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Skinny Texas Cheese Fries

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Guiltless cheesy baked seasoned fries topped with bacon, jalapeños and scallions... this is SOOO good! Pure comfort food when cheese fries are what you're craving.

Guiltless cheesy baked seasoned fries topped with bacon, jalapeños and scallions… this is SOOO good! Pure comfort food when cheese fries are what you’re craving.

Making them yourself will save hundreds of calories and have better portion control preparing it yourself. A half order at Chili’s is a whopping 1260 calories and 89 grams of fat, yikes!!

This recipe is a serving for two, if you want to make this into a meal, serve it with a cup of soup and a garden salad on the side. You’ll have those carbs you crave and feel completely satisfied.

I left the skin on for added fiber, and I opted to use a full fat cheddar so that the cheese melts beautifully, I just used less of it and I think it was perfect.

How To Make Healthier Texas Cheese Fries

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Skinny Texas Cheese Fries

4.75 from 4 votes
9
Cals:265
Protein:10.5
Carbs:30
Fat:12
Guiltless cheesy baked seasoned fries topped with bacon, jalapeños and scallions... this is SOOO good! Pure comfort food when cheese fries are what you're craving.
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Guiltless cheesy baked seasoned fries topped with bacon, jalapeños and scallions... this is SOOO good! Pure comfort food when cheese fries are what you're craving.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Yield: 2 Servings
Serving Size: 1 /2

Ingredients

  • 2 medium potatoes, 5 1/2 oz each, yukon gold or russet, washed and dried
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/8 tsp cumin
  • coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper
  • 1 slice center cut bacon, cooked & finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup sharp shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 tbsp diced scallions
  • 1 tbsp sliced pickled Jalapeno, jarred on canned

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 450°. Line baking sheet with foil for easy clean-up if desired. Lightly coat with cooking spray.
  • Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/4 inch thin slices; then cut each slice into 1/4 inch fries.
  • In a large bowl, combine cut potatoes and oil; toss well. Add seasoning (paprika to salt and pepper). Toss to coat.
  • Place potatoes in a single layer, bake in the bottom third of the oven 10 minutes, turn and bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until crisp and browned.
  • Remove from oven, top with cheddar cheese, sliced jalapenos, scallions and bacon bits and return to oven for  about 1 to 2 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

Last Step:

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 /2, Calories: 265 kcal, Carbohydrates: 30 g, Protein: 10.5 g, Fat: 12 g, Saturated Fat: 4.5 g, Cholesterol: 19.5 mg, Sodium: 305.5 mg, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 1.5 g

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103 comments on “Skinny Texas Cheese Fries”

  1. I make the spice blend in bulk and keep “fry spuce” handy. 1 potato + 1tsp spice is perfect for nights when I don’t want to cook a big meal.

  2. Ranch is critical for this recipe and used to be linked from this recipe. I don’t see it anymore. If this is your first time making this recipe, just know that it NEEDS the ranch. Hoping that I can do a search to find the same recipe that was listed here before.

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  4. This was awesome!! I have been craving Outback cheese fries for the last month. These were certainly different, but equally good and satisfied my craving. 

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  7. I’ve been looking for not a skinny but spiced up version of this recipe. Yours is a flavour packed recipe without the use of fat for taste. Thumbs up. Gonna make this for my sisters.

  8. Avatar photo
    Melissa Brooker

    These are fantastic!! I can’t believe how delicious they are! And the ranch just takes them over the top. I used light cheese because it’s what I hand on hand and worked very well!

  9. Love these, I parboil the potatoes for a few minutes just to make sure they are really well cooked inside!!!! Yummy!!!????

  10. I love fries! These were probably the best I had ever tasted. I cooked them two days in a row. Just for me. Lol. Great recipe.

  11. Avatar photo
    chanteusevca

    These were wonderful tonight while Oscar watching and craving something warm and decadent and guiltless! Thanks so much for all of your wonderful recipes that keep me on track with WW!

  12. I finally made these and they are outstanding!! I didn't have jalepenos or scallions, so I diced up red pepper. I also only had low fat cheese…they were fantastic! Thanks Gina!! Made your strawberry cheesecake for dessert tonight (with raspberry jam) and can't wait, that's another favorite 🙂

  13. Avatar photo
    Teresa Sproles

    I've made these several times and they are delish! I used Kraft Mexican 4 cheese and it made them even better!

  14. These were great! I don't buy bacon often, so I cooked the whole package, crumbled it, and froze the remainder so I have more for next time. Love the recipe Gina!

  15. Hey, stupid question. It says "Servings: 2" and "Serving Size: 1/2." Does that mean that the recipe yields 2 servings and if you eat one half of that total (1 serving), it will be 259 calories? Or is the serving size one half of one serving, meaning the recipe yields 4 servings of 259 calories. Thanks 🙂

  16. This was absolutely delicious. I love how the flavor comes from the sharp cheddar cheese and the jalapenos! I have made this recipe several times!

  17. These were fantastic! I made them this afternoon as Football snacks for the Texans game. My family loved them! Thank you, thank you, thank you! 😀

  18. I made these for dinner tonight and they were amazing. I used a little less cheese to lighten it up a bit and I also bought low fat buttermilk ranch from Walmart (their Marketside brand in their produce section) and they seriously tasted like I was at Chili's or Outback…except I saved a ton of fat and calories!

  19. My husband loved these. All he wanted to for his birthday was to watch football and eat junk food. I found this recipe and he told me that he would never guess they were from skinnytaste. In fact, he said they looked and tasted like something you would get in a restaurant!

  20. All my nephews love this. When we have them for the weekends this is one of the things we always have.

  21. I made these tonight, everybody loved them! I used Chipotle Chili powder for more spice and added tomato into the mix.
    Thanks for all the great recipes!

  22. These were absolutely DELICIOUS!! I've now made them quite a few times for different occasions and everyone has complimented them and are shocked with how simple the ingredients are and how good they are for you! Thank you for this wonderful recipe that has now become a staple in my household!

  23. This is probably a little forward, but I love you. Really. I am in the depths of PMS, and this is going to get me through. Now I'm going to look for your chocolate recipes:)
    Holly

  24. made them last week and we about died with yumminess. making them again tonight for company. LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!

  25. Gina– made these for DS & myself for lunch w/ a large salad. It was a very nice treat. I LOVE the Chili's cheese fries but never get them because they're SOOOOOOO horribly fattening!!

    These were amazing! Just the right amount for me to kill the craving. YUM YUM YUM!! I'm going to have to make them again soon!

  26. I made these last week and they were delicious. My husband and kids loved them and didn't even notice that they weren't fried. Making them again this coming week. Thanks!

  27. Dinner last night = Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps, these Cheese Fries and Lowfat Buttermilk Ranch! WHAT A HUGE HIT!! Tonight I'm making the Creamy Grape Dessert for some company and we're using the leftover ranch dressing for lunch!

  28. I made this yesterday and I just want to say thank you thank you thank you!! Hubby LOVED it and was full afterwards! We had a salad with the ranch on the side and it was the perfect meal. I made double the recipe so we packed some for lunch today and they were great. I am so excited to try a bunch more recipes!

  29. Well, I finally made these tonight. I was a bit apprehensive , but they turned out fantastic ! I used a jalapeno ranch for dipping, they were so yummy! We will be making them again. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

  30. Finally got around to making these tonight…they are awesome! The smoked paprika was a nice touch, the fries themselves had tons of flavor and the toppings made it that much better! We followed your suggestion of having a big salad with it for dinner.

  31. Avatar photo
    Shira M. Zemel

    Gina,

    I love your recipes. I've made 14 of your recipes so far and each one has been incredible and crucial to my weight loss journey.
    I really want to make these: I love cheese fries. Alas, I'm kosher, so I don't eat bacon (but clearly they will still be delicious without the bacon)
    Any way you can tell me the WW points plus value if I omit the bacon? I'd love to know!

  32. Might I be the only one wondering if each potato will weigh 2/3 pound each- or- 2/3 pounds total weight- which does not seem like a lot when I weighed it out for two people if total weight for both is 2/3 pound. I have all the ingredients 🙂

  33. These are very good! They are HOT.. but I like hot… the ranch cools em down.. If you don't like hot, I recommend keeping out the chili powder… Also, I think next time I will omit the oil and coat with cooking spray and season and bake .. and also the cheese makes it look good but it would be great with out.. basically then you are getting just the calories from the potatoes. The ranch I make only has 13 calories per serving… This was the best thing I've had in a long time..

  34. So delicious! The prep work takes a little bit of time, but very worth it. We're making another batch today and playing with the seasonings (adding in curry powder) – hopefully they'll be just as good.

  35. So I made another half batch of this today, except not only did I forget to half the amount of spices, I put 1/2 a teaspoon of every single spice in. As Ralphie Wiggum once said, they taste like burning. Still good even then though.

  36. made these and ate them for lunch just now with the side of your buttermilk ranch…SO good and seasoned perfectly…couldn't even tell they were "skinny"!

  37. Made these great recipe, however I did not use cumin, instead of smoked paprika i used regular, but taste excellent the whole family loved them!!

  38. I made these with celeriac, they were fantastic! And you lose the potato points too! Yumm thx again Gina

  39. I made these and they were very good, but it's hard to believe that's only 1/3 cup cheese in your photo. Mine didn't look nearly as cheesy.

