Chili Cheese Fries

That’s right. Chili cheese fries. On a healthy food blog.

This American bar favorite is easier to “healthify” than you might think. Start with thickly cut crispy potato wedges – roasted with a bit of cooking spray rather than fried in a vat of oil… then layer on a homemade chili that’s heavy on veggies & beans and light on meat… and finish off with a drizzle pool of low fat – but silky smooth and flavorful – homemade cheese sauce.

A few notes:

I used a white cheddar, thus the pale-hued cheese sauce. If you’re looking for that authentic cheese sauce color, opt for a yellow cheddar.
If you don’t have leftover chili hangin’ out in the fridge, go ahead and used a canned version. Amy’s Kitchen has some tasty and healthy options. As canned chili tends to be high in sodium, I recommend omitting the salt from the oven fries and cheese sauce if you’re going the canned route.
If you prefer lots of cheese sauce, double the amount of butter, flour, milk and cheese;  follow steps 5-10 as written below.
For a thicker cheese sauce, double only the amount of cheese.

Chili Cheese Fries

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

2 large or 3 medium-sized russet potatoes, scrubbed and each cut into 8 wedges
canola or olive oil cooking spray
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
about 2 cups of your favorite chili (I used leftover Fiery Red Chili)
1 Tbsp butter or Earth Balance
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/2 cup 50% reduced fat shredded jalapeno cheddar or pepper jack cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Place potato wedges on a baking sheet, spray evenly with cooking spray, salt, and pepper, and toss to coat.
Bake potato wedges for 40 minutes, flipping once after 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the chili in the microwave or on the stovetop until hot.
Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add in the butter, and heat until melted. Sprinkle in the flour, and whisk into the butter for 1 minute.
Slowly add in the milk, whisking constantly.
Lower heat to medium, and continue whisking until mixture thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
Remove pan from heat, add in the cheese, and whisk until the cheese is melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve the crispy potato wedges topped with the hot chili and melty cheese sauce.

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