The Pure Decadence of Pizza Fries

Pizza Fries?

All you ever wanted to know about the pure, greasy decadence of Pizza Fries.  

I found the original of this pizza fries picture here, but no recipe.

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I never would have thought of such a thing myself, but the photo above came floating across my husband's Facebook newsfeed a couple of days back, and I found myself somewhat.... amazed.

Could you really make pizza fries?  Would anyone actually EAT pizza fries?  Cheese and grease and potatoes and sausage all in one?  Well, Google knows all, and I shouldn't have been surprised when I found literally DOZENS of recipes for Pizza Fries.  But the dozens of recipes came down to about 3-4 basic kinds of Pizza Fries.   I'll save the best for last.  Let's start with the simple:

Simple pizza fries (with some minor modifications):

Simple Pizza Fries from Recipe.com (link above)

Ingredients:

• 1 2-pound bag frozen french fries
• 1 cup Italian spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce, your choosing.  (Feel free to add onions, basil, oregano, or anything else you usually add to your pizza or spaghetti sauce.)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces)
• Diced pepperoni, optional

Step-by-step:

• 1. Prepare the fries according to the directions and remove them from the oven.  Leave the oven on after removing the fries. 
• 2.  Pour the sauce over the fries.
• 3.  Top with the cheese and pepperoni (if desired).
• 4.  Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Pizza Fries from the Daily Meal.. Just a Few Minor Differences:

Pizza Fries from the Daily Meal (link below).  Credit "Jane Bruce"  

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Here's another similar pizza fry recipe from the Daily Meal:  The fry chef is urged to fry (or bake) the fries and mix them with pepperoni first; then tomato sauce, then cheese, then a minute or two under the broiler.  It's very similar to the recipe above, with the difference of mixing the fries (either fried or baked) with the pepperoni and then broiling the whole thing for a minute vs. putting it in the oven for five or so minutes.

Fry-shaped pizza slices?
   

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I found a recipe that just makes a kind of pizza and cuts it into fry-shaped pieces.  However, I don't really think that's the same thing as "Pizza Fries" even though they call them "Pizza Fries".

If you are interested, just follow the link.
  

Big Bear's Wife takes on Pizza Fries

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I would expect that someone called "Big Bear" would be a Pizza Fry kind of man, wouldn't you?  His wife makes them up like a casserole.  The ingredients are about the same as the simple version above, though double. (After all, he's a big bear!)

She layers the baked fries, then adds the pizza topping, then more fries and a final layer of pizza topping, cheese, and pepperonis.  Kind of like a pizza fry lasagna.  Recipe above the picture at the link.

There's a similar recipe here.. You fry the fries before you put them in the pizza.

I'm not going to include all of the directions for these variations of pizza fries; I've included pictures and links.  Just follow the links if you are interested!    

This is Why You Are Fat! The Most Decadent of Pizza Fries

The best for last--  You not only top the pizza fries, you actually peel and fry the potatoes (or you get someone to peel and fry those potatoes.). 

Homemade fried Pizza fries from Kirbiecravings 

Now, the other recipes are easier, but this one is probably the one that will most resemble the original picture at the top of the page.  It really is much greasier and much more inspiring for those who love the pure decadence of the idea of Pizza Fries.  From the post at kirbiecravings:

I made my own fries, then topped them with mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, more cheese and some mini pepperonis. I melted it in the oven for a few minutes before serving. Yum.

Yep... Get peeling those potatoes!  Or at least FRY (vs. bake) the ones you buy in the frozen food section.  Here's the recipe for the most decadent of decadent:

Homemade Fried Pizza Fries as pictured right above:

Ingredients:

For the fries:

• 2 medium sized potatoes
• Oil for frying

For the pizza topping:

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup marinara or pizza sauce of your choosing
• 10 mini pepperoni

Directions:

• 1.  Peel skin off potatoes. Slice into fries, about 1/4 inch thick. Use a paper towel and dry potatoes as much as possible. 
• 2.  Pour oil into frying pan, about 2 inches in height. Drop in potatoes. Turn on stove to medium high heat. When oil heats up the potatoes will begin to bubble. 
• 3.  Continue to let the potatoes fry and bubble until they turn brown and crispy on all sides. You may need to use a spatula to separate potatoes so they don't stick together. 
• 4.  Remove potatoes when done, soaking excess grease on paper towels.  Scoop finished, drained fries onto an oven-proof serving plate.   
• 5.  Add half the cheese, sprinkling over plate of fries. 
• 6.  Scoop marinara sauce on top of cheese. 
• 7.  Add remaining cheese and top with pepperoni. 
• 8.  Heat in oven at 350F for 5-8 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

Immediately.  Don't mess around with these; get the gang or the kids or the men or the women eating these RIGHT AWAY.  Or they will be gone.

Variations?

I would think that sausage would work as well if the sausage is crumbled into fairly small bits.  Or (as one of my friends suggested) bacon!  Can you imagine?  Bacon pizza fries!  Yikes!  (I bet someone has tried that somewhere.. I'm not going to look, though.)