This Easy Cheesy Fries Recipe Is the Ultimate Comfort Food

Cheesy chips, also known as cheesy fries, are total comfort food and SO easy to make. All you need are crispy homemade or frozen cooked chips covered with melted cheese and a variety of toppings such as bacon bits, jalapenos, sour cream or herbs. Cheesy chips are a popular pub order, but here is how you can make them yourself.

A baking dish full of cooked chips covered in melted cheese.

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While cheesy chips may not be the healthiest option, they are definitely a crowd-pleaser, and great for sharing. The combination of crispy potatoes, gooey cheese, and savoury toppings is hard to resist and they are so easy to adapt too.

Cheesy chips are often served as a side dish or snack, but they can also be a meal in themselves. They really do have everything and there are lots of different toppings you can add. Some restaurants offer different variations of cheesy chips, such as chilli cheese fries or poutine and we have shared our favourite variations below.

Looking for more easy potato recipes? Why not try our quick Air Fryer Jacket Potatoes, easy Microwave Sweet Potato, delicious Salt and Pepper Chips, of comforting Cheesy Potato Bake?

Ingredients and Substitutions

All the ingredients needed for this recipe each with a text overlay label.

A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Cooked chips - To make cheesy chips, you will need to cook some frozen chips, or follow our recipe for Easy Oven Chips.
Cheese - The most important ingredient in cheesy chips is, of course, the cheese. Cheddar cheese is what we have used, but you can also use other types of cheese such as mozzarella, Monterrey Jack, or even blue cheese. Grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the hot chips and bake.
Seasoning - We added some spicy Italian seasoning for extra flavour, but any spice blend will work.
Spring onions (scallions) and chives - This is added on top before serving for colour, flavour and crunch.

Variations

Cheese - We used a mature cheddar, but there are lots of options when it comes to cheese. You could make a more gourmet cheesy chips recipe by using blue cheese or brie, which are melted into a creamy cheese sauce and poured on. You can use mozzarella too, but they gets super melty and stretchy when cooked on chips.

International variations - Cheesy chips are not just popular in the UK. In fact, many countries have their own unique variations on the classic dish. In Canada, poutine is a popular dish that consists of fries, gravy, and cheese curds. You could add our Onion Gravy as a layer between the chips and cheese for a twist on this.

Toppings - While cheesy chips are delicious on their own, you can add some extra toppings to take them to the next level. Here are some ideas:

How to Make Cheesy Chips

Prep: Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C(fan)/400°F/Gas 6.

Cooked chips in a rectangular baking dish.

Step 1: Put the cooked chips into a baking dish. sprinkle over the seasoning and carefully mix.

Step 2: Sprinkle over the cheese.

Step 3: Put into the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Chopped spring onions and chives sprinkled over the melted cheese.

Step 4: Sprinkle over chopped spring onions (scallions) and chopped chives (both optional).

Serving Suggestions

Chips and cheese are such a versatile side dish, that they pretty much go with anything. Here are some of our favourite main dishes to serve them with:

You need some sauce to serve these with too. Why not try our healthier Homemade Ketchup, tangy Healthy BBQ Sauce or delicious Healthy Ranch?

Melted cheese covering cooked chips with chopped onions and chives on top.

Dannii's Top Tips

Don't use pre-grated cheese. It is coated with an anti-stick ingredient and it means it doesn't melt as well.
If you want a super creamy sauce, rather than just melted cheese, you can make a cheese sauce to pour over the hot cooked chips.
You could do this with sweet potato chips too.
Want to make pizza fries? Put some chopped pepperoni on the chips before the cheese.

A baking dish full of cheesy chips in front of a striped towel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do cheesy chips come from?

Cheesy chips, also known as cheese fries, are a popular snack food consisting of French fries topped with melted cheese. The origins of this dish are unclear, but it is believed to have originated in the United States in the 1950s.
According to some sources, the dish was first served in a restaurant in Ohio, where a customer requested a side of melted cheese to dip their fries in. The restaurant owner decided to combine the two and serve them together, creating the now-famous cheesy chips.

How to store cheese chips

These are best eaten hot and straight away, as they don't reheat well. I am sure we have all tried to reheat cheesy chips the next day after a night out.

Can I use frozen chips?

Yes, you can save time by using frozen chips. You will need to cook them first and then follow the recipe as stated. You can also use Air Fryer Chips.

Can I use the microwave to melt the cheese

You can do, but it won't melt very well and you will end up with soggy chips.

More Microwave Recipes

If you've tried this cheesy chips recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.

Recipe

Cheesy Chips

By: Dannii Martin

Cheesy chips, also known as cheesy fries, are total comfort food and SO easy to make. A popular pub order, but here is how you can make them yourself.

Gluten Free

Vegetarian

5 from 12 votes

Pin Print Save recipe

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, British

Prep: 2

Cook: 5

Total: 7

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 446kcal

Allergens:

Dairy

Ingredients

▢ 4 serving Cooked chips
▢ 140 g (1.25 cups) Cheddar cheese - grated
▢ 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
▢ Spring onions (Scallions) - optional; to serve
▢ Chives - optional; to serve

For ingredient swaps, see our Ingredients and Substitutions section

Instructions

Put 4 serving Cooked chips into a baking dish. sprinkle over 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning and carefully mix.
Sprinkle over 140 g Cheddar cheese.
Put into the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
Sprinkle over chopped Spring onions (Scallions) and chopped Chives (both optional).

Recipe Tips

Don't use pre-grated cheese. It is coated with an anti-stick ingredient and it means it doesn't melt as well.
If you want a super creamy sauce, rather than just melted cheese, you can make a cheese sauce to pour over the hot cooked chips.
You could do this with sweet potato chips too.
Want to make pizza fries? Put some chopped pepperoni on the chips before the cheese.