I love making homemade slow cooked chili cheese fries at home. It’s the perfect appetizer to munch on when it’s game season, or for a simple hangout with friends. These chili cheese fries are a fave of mine because they combine crispy french fries with homemade spicy chili. I’m a fan of chilis, and this recipe really satisfies my craving for both dishes. What I love about these chili fries is the smoky chili blending together with the melted cheese and french fries to create a rich and flavorful appetizer. The added toppings and garnish as well elevate the taste even further with its crisp, tangy, and subtle spicy flavors.
I made these loaded cheese fries using a slow cooker since I was making homemade chili with it. Store bought canned chili is fine, but I honestly prefer the taste of making it myself. The ingredients are fresher and its taste is definitely a hundred times better than the canned chili ones. I combined ground beef, onion, chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, black beans, chili powder, cumin, and salt in the crockpot. If you want, you can also substitute ground turkey or chicken for the beef to try a variety of flavors. For a vegetarian-friendly variation, you can skip the meat altogether for the chili and focus on the beans and seasonings.
Afterwards, I cooked on low for a few hours, stirring it often to make sure it blends together. Slow cooking the chili helps keep it from overcooking. The constant long and low temperature cooking tenderizes the meat and the other ingredients. It brings out the flavor of the chili after it’s done cooking. Also, the long waiting gives me more time to prepare the other ingredients.
Next step is to make the pickled jalapeños. Similar to the chili, I combined the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, garlic, and lime zest in a small saucepan and boiled it. I didn’t want to just add chopped jalapeños to my dish though. So, I included this additional step of pickling the jalapeños so they’re extra flavorful and tangy as a topping. I let it simmer and then added the jalapeños. Transfer this mixture to a large, heatproof, mason jar and let it cool for about an hour before using it. You can also refrigerate these pickled jalapeños for future use.
The last step was the french fries. Since I was waiting for the chili to cook, I made these fries last so they were still a bit warm and crispy when served. I made them when there were only a few minutes left on my chili. Instead of frying them, I baked these frozen french fries until they were golden brown in color. I suggest baking your fries so that you won’t have to deal with draining excess oil, or getting greasy fries. Bake for a few minutes then add in the chili and shredded cheese, and cook for another 5 minutes so the cheese melts. I actually wanted this dish to be extra cheesy so I also made a homemade cheese sauce afterwards to use as an additional dip for the fries.
Once it’s done, I added the sour cream, green onions, and pickled jalapeños on top to complete the dish. It was so delicious and really filling to eat. Also, I highly recommend adding in more of the chili and cheese if you’re serving it to homemade chili lovers just like me! After all, it’s all about the toppings for chili cheese fries!
How To Make Easy Slow Cooker Chili Cheese Fries
This chili cheese fries recipe is two dishes in one! The savory chili topped with jalapeños is mixed with thick-cut cheesy fries for a satisfying meal.
Serves:
Ingredients
For Slow-Cooked Chili:
- 1 lb beef
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 2 cans tomato with green chiles, diced or chopped
- 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp kosher salt
For Pickled Jalapeños:
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup white vinegar, distilled
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 lime zest, strips
- 6 jalapeñoes, sliced into ½ in, (1¼ cm), round
For Chili Cheese Fries:
- 1 bag frozen french fries, preferably crinkle cut
- 1 cup mexican cheese blend, or cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 scallions, or green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
Slow-Cooked Chili:
- Using a slow cooker, combine the ground beef, onion, chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, black beans, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cover and cook on Low, stirring often, for about 6 hours.
Pickled Jalapeños:
- While the chili cooks, make the pickled jalapeños. In a small saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, garlic, and lime zest.
- Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the salt and sugar have dissolved, about 2 minutes.
- Add the jalapeños to a medium heatproof bowl or large mason jar. Carefully pour the pickling liquid over the jalapeños, making sure they are fully submerged.
- Let the pickles cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or seal the jar and transfer it to the refrigerator until ready to use.
Chili Cheese Fries:
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven according to the French fry package instructions.
- Spread the French fries in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 3 minutes less than the package instructs.
- Remove the fries from the oven and top with several large scoops of chili. Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the top.
- Return to the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted completely.
- Dollop the sour cream on top of the chili cheese fries, then garnish with the scallions or green onions and pickled jalapeños. Let cool slightly, then serve directly off of the pan.
Nutrition
- Calories: 419.84kcal
- Fat: 16.44g
- Saturated Fat: 8.27g
- Trans Fat: 0.45g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 5.26g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.42g
- Carbohydrates: 37.50g
- Fiber: 12.53g
- Sugar: 6.67g
- Protein: 32.48g
- Cholesterol: 80.03mg
- Sodium: 1064.31mg
- Calcium: 302.91mg
- Potassium: 1016.00mg
- Iron: 6.35mg
- Vitamin A: 150.99µg
- Vitamin C: 58.83mg
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