Chili Texas Cheese Fries

4.84 from 18 votes

These Chili Texas cheese fries are the loaded cheese fries you've been waiting for! Inspired by the Texas State fair cheese fries on the Big Orange menu, these smothered cheese fries are big on flavor! Made in under an hour, this recipe for chili cheese fries is a keeper. This recipe yields 6-8 servings.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheese fries, Texas chili cheese fries, Texas state fair fries

Servings: servings

Calories: 1747kcal

Cost: $14

Ingredients

30 Minute Chili with No Beans Recipe

1.5 lb ground beef
3/4 cup yellow onion diced
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
6 oz tomato paste
2 cups beef broth
10 oz diced tomatoes (optional) undrained; omit 1/3 cup broth if using tomatoes

Simple Yellow Cheese Dip

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp garlic minced
12 oz American cheese shredded
4 oz Pepper Jack shredded
1 cup milk
1 cup tomatoes chopped

Frozen French Fries

5 lbs French fries frozen (shoe string style works well)

Toppings

1 cup red onion chopped
1 cup jalapeno sliced
1 cup pickled jalapenos (jarred)
1 cup Colby Jack shredded

Instructions

Making 30 Minute Chili with No Beans

In a large stock pot, crumble ground beef with 1/2 cup of the chopped onion (reserving the rest for the cheese dip), salt, and pepper. Cook on medium high, stirring occasionally, until all meat is brown and onions are translucent, about 7-8 minutes.
Drain grease and return all meat to pot.
*Add the rest of the chili ingredients, ending with broth, to the stock pot.
Cook, uncovered, on medium-high until boiling. Turn the uncovered pot down to a simmer for the remaining 20 minutes.

Baking Frozen French Fries

On a shallow baking sheet, add 5 pounds of frozen (not thawed) French Fries. (You may opt to only use half if you are cooking for a smaller number of people.) It is possible you may need two baking pans. Bake French fries according to package directions for time and temperature until fries are slightly browned and crispy. (Typically, instructions will say 400° for 20-25 minutes.)

Making Simple Yellow Cheese Dip

**While the chili simmers and the fries are in the oven, begin the cheese dip.
In a large skillet with high edges, add olive oil and 1/4 cup reserved diced onion. Cook onion until translucent, about 5 minutes, adding the garlic during the last minute or so.
Add both cheeses and carefully stir in the milk. Simmer over medium-low heat while stirring often.
Once cheese has melted, stir in can of undrained diced tomatoes. Allow cheese mixture to cook down a bit until it is a desirable, pourable consistency that is not too runny.

Layering Chili Texas Cheese Fries

Assemble plates by layering desired amount of French fries across the bottom of the plate, keeping in mind the number of servings you need.
Pour 1 cup prepared chili over fries, followed by 1/2 to 3/4 cup cheese dip.
***Top each plate with 1/8 cup chopped purple onion, fresh jalapenos, pickled jalapenos, and shredded cheese.
Serve warm.

Alternative Layering Method

Rather than layering the fries on individual plates, you can layer directly on the hot pan of cooked fries for a fun appetizer.
When you remove fries from oven, drizzle fries with generous amounts of chili, cheese dip, and all toppings directly in the baking pan. Serve immediately so fries do not get soggy.

Notes

*Alternatively, you can start the chili ahead of time in a slow cooker. First, brown the meat and onions on the stove. Then, add the meat and all of the rest of the chili ingredients to your slow cooker. Cook on low 5-6 hours or on high 2-3 hours.

**There will be overlap time where the chili, the fries, and the cheese dip are all cooking at the same time. You may have to adjust the cook time just a bit to finish up all three components. It will certainly not hurt for the chili to cook a bit longer if you need more time for the fries and the cheese dip to finish cooking.

***To save even more time of your prep, you can chop the red onion, tomatoes, and fresh jalapenos ahead of time and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Nutrition