Cheesy Pizza Fries with Curly Fries
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Pizza and fries are two of my favourite foods. When you put them together you have this Cheesy Pizza Fries with Curly Fries - for that extra special touch! Deep fried crispy curly fries are topped with homemade no-cook pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni, baked to create the ultimate pizza experience over fries!
Cheesy Pizza Fries with Curly Fries
Two things I can’t live without: pizza and French fries.
Not gonna lie I eat pizza or a variation of pizza, such as pizza bagels, a naanza, or bread pizza at least once a week, but usually two to three. I consider my masala cheese toast and pan-fried cheese toast variations of pizza! I think I eat fries at least twice a week whether it’s air fryer French fries to go with a burger or I’m out and about having poutine!
If you love these two super foods the way I do, then this combination will change your life. To be honest, why did it take me so long to make this? Helloooo! This Cheesy Pizza Fries recipe came to be at lunch one day, when I wasn’t totally sure what to eat. I had some pepperoni and leftover pizza sauce after making some naanzas the night before, potatoes, and lots of cheese. I was in a pizza phase as you can see, so I wanted to extend my streak while combining my French fries desire. The result? Oh goodness was it amazing! I made this quickly for lunch by simply air frying my French fries, then adding the toppings and microwaving, garnishing with parsley.
I was instantly obsessed, and I couldn’t wait to make this but with a bit more love. And here it is! At the time of writing this, I’m hosting a collab on YouTube for the month of July called #funfries. I encourage you to make your favourite French fries recipe throughout the month of July! Fries are such a great theme to have, and it’ll really spark your creativity! I explain more about how having a theme in mind will get you out of a rut in the kitchen and get you motivated to make some delicious dishes in my 5 Tips To Make Cooking Fun! free guide! Sign up for the newsletter to get this free guide along with the Live to Cook one month challenge! Your French fry dishes can totally be a part of both the collab and your Live to Cook challenge! If you participate, be sure to tag me on Instagram so I can drool over your amazing fries!
To grasp all the concepts and to follow along with me making these Cheesy Pizza Fries from start to finish, then check out the video at the bottom of this post! If you’re not already, I’d really appreciate if you subscribe to my YouTube channel! Please hit the bell button too so that you receive the notifications when my video recipes go live! Deep frying can be intimidating, but if you follow along by reading the recipe and watching the video, I guarantee you success with this awesome French fry recipe! Let’s get cooking!
Why You’ll Love this Cheesy Pizza Fries Recipe
There are so many reasons why you need to try this Cheesy Pizza Fries with Curly Fries recipe as soon as you can!
Best of both worlds: As I said, pizza and fries are my all-time favourite foods. This fusion is so simple but so genius! Get your cheesy pepperoni goodness on top of hot and crispy curly fries! Two cravings satisfied in one, yeah!
Family-friendly: While fries and pizza are family foods on their own, making this recipe for the family is sure to be a hit! I prepared this recipe for two in a medium-sized casserole, but you can easily scale the recipe for larger casseroles to serve you and your kids or for an entire family get-together! In fact, if it’s just you, you can make this in an individual casserole! Individual enjoyment is encouraged!
Special: Not only are you having an incredible experience of fries and pizza together, but I find the curly fries just makes this dish even more fun. They’re lots of fun to make and eat! You’ll love those crispy spirals with all the cheese, sauce and pepperoni over them!
Minimal clean-up: The messiest part of this recipe is when you deep fry the curly fries. After that point, everything else just comes assembled in a casserole dish, so other than a cheese grater, that and the casserole are all you’ll need to clean!
Customizable: Part of the joy with pizzas is picking toppings! I’m using a basic pizza format here, but I’ve got topping ideas for you to mix and match below!
How to Get the Curly Fries shape
You’ll need to use a spiralizer to get perfect curly fries. After you’ve washed and scrubbed your potato, cut one edge of the potato so that it’s flat. Then, attach the flat of the potato to the spokes of the spiralizer and secure the potato. Turn the spiralizer to create the spirals. You can choose to do long or short spirals, depending on your choice. Otherwise, you can use a knife to adjust the length as desired.
