Air Fryer Loaded Fries

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.

Ingredient Notes:

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!

Air Fryer Loaded Fries

Print Recipe

French fries are always a sure thing in my family, but when we top them with cheese, bacon, and ranch they are even more of a hit! This recipe is super simple, but everyone loves it!

• Author: Julia
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 22 minutes
• Total Time: 27 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Snacks
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 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

1. Pour French fries into the air fryer basket. Spritz with oil, shake basket, and spritz again.
2. Cook at 390 degrees for 20 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through cooking.
3. Shake again at 15 minutes and check for doneness. 20 minutes is a guideline, but will vary based on the thickness of the fries.
4. When fries have crisped to your liking, sprinkle the seasoning over the top and shake the basket to disperse the seasoning on the fries.
5. 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.
6. Remove from the air fryer and sprinkle with the green onions and drizzle with ranch dressing.
7. Serve hot.

Notes

Nature’s Seasoning is a seasoning blend found in most stores. It’s a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic, and onion and adds loads of flavor. We use it on everything from pork to chicken to veggies. If your fries are already seasoned, omit or reduce the Nature’s Seasoning.