Chimichurri Cheese Fries with Chipotle Bacon.
These chimichurri cheese fries are the ultimate game day snack or party food. Crispy french fries, melty cheddar sauce, herby chimichurri and chipotle bacon for crunch. Delicious!
I’m here with your game day food.
Sheet pan cheese fries. Chimichurri cheese fries, to be exact. Sprinkled with crispy chipotle bacon for an extra pop of flavor.
I wish I could eat these every single day!
Ever since making my smashburger fries, we’ve been loving sheet pan fries of every variety. Some have cheese. Some don’t! I love a good salt and malt vinegar fry.
These are clearly cheese-loaded fries. With a few other good things.
I’ve learned a lesson over the last few years of having kids: just buy frozen fries. I have countless recipes on this blog where I make a homemade version of french fries.
But!
You can get such excellent, crispy and delicious fries in the freezer section these days – and they are your best bet. You can fancy them up like this.
P.S. you can also put them on salad for a huge win.
I mean, think about it. You buy tortilla chips to make sheet pan nachos. So why not buy fries to make sheet pan fries?!
The best idea I ever had.
Now let’s talk about how incredibly wonderful these are. Perfect for a party, game day snack, appetizer or late night treat.
And I’ve even made chimichurri fries before. It’s one of my favorite condiments to put on fries and, frankly, potatoes in general.
But these chimichurri cheese fries are legit.
I make a cheese sauce.
And I make my chimichurri too! Unless I already have it made in the fridge. Which in most cases, I do. Because I make it frequently.
Then I also make some chipotle bacon! Yes, this is a little high maintenance. My chipotle bacon is just diced bacon sprinkled with chipotle chili powder and cooked until super crispy and crunchy. You want to eat it on everything.
Next, I make a batch of frozen fries. Yes. You could use the air fryer, but I don’t like that because it can usually only handle one small batch at a time. So instead, I spread the fries on a sheet pan and roast them at 450 degrees (at least! Even if the directions specify a lower temp!) until crispy. You know, like it’s 1997 again. Before air fryers existed.
And that’s it!
I don’t think I need to go on and on and on about the amount of flavor these fries have – you can see it right on the plate. Cheesy sauce, chimi drizzle, crunchy bacon sprinkle.
I am satisfied forever.
Chimichurri Cheese Fries with Chipotle Bacon
Chimichurri Cheese Fries with Chipotle Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 26 ounce bag frozen, crispy french fries
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- ½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup milk
- 2 ½ cups freshly grated white cheddar
chimichurri
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- ⅔ cup fresh parsley
- ¼ cup fresh oregano
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ⅔ cup olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and pepper
Instructions
- If you haven’t made the chimichurri yet, make that first. It tastes better as it sits, so make it first and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. This will make a good amount of chimichurri - there will be some leftover. Store it in the fridge and use it on meats, salads, vegetables, etc.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the fries on a baking sheet. Roast at 450 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until super crispy and crunchy.
- While the fries are cooking, make the bacon. Place the bacon in a skillet over medium-low heat. Sprinkle all over with the chipotle chili powder. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy and the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain excess fat.
- Make the cheese sauce! Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour to create a roux - cook it for 2 to 3 minutes until it’s golden, fragrant and nutty. Slowly stream in the milk while whisking the entire time. Whisk and stir until the milk thickens, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and stir in the cheese 1 handful at a time, stirring until melted. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.
- When the fries are done, drizzle them all over with the cheese sauce. Top with a drizzle of chimichurri. Add the chipotle bacon. Serve!
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to follow @howsweeteats on instagram and tag #howsweeteats. You can also post a photo of your recipe to our facebook page.
I appreciate you so much!
Majorly crave worthy.
4 Comments on “Chimichurri Cheese Fries with Chipotle Bacon.”
Thank you for your inspiring recipes. Playing with fries/sauce/meat/cheese is what we call in Québec (Canada) making a “poutine”. Very, very popular with lots of variations. This one is new to me, so I’ll call it Jessica’s Poutine!
Do you have a fav frozen brand you recommend for this? My go-to frozen fries aren’t the thin crispy style so any recs would be awesome… thinking this sounds like perfect football food!
I literally want to know how you make all this magic happen, you are amazing! I drool with every recipe you publish. Can’t wait to try this one! Thank you!
I made these fries last night and they were delicious. I gave the recipe 5 stars however i made a few mistakes last night and my fries were prob a 3.5 – 4 star with the potential to be 5 stars. lol. I did not stir the flour long enough and my sauce had a bit of a flour taste in my opinion. I also used extra sharp cheddar cheese which we all agreed was too overpowering…I will use reg or mild cheddar next time. The bacon bits were delicious as was the sauce! Looking forward to making again!