Ingredients for Cheesy Pizza Fries
Time to review the ingredients that are needed for our Cheesy Pizza Fries. We’ll see what’s needed to make our curly fries, how to make a quick no-cook pizza sauce, and our toppings. Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post for PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD for all ingredient quantities and full instructions to save for later! The recipe card will also let you scale the recipe based on how many portions you want to make, so you can easily increase the recipe for a huge dinner party or just make it for you and your other half!
For the Curly Fries
Yellow potatoes
Vegetable oil, for frying
For the No-Cook pizza Sauce
Garlic cloves
Chili flakes (optional)
salt to taste
For the Pizza Fries
Mozzarella
Pepperoni
Provolone
How to Make Cheesy Pizza Fries
For the Curly Fries
Wash and scrub the potatoes. Cut one edge of the potato so it is flat. Attach the flat side of the potato to the spokes of the spiralizer and secure the potato. Turn the spiralizer to create the spirals. You can do a continuous spiral to create long spirals or shorter ones to create small ones. Alternatively, use a knife to adjust the length as desired.
Soak the potatoes in cold water for at least 15-20 minutes.
Grab a large bowl and create the batter by whisking flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper together. Then add water, little bit at a time and whisk until you have a thick, pourable smooth batter.
Heat the oil for frying in a large wok or pot - aim for a temperature between 375 F and 400 F on medium heat.
Drain the fries and then pat them dry. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip each curly fry and dip in the batter. Let any excess drip away and then place this battered portion on the baking sheet. Repeat the same with the remaining fries.
Once the oil is hot, add the battered fries to the oil and fry until they are golden brown crispy outside and soft inside. This can take between 8-15 minutes, depending on the level of doneness you desire.
Season with salt.
For the No-Cook pizza Sauce
Mix together passata, olive oil, oregano, salt, garlic and chilli flakes (if using). Then add tomato paste and mix well.
For the Pizza Fries
Turn on the broiler in your oven.
In a casserole, add a generous amount of curly fries.
Add all of the tomato sauce around the fries, you don't need to coat each an every fry, just dot it around the casserole.
Tear small pieces from the provolone slice and arrange that around the casserole. Add shredded mozzarella and spread evenly. Top with pepperoni slices.
Place the casserole under the broiler and cook until the fries have warmed up and the cheese has melted and browned slightly, about 5-7 minutes.
Garnish with basil or dried parsley.;
Serve hot and enjoy!
Topping variations
Proteins: Feel free to experiment! I would recommend chopped grilled chicken, ground beef, sausage, or shrimp. Great vegetarian sources include paneer or tofu.
Veggies: I chose not to add veggies here just because I wanted to replicate a classic pepperoni pizza. My favourite veggies on pizza include sliced red onions and green pepper, but other awesome options are red pepper, mushrooms, jalapeño, or corn!
Sauces: Try marinara sauce, BBQ sauce, Alfredo sauce, or buffalo sauce!
Cheeses: I only used mozzarella here, but other pizzas that would be awesome to add are white cheddar, cheddar, Monterey Jack, provolone, Havarti or Swiss cheese! In fact, you could even add some cheese curds as I did once and you’ve got a three in one fusion - fries, pizza, and poutine - another one of my favourite foods!
Tips & Tricks for Fantastic Cheesy Pizza Fries
Soak the fries in cold water to rinse off excess starch to help get the fries crispy.
Make sure to heat oil to about 375 to 400 Fahrenheits to fry the fries.
Make the sauce ahead of time to intensify the amount of flavour
Feel free to experiment and substitute with your favourite combination of cheeses and toppings, such as cheddar, monterey jack, swiss for cheese or cooked sausage, chicken or mushrooms for the topping.
Questions You May Have
Do I need to Soak the potatoes?
