Bacon Cheeseburger Loaded Fries Recipe

Loaded fried, fratchos, whatever you want to call them: The only thing tastier than a big plate of fries is fries loaded with a bunch of toppings. Here developer Patterson Watkins is going with a savory cheesy bacon cheeseburger theme, piling on onions, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon, ground beef, and two types of cheese — cheddar and American. The savory, juicy flavors capture the essence of the all-American favorite meal: a burger with a side of fries. This recipe is easy enough to throw together for a snack, but substantial enough to serve as a meal. Also, as Watkins points out, "The absolute joy of a recipe like this is the flexibility and free-form approach you can take."

The recipe's adaptability extends to the star of the show: the fries themselves. Watkins' favorite type to use is crinkle-cut fries as she praises what she calls "their ability to cling to toppings with those grabby crinkles." She says curly or twisty fries would also lend themselves to supporting more toppings per bite, but if you prefer steak-cut, shoestring, or even matchstick fries, these could all work, too. With thinner-cut fries, though, you might need to use a fork to help you convey them to your mouth with all of the toppings intact.

This recipe starts with a bag of frozen fries, while bacon, a yellow onion, ground beef, cheddar cheese, American cheese, dill pickles, tomatoes, and lettuce are used as toppings. Yellow mustard, Thousand Island dressing, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper round out the ingredients list.

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Bake the fries per package instructions. Keep them on the baking tray once removed from the oven.

Meanwhile, place the bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 5 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the skillet, and place it on a paper towel-lined plate.

Add the onions to the skillet and saute until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes.

Add the ground beef, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to the skillet, and stir to combine them with the onions.

Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the ground beef is cooked through and nicely browned.

Using a slotted spoon, sprinkle the ground beef-onion mixture over the cooked fries.

Top the fries with shredded cheddar and American cheese, tearing the American cheese slices into smaller pieces for better coverage.

Place the fries in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the fries have been reheated.

Remove the fries from the oven and top with bacon, pickles, tomatoes, and shredded lettuce.

Drizzle with mustard and Thousand Island dressing before serving (alternatively, you can serve with the Thousand Island dressing on the side for dipping).

Serve the bacon cheeseburger loaded fries while hot.

The tricky thing about loading a bunch of toppings onto french fries is ensuring they don't collapse into a mushy mess. Watkins says it all starts with how you cook your fries, "Cook those fries to a golden crisp before adding your toppings." She explains that the crispy layer on the outside of a well-cooked fry protects it from the juicy toppings, but warns, "This crunchy barrier is temporary though (we've all experienced the joyless soggy fry)." While she favors baking the fries, you could also fry them, although be sure to drain them on a wire rack before you cover them with toppings. You could make this dish with leftover fries as long as you reheat them first.

Once your fries are cooked and topped, Watkins says that you need to eat them ASAP to combat what she calls "the eventual sog." She tells us that you need to cook them quick and hot once you've added the beef and cheese, "The trick we use to combat the sog when adding toppings, is to 'flash cook' it, cooking (in this case, melting the cheese) as quickly as possible. Hence the higher oven temp." She also explains that the wettest ingredients — the lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles — go on right at the end because this helps the fries to stay crispy until you eat them.

Watkins suggests any number of ways you can tweak this recipe to suit your preferences, saying you've got "endless topping variations." You could make a vegetarian version by swapping out the meat for grilled mushrooms or you could use plant-based versions of both the ground beef and bacon. You can also change up the cheeses, with Watkins recommending, "If you are a fan of all cheeses and want to experiment, I recommend choosing one super melty cheese; cheddar, fontina, gruyere, havarti, pepper jack, mozzarella, raclette (for my funky cheese fans) ... and one not-so super melty cheese." These are cheeses that melt at a higher temperature and hold their form better, such as blue cheeses, goat cheeses, feta, parmesan, and aged gouda.

Speaking of blue cheese, blue cheese dressing would be a great alternative to the fast-food favorite Thousand Island dressing Watkins favors, as would ranch dressing if that's more your speed. Watkins suggests you use your favorite burger condiment: You could always opt for a more classic topping like ketchup if you prefer. "BBQ sauce would be fun," Watkins tells us, as would mayonnaise (it was the first-ever fry dip, after all) or the mayo-ketchup blend known as fry sauce. For spicier loaded fries, you could go with salsa or pico de gallo or add some pickled jalapeños to the mix.