Homemade Curly Fries with Beer Cheese Dip

Whether you’re watching the big game or just need a fun snack, these seasoned curly fries with beer cheese are a total crowd-pleaser. Crispy, cheesy, and perfect for sharing—just don’t expect leftovers!

I like football. I really do. When I was a kid, I enjoyed watching the big games with my dad. Back then we cheered for the Houston Oilers. But today, a few decades later, the Oilers are gone and honestly, watching these games is all about the food.

Game day food is usually fun finger food. It’s about nibbling on this and that and hanging out with friends and family. Generally a good time with good food.

Game day food can be fried or cheesy. You might have a spread of vegetables and dip, but it’s not really about eating healthy! For my family, my pulled pork nachos are a must. But our latest obsession is beer cheese.

Ingredients you need

• Frying oil: I fry using olive oil or canola oil. Yes you can fry with extra virgin olive oil. Use whatever frying oil you prefer.
• Russet potatoes: The best french fries are made with russet potatoes.
• Beer: I do not drink beer, so I use whatever beer my husband has in the fridge.
• Cheddar cheese: I love the bite of sharp cheddar cheese which comes in a variety of flavor profiles and colors. But you can use a variety of cheeses, even add some gruyere, swiss, havarti, gouda or mozzarella.
• Whole milk, flour, butter: The base of the cheese sauce is started with a roux made of flour and butter. If you do not want to use flour, replace these with heavy cream.
• Seasonings: salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, ground nutmeg

Step-by-step directions

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1. Heat the oil. Heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven until it reaches 320ºF. You do not want the oil to get too hot or else the outside of the potatoes will burn and the inside will remain raw.
2. Cut the potatoes. In the mean time, peel and rinse clean potatoes. Using a sprializer of your choice, follow the manufacturer’s directions and spiral cut the potatoes. Cut the longer potato strings to desired length and set aside.
3. Fry the spirals. Pat the potatoes down with paper towels to remove excess water. This keeps the oil from bubbling over. In batches, fry the potatoes until golden.
4. Drain. Drain fried potatoes on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet or a baking sheet lines with paper towels. Combine spices and season the fries with it. Keep fries warm in oven set at 200ºF and begin making the beer cheese dip.

5. Start the roux. In a saucepan over medium-high heat melt butter. When butter has melted stir in flour. Cook for a minute until flour is incorporated and cooked.
6. Add milk. Slowly whisk in milk. Continue whisking until flour mixture is incorporated in the milk and the sauce starts to thicken.
7. Add beer. Stir in beer and cook for another 2-3 minutes until sauce heats up again and starts to bubble.
8. Add cheese. Once sauce is hot, slowly whisk in cheddar cheese in batches. Continue whisking until cheese is melted.
9. Add seasonings. Season cheese sauce with salt, cayenne and nutmeg. Serve curly fries with the beer dip and enjoy!

Expert Tips and Recipe FAQS

No two beer cheese dips are alike since you can make small changes to adjust the flavor. From the type of beer you use to the cheeses you mix in, feel free to make any adjustments to suit your taste.

Not a huge beer fan, use less beer and more milk. Like things spicy? Stir in some jalapeños or more cayenne pepper.

If you don’t have a spiralizer, you could make this cheese dip to go with regular french fries, pretzel bites or tortilla chips. But I seriously suggest you get a spiralizer. They make all kinds of food fun.

This beer cheese would also be AWESOME served with my pretzel dogs!

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Seasoned Curly Fries with Beer Cheese

Laura Bashar | Family Spice

Whether you’re watching the big game or just need a fun snack, these seasoned curly fries with beer cheese are a total crowd-pleaser. Crispy, cheesy, and perfect for sharing—just don’t expect leftovers!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Appetizers

Cuisine American

Servings 6 Servings

Calories 387 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 qt extra virgin olive oil
• 2 lb russet potatoes
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt divided
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper divided
• 1 tablespoon butter unsalted
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 1 cup whole fat milk
• 1 cup beer
• 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

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Instructions

 

• Heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven until it reaches 320ºF.
• Peel and rinse clean potatoes.
• Using a sprializer of your choice, follow the manufacturer’s directions and spiral cut the potatoes. Cut the strings to desired length and set aside.
• Use a paper towels to remove excess water from potatoes and fry them in batches. Drain on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet.
• Season fries with ½ teaspoon salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
• Keep fries warm in oven set at 200ºF and begin making the beer cheese dip.
• In a nonstick saucepan, on medium-high heat melt butter.
• When butter has melted stir in flour and garlic. Cook for a minute without burning the garlic.
• Slowly whisk in milk. Continue whisking until flour mixture is incorporated in the milk and the sauce starts to thicken.
• Stir in beer.
• Once beer is incorporated, slowly whisk in cheddar cheese in batches. Continue whisking until cheese is melted.
• Season cheese sauce with remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon cayenne and nutmeg.
• Serve curly fries with the beer dip and enjoy!

Notes

TO SERVE: If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can use frozen french fries instead. Beer cheese can also be served as a dip with pretzels, chips and cruidtés.

TO STORE: If you keep your beer cheese in a resealable container, it should keep in the refrigerator for 7-10 days. Because this is made with cream, if frozen and thawed the cream can split. If you do want to freeze it, transfer the cooled beer cheese to a freezer safe resealable plastic bag. Remove any excess air and it will keep in the freezer for up to 4 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 387kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 15gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 582mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2g

Keyword beer cheese, curly fries

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.

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