Use this easy Nacho Fries recipe to make copycat Taco Bell fries at home! Serve these spicy, crispy fries with cheese dip.
French fries are a popular appetizer, but they are also a great side dish for burgers, pork, steak, and chicken.
Taco Bell Nacho Fries are only available occasionally, but with this recipe, you can make them at home any time the craving hits! We love them with homemade nacho cheese sauce!
What You’ll Find In This Post About Making Nacho Fries
Ingredients Needed
Although the list for this recipe looks long, it is mostly spices for the nacho seasoning! The only other thing you need is french fries.
- French fries: You can use homemade or store-bought fries depending on what you prefer and how much time you have to make this recipe.
- Cheese Powder: This recipe calls for cheddar cheese powder. We bought ours online, but you can also find it in some grocery stores, or you can use the powdered cheese packet from a box of mac and cheese.
- Spices: The seasoning mixture includes paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, and coarse ground black pepper.
How To Make Nacho Fries At Home
Homemade Nacho Fries:
Although it is easy to make homemade nacho fries, you’ll need to plan ahead because the sliced potatoes need to soak before cooking them. Soaking them ensures that you get the best, crispiest homemade french fries! You can prep them the day before and let them soak overnight.
- Prep: After slicing the potatoes into evenly sized sticks, put the into a bowl of water to soak. They need to soak for at least one hour, but we prefer soaking them overnight.
- Par Bake: For the crispiest french fries, you need to partially bake the fries, allow them to cool, and then finish frying them. Par baking at a lower temperature cooks the potatoes so that they are tender.
- Cook: Once the french fries have cooled, bake them at a high temperature until they are crispy and golden on the outside.
- Season: Add the nacho seasoning when you have 5 minutes of cook time remaining.
Frozen Nacho Fries:
You can use frozen french fries to make this recipe if you prefer. Using store-bought fries saves time because they don’t have to be soaked cooking them.
- Cook: Follow the cooking instructions on the frozen french fries package. The directions will vary depending on the brand and cut of the fries you choose.
- Season: Add the nacho seasoning when you have 5 minutes of cook time remaining.
Variations
Loaded Nacho Fries
One of our favorite variations is making loaded nacho fries! Line a small metal tray or paper boat with French fries. Top the fries with taco meat, diced tomatoes, nacho cheese (find our recipe here), and sliced green onions.
Chili Cheese Fries
Another delicious option is to top the fries with hearty chili, shredded cheese, sour cream, and onions.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are available for a limited time at Taco Bell, but you can make them at home any time!
They are crispy French fries with spicy nacho seasoning on the outside.
The fries are topped with taco meat, diced tomatoes, nacho cheese, and diced green onions.
Want more appetizer recipes? Try these next
- Jalapeno Popper Bites are the bite-sized, cheesier version of traditional jalapeno poppers with a crispy breading and a gooey middle.
- These Mini Corn Dogs are coated in honey-sweetened cornmeal batter and deep-fried until they are golden brown and crispy.
- Our homemade Pizza Rolls are made with two ingredient dough and stuffed with pepperoni, cheese, and sauce.
- Fried Pickles are coated with a seasoned batter and deep-fried until golden brown!
Nacho Fries
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen French Fries See Note 3
- 2 tablespoon cheddar cheese powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix all of the nacho fry spices together and set aside.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400˚F. Then air fry at 400˚F for 5 minutes, open the basket, spray the fries with olive oil spray, and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of seasoning stirring to coat. Then, air fry for an additional 4-5 minutes until crispy. See Note 1 for Oven Baked Method and Note 2 for Deep Fryer Method.
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