Indulgent, comforting, a little naughty and very, very dirty, after eating these fries you’ll never want to have a plain oven chip again! Dirty fries are a perfect side dish to jazz up a meal or a great cheat day snack.
What are dirty fries?
Dirty fries are essentially loaded fries. A plate of chips or fries piled with a host of tasty and indulgent toppings. Where they originated I’m not entirely sure, but it appears they started to grow in popularity in the UK in 2016 and really took off in 2019.
This recipe tops oven chips with oozing cheese, crispy bacon and tasty red onion, tossed in a mix of Worcestershire sauce and sweet paprika. They are topped off with a scattering of diced tomato and parsley to add a fresh dimension to the plate.
You can get creative and use whatever toppings you want. Try different types of cheese, minced beef, chorizo, jalapenos or sauces such as guacamole.
What can I serve them with?
You can serve these as a snack or as a side dish instead of boring old plain chips or fries. Some great recipes to serve them with include:
Naturally, they are best served with a big pot of something for dunking. You can go for a classic option like mayo or ketchup, or add even more flavour with chilli sauce or peri-peri.
Can I make them in advance?
These fries are best served fresh so I don’t recommend making them in advance (the chips will most certainly become soggier after reheating). However, you can prep all the ingredients in advance and store them in the fridge and then simply throw it all together when you are ready to eat.
What kind of chips should I use?
You can use any kind of chips that you want for this recipe, both thick-cut chips or thin French fries work well. Oven chips are great because it makes the dish super quick to pull together and you can have them ready on hand whenever you have a craving. However, if you have the time you can’t beat the taste of homemade chips!
Ingredients, Substitutions & Recipe Ideas
The main ingredients for this are: (For a full list with weights and measurements jump to the printable recipe card).
- Oven chips
- Streaky bacon, cut into small pieces – you can also use back bacon if preferred, but you’ll need half the amount of rashers since they are larger. You can also experiment with diced chorizo
- Red onion, finely diced
- Worcestershire sauce
- Sweet paprika – can be swapped with hot paprika for a little kick, or some earthy dried herbs and spices. Cajun spices work really well.
- Spring onion/scallion, finely sliced
- Cheddar, you can swap with any type of meltable cheese. Parmesan, gruyere, mozzarella. Make sure to grate the cheese yourself as it will melt better than pre-grated varieties
- Tomato, deseeded and diced – you can also use diced jalapeno or chilli for a spicy kick, or diced red pepper/capsicum
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped – can be swapped for coriander/cilantro or omitted
How to make them
For more detailed steps with recipe tips jump to the printable recipe card.
- Cook the chips according to the package directions
- Pan fry the bacon until lightly crisp and then add the onion and cook for around 5 minutes until the bacon is cooked through and the onion is softened.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, paprika and spring onion to the pan and toss everything together.
- Spread the chips on a plate and sprinkle over the cheese. Top with the bacon mix and then the tomatoes and parsley.
Looking for more dirty or naughty side dish recipes? Try:
Products that work well for this recipe:
Dawsons Living 2 Piece Traybake and Roaster Set
Magnetic Spice Rack – Set of 12
6 Sided Grater with Container
Dirty Fries
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
These fries are dirty, naughty and so, so tasty! You’ll never want a plain chip again. Topped with oozing cheese, crisp bacon and sweet onion.
The default recipe serves 2.
Ingredients
- 200g / 7oz oven chips or fries
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 rashers streaky bacon, sliced into small pieces (see note 1,2)
- 1/2 red onion, very finely diced
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 spring onion, finely sliced on the diagonal
- 30g grated cheddar (see note 3,4)
- 1/2 tomato, seeds removed and finely diced
- 2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Bake the chips according to the package direction. (see note 5)
- When the chips are nearly done heat the olive oil in a frying pan/skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 2-3 minutes until starting to brown.
- Add the onion to the pan and continue to cook the onion and bacon for around 5 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the onion softened. Reduce the heat a little if needed.
- Pour in the Worcestershire sauce, paprika and spring onion and toss everything together. Season to taste.
- Arrange the chips/fries on a plate and scatter the cheese over them. You can pop it into the oven for a minute or so to completely melt the cheese if needed.
- Spoon the bacon mixture on top and then top with the chopped tomatoes and parsley.
Notes
- You can use back bacon instead but just use 1 or 2 slices.
- Top hack: use kitchen scissors to snip the bacon into pieces rather than trying to slice it with a knife
- Any meltable cheese can be substituted.
- Make sure to grate the cheese yourself rather than buying pre-packaged grated cheese, which uses additives that prevent it from melting as well.
- For best results place a wire rack over the baking tray and place the chips on top which will help them cook more evenly.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Side
- Method: Hob / Oven
- Cuisine: British
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 340
- Fat: 16g
- Carbohydrates: 35g
- Protein: 10g
Keywords: dirty fries, loaded fries, chips, bacon, paprika, snack, side, indulgent, comforting
