’ll have the appetizer of your dreams!
For other great party appetizers, check out my Chili Cheese Potato Volcanoes, Roast Beef and Cheddar Sliders and Smoked Hot Dog Burnt Ends.
Loaded Chili Cheese Fries Ingredients
These easy chili cheese fries start off with some crispy french fries covered in shredded cheddar cheese and doused in my favorite chili recipe. The homemade beef chili is made of ground beef, white onion, tomatoes, light beer, beef broth, minced garlic, chipotle puree, chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, black pepper, and a pinch of salt.
To add more delicious flavor and balance out the potato starch, I also throw in some diced red onions, sliced jalapeños, chopped cilantro, and sour cream.
How to Make Loaded Chili Cheese Fries
Ready to make these classic chili cheese fries? First, let’s cook the beef for the chili. Preheat a medium heat fire for direct cooking at around 350ºF. Add a dutch oven over the fire, then drizzle in a little bit of cooking oil. Allow that to preheat for a couple of minutes, then add in the ground beef.
Let the beef for the Loaded Chili Cheese Fries cook for just 2.5-3 minutes. Once it’s browned, pull it off and set it to the side.
Next, place your now empty dutch oven back onto the hot grill. Add in the chopped white onion and minced garlic to bring in some natural flavor. Let those cook for a couple of minutes, until it becomes fragrant.
Then mix in the guajillo chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, black pepper, and kosher salt. Let the spices cook with the aromatics for a minute or so, stirring to make sure everything is well coated.
Lastly, add in the cooked beef, beef broth, chipotle puree, and chopped tomatoes. Stir it all up and cover the dutch oven. Now, let the heat on the grill drop to 300-325ºF so that the chili is at a simmer.
Let it simmer for 1.5-2 hours so that it will thicken up. Be sure to stir it every once in a while to make sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
Feel free to play around with the texture of the chili. If you prefer a thicker chili for Loaded Chili Cheese fries, let it simmer a little bit longer (this is my recommendation). However, if you like it to be thinner, simmer it less time or add more beef broth at the end.
Love chili and cheese? Check out my Chili Cheese Glizzburger, Chili Cheese Smash Burger and Chili Cheese Potato Volcano.
Finish the Fries
Let’s get the chili cheese fries ready to go! You can use whatever fries you like so pick your favorite. Steak fries, waffle fries, classic fries, or even tots would be great. Cook up your favorite frozen or homemade fries, then layer them onto a large serving platter. Now let’s load ’em up!
To assemble your fries, add a great big handful of shredded cheese over the fries. I recommend sharp cheddar cheese because it brings a more delicious, rich flavor. The canned cheese sauce or other cheese products you might find at the grocery store can work, but in my opinion the sharp cheddar cheese is better.
Top the cheese off with a couple scoops of chili, then garnish with your favorite toppings and even more cheese. My favorite toppings are diced red onions, sliced jalapeños, chopped cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream, so that’s how I built mine! Enjoy!
For more delicious, easy recipes, check out my second cookbook Flavor X Fire or my first cookbook Food X Fire!
Needing more spice in your life? My spice line can help with that. Check them out here.
Loaded Chili Cheese Fries
Ingredients
Beef Chili:
- 2 lbs Ground Beef
- 1 Whole White Onion cubed
- 28 oz Tomatoes peeled and chopped
- 6 oz Light Beer
- 2 cups Beef Broth
- 2.5 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 2 tbsp Chipotle Purée
- 2 tbsp Guajillo Chili Powder
- 1.5 tbsp Ground Cumin
- 1.5 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tbsp Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
Fries:
- 3-4 lbs Cooked Fries seasoned
- 2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Diced Red Onions for garnish
- Sliced Jalapeños for garnish
- Chopped Cilantro for garnish
- Sour Cream for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat a medium heat fire for direct cooking (around 350F).
- Add a dutch oven over the heat to preheat for 2 minutes with some oil. Next, add your ground beef for the chili and let brown for about 2.5-3 minutes. Once browned, pull off and set aside. Add an empty dutch oven back to the grill along with the chopped white onion and minced garlic. Brown for 2 minutes, then add your guajillo chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, black pepper and kosher salt. Let cook for 1 minute to stir around so that seasoning gets all over the veggies. Finally, add your beef, beef broth, chipotle puree, chopped tomatoes and browned ground beef. Stir around and then cover the dutch oven. Let the heat drop to 300-325F and let the chili simmer until thickened (about 1.5-2 hours). Make sure to stir occasionally. If your chili gets too thick, just add more beef broth at the end!
- As the chili thickens, make your own fries either by hand or from a frozen bag. Arrange them on a large platter for serving. When the chili is done, add a large handful of cheese to your fries followed by a couple scoops of the chili. Finish the chili with more shredded cheese, diced red onions, sliced jalapenos, chopped cilantro and a drizzle of sour cream. Serve and enjoy!
I normally make turkey chili but the kids wanted restaurant style chili fries. I blended my own guajillo after toasting the chiles and cooked it for 25 mins in the instant pot. I ended adding more beer and chipotles, about 1/2 cup and 1 tbsp. I also added corn starch after trying to cook down the liquid which worked beautifully. I made a cheese sauce to go with them.These came out bomb, the family says it’s now part of the rotation. Thanks!