Homemade Chili Cheese Fries

Enjoy Homemade Chili Cheese Fries for a fun and easy dinner that beats anything you might find at the movie theater or sports stadium. Crispy French fries topped with beef chili and melted cheese? You’ll want all your game day or movie watch parties to be at-home after you try this dish.

Top your bowl with Homemade Pico de Gallo or 4-Ingredient Guacamole to really bring the flavor. Serve alongside Cherry Limeades or Mojito Mocktails for a super fun evening in.

this …

Jump to:

• Why Make This
• Ingredients
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• FAQs
• More Fun Food Recipes
• Tell us what you think!
• Homemade Chili Cheese Fries

Remember how in high school, chili cheese fries were a staple of life? Our high school cantine offered French fries slathered with movie theatre-style cheese sauce and topped with canned chili. And honestly? I loved it.

I still love Chili Cheese Fries, but I prefer real cheese and homemade chili. It takes just a few minutes to step it up a notch and I still get the novelty and fun factor of Chili Cheese Fries!

Why Make This

It’s easy! This chili is simple to pull together in no time with regular kitchen staples. You can even serve it without the fries as it also goes great on hot dogs, over chips, and anytime you just want “a bowl of red.”

It’s a great freezer meal. The chili is freezer friendly; you can make a double batch and freeze the extras for another night. 

It’s fun food. Part of the reason we go out to eat is because the food is fun. Bring the party home and cut the bill in half (at least!) when you make fun food recipes yourself, like this easy Chili Fries recipe.

It’s cheap. Generally speaking all the ingredients are on our budget grocery list, making this a great budget meal kids love.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make Homemade Chili Cheese Fries:

fries – You can use your favorite frozen french fries or make a batch of homemade. Our Sweet Potato Fries or Easy Roast Potatoes are easy homemade alternatives.

ground meat – You can use ground beef, turkey, chicken, pork, or even a meatless grind. If you’ve got leftover taco meat or shredded beef, pork, or chicken, you can also use those. Check out these 5-Ingredient Ground Beef Recipes for more yummy inspiration.

onion and garlic – These add great flavor to the chili, so don’t skimp on them. Remember you can freeze onions if you buy a big bag.

seasonings – We’re leaning on salt as well as enchilada sauce or salsa to bring the flavor to the chili. I am partial to homemade red enchilada sauce, but you can use whatever you like best. If you like you can also add chili powder or Chili Seasoning Mix.

beans – I use both black beans and pinto beans because I like the conlor contrast. You can use whatever beans you prefer. Leftover beans are good to use in my versatile Instant Pot Bean Soup.

tomato sauce – Canned tomato sauce adds body as well as flavor to the chili. You can also use diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes if you need to as well as a bit of tomato paste diluted in water.

cheese – Shredded cheese makes for great Chili Fries. You can use sharp cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, or pepper jack cheese. If you have a favorite cheese sauce or queso recipe, go ahead and use it! Remember you can freeze shredded cheese for quick and easy recipes later in the month.

toppings for Chili Cheese Fries – Toppings make this extra fun. You can lay out small amounts of sour cream or greek yogurt, chopped green onions, sliced black olives, chopped cilantro, salsa, and chopped tomatoes so that your diners can add whatever they like best. Think nachos, but on French fries!

Variations

• Meatless: Feel free to skip the meat, but you may want to add an extra can of beans.
• Vegan: To make this vegan, use a plant-based grind as well as plant-based cheese.
• Extra spicy: To pump up the spice level, add cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper to taste. You can also add sliced fresh or pickled jalapenos to the toppings.
• No beans: If you’re in the No Beans Chili Camp, double the meat and omit the beans.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here’s how to make Homemade Chili Fries:

• On a large rimmed baking sheet, bake the fries according to the package directions.
• In a large stockpot, cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are clear. Season to taste with salt.

• Add the beans, enchilada sauce, and tomato sauce. Stir well to blend. Simmer 10 minutes, uncovered. (At this point you can package and chill the mixture for freezing, if desired. Thaw and reheat and then continue with the steps.)
• Once the fries are done, top them with 2 cups cheese. Return the pan to the oven to allow the cheese to melt.

• Serve the fries with chili, remaining cheese, and other toppings.

FAQs

More Fun Food Recipes

This post was originally published on June 23, 2013. It has been updated for content and clarity.