You need to soak your potatoes because of the starch! Yukon gold potatoes and Russet potatoes contain a lot of starch. Soaking the potatoes in water for at least twenty minutes will remove the starch, allowing you to get perfectly crisp French fries. The water will turn cloudy as the starch releases. If you don’t do this, you’ll get mushy fries, and that won’t be enjoyable at all!
CaN I make cheesy pizza fries ahead of time?
I wouldn’t do this at all. You want nice cheesy pulls that can only happen with freshly molten warm cheese! You also want your fries to be awesome and crispy, and again that is achieved when your dish is freshly prepared!
However, here are some ideas to prep in advance so that you’re all ready to whip up your pizza fries when it’s time to eat!
Spiralize and soak the fries
Make the pizza sauce in advance
Grate your cheese and place in an airtight container in the fridge
Can I Use Straight Cut Fries Instead?
Yeah why not! Ever since buying my spiralizer, I’ve loved making curly fries, and I thought those fries would make this pizza fries recipe super special and delicious! However, if you want to experiment with straight cut fries, check out my Restaurant-Style Deep Fried Fries recipe!
Can I Bake My French Fries Instead of Deep Frying?
For sure! As I mentioned earlier in the post, I first tried this recipe with air fryer French fries, and a few days later I made this again with air fryer fries for a quick dinner. You can air fry your fries or bake them in the oven if you don’t have an air fryer. I have all the options for ya!
More French Fry Recipes!
Watch how to make Cheesy Pizza Fries with Curly Fries here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!
Cheesy Pizza Fries with Curly Fries
Ingredients
- 1 large Yukon gold potato (1 pound)
- Canola/Vegetable oil, for frying
- 3/4 Cup flour
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- Water, as needed
- Equipment: Spiralizer required
- 1/2 Cup passata
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- pinch of crushed chili flakes (optional)
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- salt to taste
- 1 Cup mozzarella
- 8-10 slices of pepperoni
- 1 slice of provolone
Instructions
- Wash and scrub the potatoes. Cut one edge of the potato so it is flat. Attach the flat side of the potato to the spokes of the spiralizer and secure the potato. Turn the spiralizer to create the spirals. You can do a continuous spiral to create long spirals or shorter ones to create small ones. Alternatively, use a knife to adjust the length as desired.
- Soak the potatoes in cold water for at least 15-20 minutes.
- Grab a large bowl and create the batter by whisking flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper together. Then add water, little bit at a time and whisk until you have a thick, pourable smooth batter.
- Heat the oil for frying in a large wok or pot - aim for a temperature between 375 F and 400 F on medium heat.
- Drain the fries and then pat them dry. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip each curly fry and dip in the batter. Let any excess drip away and then place this battered portion on the baking sheet. Repeat the same with the remaining fries.
- Once the oil is hot, add the battered fries to the oil and fry until they are golden brown crispy outside and soft inside. This can take between 8-15 minutes, depending on the level of doneness you desire. Season with salt.
- Mix together passata, olive oil, oregano, salt, garlic and chilli flakes (if using). Then, add tomato paste and mix well. Make the sauce ahead of time to intensify the amount of flavour.
- Turn on the broiler in your oven.
- In a casserole, add a generous amount of curly fries. Add all of the tomato sauce around the fries, you don't need to coat each an every fry, just dot it around the casserole.
- Tear small pieces from the provolone slice and arrange that around the casserole. Add shredded mozzarella and spread evenly. Top with pepperoni slices.
- Place the casserole under the broiler and cook until the fries have warmed up and the cheese has melted and browned slightly, about 5-7 minutes.
- Garnish with basil or dried parsley and enjoy.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
563.49Fat (grams)
25.04Sat. Fat (grams)
11.44Carbs (grams)
60.5Fiber (grams)
4.92Net carbs
55.56Sugar (grams)
4.64Protein (grams)
24.69Sodium (milligrams)
788.28Cholesterol (grams)
59.52Nutrition info is an estimate.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
