French fries will never fail to satisfy, but when loaded with plenty of cheese, they make the ultimate comfort food. Cheese fries (or cheesy chips as they are often called in the UK) takes a humble portion of French fries and upgrades them to new levels.
It is easy to be deceived by how filling that extra layer of cheese can make a regular portion of fries. More often than not, you will find yourself struggling to finish a whole portion of cheese fries. But you can’t just let such a comforting meal go to waste, so how do you reheat them the next day?
To reheat cheese fries, pop the fries without the cheese into an oven set to 180c for around 5 minutes before adding the cheese back on and reheating for a further 5 minutes.
How to Reheat Cheese Fries
When it comes to reheating cheese fries, there are a few methods that you can use.
You should choose the method that is not only the most convenient to you but also the one that will best reheat the type of fry that has been used for the cheese fries:
How to Reheat Cheese Fries in the Oven
By far the easiest way to reheat them is in your oven. This method works best when the fries are on the thicker side rather than shoestring fries. You will be able to get a wonderful crispiness without them burning.
Here is how:
- Heat Oven
Before you reheat your the fries, pre-heat your oven to 180c degrees and wait 5 minutes or so for your oven to warm up. - Heat A Tray
Line a baking tray with a layer of kitchen foil and place the tray directly into the oven to heat up. - Remove The Cheese
While the tray heats up, remove your cheese fries from the fridge and carefully separate the cheese topping from the fries. Set the cheese aside for now. - Organize The Fries
Remove the hot baking tray from the oven and arrange the fries on the tray. Try to prevent any overlap and get them as evenly spaced out on the tray as possible. - Reheat The Fries
Place the backing tray back in the oven and reheat the fries for 5 minutes. - Reheat The Cheese
After 5 minutes, layer the cheese back on top of the fries and reheat for another 1 minute until the cheese is thoroughly reheated. Then serve.
How to Reheat Cheese Fries in a Pan
For a more versatile reheating method, you can use your stovetop and a non-stick pan to reheat your cheese fries. This method will work for any kind of fry cut so long as you can keep a close eye on the fries while they reheat:
- Heat A Pan
On medium heat, warm up a non-stick pan until the pan is hot to the touch. - Remove The Cheese
While the pan is heating up, remove the cheese from the fries and set it aside for now. - Reheat The Fries
Place the fries directly into the heated pan. Leave the fries to reheat for 2 minutes. - Flip
After 2 minutes, use a flat spatula to turn over the fries so they can reheat evenly. Then allow them to reheat for a further 2 minutes. - Add Cheese
Once the fries are as hot and crispy as you would like, add the cheese back to the top of the fries. Reheat for another 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is hot to the touch. - Serve
Turn off the stove and use the spatula to transfer the cheese fries to a clean plate. Then serve.
How to Reheat Cheese Fries Successfully
Though cheese fries may simply be cheese and regular French fries, French fries alone are not always the easiest thing to reheat, never mind when other toppings are involved.
So here are a few tips you can use successfully reheat your leftover cheese fries without any issues:
- Try to Remove the Cheese – The biggest thing you want to prevent when reheating cheese fries is soggy fries. That is why the methods above instruct that you reheat your fries and cheese separately. This will be much easier to do if you remember to separate the cheese from the fries before you store them in the fridge and keep the cheese in a separate container from the fries.
- Be Wary of Other Toppings – Many kebab shops and takeaway vans that sell cheese fries will also load the fries with other toppings to make the ultimate comfort treat. Some of these extras include ground meat. If your cheese fries include any meat, then you must make sure that the meat is reheated to a hot temperature to kill any lingering bacteria.
- Use Foil in the Oven -When reheating cheese fries in the oven, stick with kitchen foil, as the foil will better absorb the heat of the oven, making the fries crisp up when they hit the foil. But if you only have parchment paper to hand, you can use that instead.
- AVOID the Microwave! – You should always avoid using your microwave when reheating any type of fry, especially cheese fries. A microwave will keep the fries soggy but will dry out the cheese, ruining the intended taste and texture of cheesy fries.
Is It Safe to Reheat Cheese Fries?
Cheese fries are essentially just regular fries that are topped with a wonderful layer of cheese, often mozzarella cheese. So long as the cheese fries have been stored in a fridge for up to 2 days, they are very safe to reheat.
Keep in mind that any cheese fries that include meat toppings will only be safe to reheat if you reheat the heat to a hot enough temperature. Otherwise, you could be eating dangerous bacteria.
Reheating Cheese Fries FAQs
If you have further questions about reheating cheese fries, then check out these FAQs:
No! You should avoid using the microwave to reheat cheese fries. You’ll end up with soggy, limp fries with dry and tough cheese sauce.
Yes, an air fryer can be used to reheat cheese fries but you need to remove as much of the cheese topping as possible before reheating the fries for 5 minutes. You can then add the cheese and reheat for further 5 minutes, all at around 200c.
Acacia may be a freelance writer by day, but they are a food fanatic by night. They are always trying out new recipes or finding different ways to elevate classical dishes. But their biggest culinary aim is to educate others on the basics of the kitchen so that they too can enjoy delicious food.
