Do I have any French Fry lovers out there? Let’s get creative with these crispy spuds and make them a work of art, into my garlic cheese fries stack!
I love, love, love potatoes! You have so many options when you start with potatoes and these garlic cheese fries are just one example of how creative you can get. They are like a blank canvas waiting to be painted.
Don’t be fooled by the simple ingredients; these homemade french fries are full of flavor and the perfect side for any meal. The garlic mixture, and crispy fries come together to make a garlic cheese fries dish that will really will blow your mind!
Place this french fry stack next to any dish you see fit, they are bound to go well together and will not ever look out of place. I mean they are quite fancy looking, but the only special item you need is probably already in your pantry- a metal can!
Garlic Cheese Fry Recipe
Yep- like a soup can! Next time you make something with a can, rinse it out, take off the top, bottom and label and set it aside for the next time you have a hankering for some fries.
For this crispy french fries stack I used a 12-ounce tomato sauce can, but if you want to use something a little more narrow, you can make double the stacks. This recipe will make 2 large towers or 4 small towers.
Classic French Fries
If you choose to go the homemade route rather than using the frozen variety, I have a great Air Fryer French Fries recipe you could use to make these garlic cheese fries instead.
The big difference with doing it this way is just the size of the potatoes. Using frozen shoestring potatoes allows the fries to be small enough to fit into the can. Make sure to cut your fresh potatoes to about that same size.
Cut russet potatoes into fries shape (aiming to be the size of shoestring fries.) Place the fries in strainer or colander and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear.
Pat the fries dry with paper towels removing any excess water and toss in oil. Arrange the fries in an even layer in the air fryer basket. Leave space between each fry. You may need to cook in batches. Cook in the air fryer, flipping them halfway through cooking.
Garlic Cheese Fries Ingredients
- Frozen shoestring potato fries – While homemade fries are delicious, they require quite a process to make. If you feel inclined to make them be my guest. However, for the sake of simplicity and time, I used frozen fries.
- Garlic – Rather than use garlic powder, I use garlic cloves (minced or crushed) to get the maximum amount of garlic flavor into our garlic cheese fries.
- Parsley – Fresh parsley adds a nice clean flavor, as well as some color to your garlic parmesan fries.
- Oil – If you choose to fry your fries rather than bake them, you will need some sort of oil. Vegetable oil is usually the best for this type of thing. It’s helpful to have a deep-fry thermometer to ensure you get the right oil temperature.
- Salt & Pepper – I always prefer using fine sea salt when making a dish like this. Besides the garlic and cheese, salt and fresh ground pepper are all you need to season this garlic cheese fries recipes.
- Shredded cheese – The type of cheese is your choice. I used an Italian blend, but to make garlic parmesan french fries, I would suggest using parmesan cheese.
- Cooking spray – I don’t usually list this in with the rest of the ingredients, however, it’s crucial to this recipe. If you don’t spray the inside of the metal can, the fries will stick and your beautiful fry stack will be ruined.
How to Make Garlic Cheese Fries
- Preheat oven and prepare baking sheet. Preheat the oven and line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and coat with olive oil cooking spray.
- Cook fries. Prepare French fries according to package directions for either frying or baking. If frying, do it in small batches and watch out for splatter. Hot oil does not like cold, frozen fries. Remove to a paper towel lined plate in a single layer to drain while you prepare the spices.
- Prepare spices. In a large mixing bowl, combine garlic through black pepper and give it a mix. It will all sticky together at this point, but will break apart as soon as you toss the fries. So you guessed it, the next step is to toss the French fries!
- Prepare cans. Spray the inside of metal cans (soup cans, tomato sauce, etc) with cooking spray. Place on the baking sheet.
- Add layers. Stuff a pinch of French fries into your can; just enough to cover the bottom. Sprinkle a pinch of cheese over the fries and continue to layer, ending with an additional sprinkle of cheese. Pack fairly tight and be generous with the cheese, it is the “glue” to making your tower stay upright.
- Bake. Bake garlic cheese fries until cheese has melted. Using a large, wide spatula, transfer the stack, metal can and all to your serving plate. Slide the spatula under and carefully transfer. Now carefully pull the metal can up and off.
Storage and Freezing
As a general rule that I’m sure you’re aware of, french fries don’t tend to reheat well. If you do choose to reheat them, I would suggest reheating them in the oven. Store this garlic fries recipe in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
I do not suggest freezing these garlic cheese fries.
Check out some of these other easy oven baked french fries:
Parmesan Truffle Potato Wedges
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Sweet Potato Fries
Garlic Cheese Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- 28 ounces frozen shoestring potato fries
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 5 garlic cloves minced or crushed
- 1/4 cup flat Italian parsley minced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup shredded cheese (your choice, I used an Italian blend)
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.
- Prepare French fries according to package directions for either frying or baking. If frying, do it 2-3 batches and watch out for splatter. Hot oil does not like cold, frozen fries. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain while you prepare the spices.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine garlic through black pepper and give it a mix. It will all sticky together at this point, but will break apart as soon as you toss the fries. So you guessed it, the next step is to toss the French fries!
- Spray the inside of metal cans (soup cans, tomato sauce, etc) with cooking spray. Place on the baking sheet. Stuff a pinch of French fries into your can; just enough to cover the bottom. Sprinkle a pinch of cheese over the fries and continue to layer, ending with an additional sprinkle of cheese. Pack fairly tight and be generous with the cheese, it is the “glue” to making your tower stay upright.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Using a large, wide spatula, transferring stack, metal can and all to your serving plate. Slide the spatula under and carefully transfer. Now carefully pull the metal can up and off.
- Admire your French fry construction and enjoy your Garlic Parsley French Fry Tower!
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
Looks good to me! 🙂
– Brooke –
What a neat way to serve a side dish. Pinned
G’day! I love the tower Jessica!
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers! Joanne
Viewed as part of the Foodie Friends Friday Potato Party!
This is brilliant!!! It’s so easy, yet looks like something a gourmet restaurant would serve up! Fantastic job!
Thank you! It is very simple- turns French Fries into a classy, pretty side dish 🙂
That sounds amazing!
Oh my Yum! Love the picture too!
Thank you, Kim!
Super yummy looking, I want one right now!!!
Thank you, Tara!
Omg droooool! I LOVE cheesy chips 😀
I love anything with cheese!
What a cute idea! Pinning
Thank you Jamie!
I think that I seriously want those french fries right now but they don’t really fit into this week’s diet. Maybe you can come make them for me next month. 🙂
Of course, Britni! You could always bake ’em?