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These oven-baked Spicy Cheese Fries are coated in a hot and spicy seasoning and lots of gooey cheese. One tray for you, one tray for me. Awesomest dinner ever.

On a scale of 1-10, how normal would you say you are? Do you, like, always serve a proper, well-balanced meal every day and dutifully watch the news at 10? Do you always wear clean clothes, and go to church, and drive a sensible car, and follow your local sports team? When it comes to being normal, I'd say I'm a solid 3.

Don't get me wrong, I'm super weird, but not in a cool way at all. I'm far from normal, but I'm also far from a vivacious manic pixie dream girl or the ultra hip mom. I'm an awkward geeky, probably shouldn't be allowed to influence teenagers sort of weird. I like contemporary dance and musical theatre. I drive a moped and study witchcraft. If you've ever worried that you don't fit in, never fear. I'm almost certainly weirder than you.

I also fully support eating French fries for dinner. And if they're these Spicy Cheese Fries, all the better. Everything's made from scratch, and these are baked in the oven, so it's not as bad as it could be. Since they're not fried, they're slightly healthier. And you don't feel like burning down your house after you see the mess you made deep frying.

It is still a tray of carbs covered in gooey cheese, so maybe not the most responsible of decisions. Epically awesome, though.

How to make Spicy Cheese Fries

We cut a couple of big starchy potatoes into sticks, coat them in a spice mixture, and bake them in a hot oven until golden and crispy. You'll want to give the fries plenty of space on the baking sheet to crisp up. I like to split them between two trays, actually. Once they've crisped up, simply sprinkle plenty of cheese over the top, and pop them back in the oven to melt the cheese. Scatter over some fresh chives at the end.

I like to serve these with a spicy mayo made simply by stirring your favorite hot sauce into some mayonnaise. Just eat them straight off the baking sheet because you're already a savage who's eating fries for dinner. You might as well lean into it.

You could definitely serve these as a side dish or a party treat and split them amongst more people. But be honest, do you really want to share? If you're on my website, you're probably already a little weird. Don't worry. It'll be awesome.

Looking for more awesomely indulgent recipes? You gotta try this Peanut Butter & Jelly Burger.

Spicy Cheese Fries

Print Recipe

These oven-baked Spicy Cheese Fries are worth staying in for. Fries for dinner is a thing now.

Author: Renee Rendall
Prep Time: 25
Cook Time: 35
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 trays 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Baked
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 tablespoons corn flour or cornstarch
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 baking potatoes, about the size of your hand will do
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic granules
¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 425 F (220 C) and line two smallish baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spray this with oil or non-stick spray.
In a small bowl, stir together corn starch, chili powder, paprika, cumin, chili flakes, and cayenne with a fork to combine. Set aside.
Roughly peel your potatoes. A few bits of stray potato skin will still taste awesome. Cut your potatoes into half-inch slices lengthwise to create planks. Then stack your planks (like half a potato stacks) to cut them into half-inch sticks. Voila. French fries. It doesn't have to be super precise, but if you get them all roughly the same thickness, they'll cook more evenly. Add your cut potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
Drizzle over the olive oil, Worcestershire sauce , salt, pepper, and garlic granules, and toss everything together to get all the fries coated and seasoned.
Next, sprinkle over the waiting seasoning mixture. Use tongs to toss this all together until all of your potatoes are coated in the red spice mixture.
Spread your potatoes out on your two baking trays in a single layer. If you overcrowd the baking tray, the potatoes will just steam and they won't get as crispy, so try to give them a bit of space.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until the fries are as crispy as you'd like. Take them out halfway through to give everything a flip, and if you're baking them on separate racks, switch out the racks when you put them back in the oven.
Once your fries are just the way you like them, take them out of the oven. Turn the oven off, but keep the door closed to trap the heat. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over both trays, then pop the trays back in the oven for just a few minutes to melt the cheese. It only takes a couple minutes, so just stay close and keep an eye on them.
Sprinkle over the freshly chopped chives and serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce.