Spiced-Up Shoestring Fries

Although we may not have invented them, French fries are something that Southerners take very seriously. We love them with our hamburgers, our po’boys. Heck, we love them just on their own!

And while it’s hard to beat a freshly fried batch, several brands have made tremendous strides in the frozen French fry market. In case you haven’t tried them, these frozen fries require no skillet full of hot oil to render them crispy, just a good sheet pan and the heat of your oven.

And while yes, you can make homemade fries in your air fryer or oven, it’s OK to give yourself a break and let the freezer aisle do the heavy lifting.

The beauty of oven-baked fries is that you can jazz them up any way you like. We’ve opted to give these Spiced-Up fries the nacho treatment by seasoning them with a blend of cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and extra salt. Paired with an easy chipotle mayonnaise dipping sauce that accompanies our Cheesy Mushroom Sliders, it’s spicy-crispy side that you can whip up in minutes with minimal effort.

When shopping for frozen fries for this recipe, look for shoestring fries, which are thinner than crinkle cut or steak fries. These thin fries have a higher surface area to potato-interior ratio, doubling the crunch factor.