Our LOADED FRIES RECIPE is so easy to make when you start with the air fryer and a bag of frozen french fries! We use our favorite seasoning blend, cook the fries til crisp, and then load it up with cheese, bacon, ranch, and green onions!
There was a local restaurant that used to make the BEST loaded cheese fries. It had to do almost 100% with their seasoning blend and I think we’ve cracked the code.
Of course, I hate making French fries at home unless they’re our air fryer frozen French fries (so easy and they taste like fresh fries from the drive through)!
The French fry is basically the staple or benchmark of what an air fryer can do. It is often one of the first few recipes that people try in their new air fryers.
That is all good and well, but after awhile it’s a little boring, isn’t it?
What if you could take those boring fries and add CHEESE!? That would be better right?
Now, to make it almost magical, you can add bacon! This is getting to be the type of air fryer recipe I want to have! Sounds good right?
It isn’t necessary to have a reason to cook a recipe as amazing as this, but if you need one…watching a movie, watching sports, having a get-together, having a scratch on the end of your nose, you had a headache last week, or you are looking for a snack to hold you over for a late dinner are all good reasons! 😉
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes:
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French fries – We love the hand cut style frozen fries for this recipe, but any frozen fries you like will work well here. Crinkle cut fries and waffle fries are also tasty when loaded with cheese and bacon.
Cheese– Shredded cheddar is the go to. Shred it yourself or buy it pre-shredded in a bag.
Bacon-You’ll need fried and crumbled bacon. You can fry it in a skillet or make our air fryer bacon ahead of time if you want to try that!
Seasoning– This seasoning is what really makes these fries shine. We use Nature’s Seasoning – it’s a mix of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. It’s simple enough to make your own using those spices if you don’t want to purchase a container of the blend but we use the container on pork, chicken, veggies, and more!
How to make loaded fried in the air fryer:
Cook the fries– Pour your fries into the air fryer basket and spritz with oil, shake your basket, and spritz them with oil again. Cook for 20 minutes, shaking halfway through, at 390 degrees F. We always check for doneness around 15 minutes and adjust the cook time – different thickness of fries will cook for different amounts of time.
Season the fries – Sprinkle the seasoning over the fries and shake the basket.
Load the fries– Sprinkle the cheese and bacon over the top of the fries and cook for 1-2 more minutes to melt the cheese. Remove from the air fryer and sprinkle with green onions, drizzle some ranch over the top, and serve hot!
FAQ:
Try loading up our air fryer tater tots or our air fryer roasted potatoes with cheese and bacon. Delicious!
Any type of frozen fry will work in your air fryer – just grab the shape and brand that you love best. Some fries will cook for a bit longer (thick cut) and others will cook for a shorter amount of time (thin cut). Just start checking the fries at the 15 minute mark and remove them from the air fryer when they’re as crisp as you’d like.
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Air Fryer Loaded Fries Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen french fries
- 3/4 teaspoon Nature’s Seasoning see notes
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 4 slices bacon fried and crumbled
- ¼ cup diced green onions
- Ranch dressing for drizzling
- Oil for spritzing on the fries
Instructions
- Pour French fries into the air fryer basket. Spritz with oil, shake basket, and spritz again.
- Cook at 390 degrees for 20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through cooking.
- Shake again at 15 minutes and check for doneness. 20 minutes is a guideline, but will vary based on the thickness of the fries.
- When fries have crisped to your liking, sprinkle the seasoning over the top and shake the basket to disperse the seasoning on the fries.
- Sprinkle the cheese and bacon over the top of the fries and return to the air fryer for 2 minutes to melt the cheese. You can most likely do this with the air fryer turned off – the residual heat will melt the cheese. However, you can also cook for 1-2 minutes if needed.
- Remove from the air fryer and sprinkle with the green onions and drizzle with ranch dressing.
- Serve hot.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
AL says
Pretty funny, I looked for Natures Seasons on WalMart and one 7.5oz container was $2.82, for a pack of two 7.5 oz containers it’s $19.12. What a deal!!!
Chad Campbell says
HA! Thanks for sharing. I hope nobody fell for that!