  40. Remember the restaurant scene from When Harry Met Sally? Yeah. I seriously wanted to reenact that at the dinner table, these were that good!

  41. I just tried these fries only I used low fat sour cream as a topping. They were d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!!! Thank you so much!

  42. I made this into a meal by adding shredded chicken. I seasoned the potatoes with paprika, salt and pepper. While they were baking, I fried shredded leftover chicken breast with the bacon, then seasoned it with the rest of the spices and cooked for a couple of minutes. I put the fries on a pizza plate, covered them with the chicken mixture, then covered it all with the cheese, scallions, and peppers. I broiled it until the cheese was bubbling then served it with a fresh garden salad. Delicious!

  43. I made these last night for dinner and they were so good! I had to cook my potatoes for a bit longer to get them crispy but we had them while we watched basketball and it felt like we had brought the sports bar to our home but with way less calories!
    Thank you!!!

  44. Made these tonight and also did the same thing to some chicken too and it was fantastic you would pay good money for this in a resturant brilliant

  45. These fries are amazing! The homemade low-fat buttermilk ranch is perfect with them as well. Thanks, Gina! It feels like forever since I ate cheese fries. What a yummy skinny treat!

  46. Made these tonight. Fries too WAY longer to cook, even though I thought I sliced them thin enough- but not a big deal. I also didn't use all the seasonings because I didn't have them and I don't think it took away from the taste (so for other readers, don't shy away just because you're missing a few things). Served with a dollop of sour cream and bacon bits and it was delish!

  47. Avatar photo
    carolina postcard

    these were so good & that buttermilk ranch was so delicious I couldn't stop dipping at every bite!

  48. My family (both kids and adults) love ranch seasoning in FF or 2% Greek yogurt. Leaving out the mayo and the sour cream = even healthier! : )

  49. Made these last night and they were AMAZING.

    I thought they were a little on the spicy side, but my husband said he would have like his portion to have had more jalapenos, lol.

  50. Gina, I wish there was a way to create a log in to your page so us fans could save favorite recipes to "our recipe box" for easy retrieval. I am in llluuurrrvvveee with your page and use your recipes all the time…i have tried to save them as pdf's, print them for keeping but I always seem to just log into the site, track down the recipe, and cook with the laptop in the kitchen…it would just be easier if I could have them in a "recipe box" 🙂 Continue what you are doing, we are so appreciative!

    1. Avatar photo
      Gina @ Skinnytaste

      Jule, there is a way u can save it to your recipe box. Below the recipe, click the blue save recipe box. You can access it any time.

  51. Love this, Gina. I made 'em last night with turkey bacon and reduced fat cheese. We didn't even need any dip! So delicious. Just the fry recipe itself is delicious, too (without the toppings), so I plan to use it for regular baked fries as well.

  52. Made these tonight! Absolutley fabulous! I left off the bacon and they were still fantastic. Hard to believe they are guilt free. Completly easy and yummy. Definetly will be making again!!

  53. I couldn't wait. They were fabulous. I used banana peppers instead of jalepenos, and they went really well. Thanks so much for this. I can't wait to make it again!

  54. What a recipe! I made this for dinner tonight, along with the Buttermilk Ranch,and they were all gone in less than 15 minutes. The seasoning on the fries is perfect. Cannot wait to try it on sweet potato fries.

  55. These were great! I used a bag of cascade farms crinkle cut fries to help save time! Only three ingredients in the bag (potato, canola oil,and apple juice) so figured I wasnt doing too much damage by subbing in prepared fries. Skipped the olive oil but seasoned them the same way. The baked up really crispy. I used real cheese for my fiance and 2% for me and went with a whole slice of bacon per serving.

    They were really really good! I put diced jalapenos in my ranch dressing too like they do at Texas Roadhouse.

    Thanks for these!

  56. These look amazing! Any chance fries with mozzarella and brown gravy are next?? 🙂 I would die of happiness!

    1. In Quebec (canada) we call that Poutine! And that is so delicious! But originally it's with cheese curds!!
      In quebec every restaurant serves poutine! 🙂

  57. These look amazing.. I can't wait..yum…
    I'm going to try using turkey bacon..cook it a little longer and it gets nice and crispy!! You hit it out of the ball park again Gina!!!

  58. Ok, so hubby and I just bought sweet potatoes yesterday and green onions! I'm soooo trying this tonight…sweet potato fries version!

  59. Avatar photo
    Somewhere In The Sun

    Yum! I noticed that you didn't use low fat cheese. I'd like to cut a few more calories but wanted to see if there was a particular reason you are using regular cheese here. Don't want to mess with a good thing! 🙂

    1. She mentioned in the narrative – she wanted it to melt better. She also mentioned you could use low fat if you wish and recommended 2 brands she likes.