Crock Pot Cheeseburger French Fries with Special Sauce

Ready or not, fall is coming, and with it brings more easy, weeknight-friendly recipes like my Crock Pot Cheeseburger Fries with Special Sauce. Say goodbye to boring burgers and fries (and the drive-thru!) and hello to this ridiculously tasty mash up!

Crock Pot Ground Beef

These loaded fries highlight my homemade Crock Pot Maid Rites recipe, which is a famous Iowa dish of browned ground meat served on a bun topped with cold ketchup and dill pickles.

Instead of trying to convince you to serve your family sauceless ground beef on a bun (I swear it’s delicious!) I used it to top crispy french fries then bury them with melted cheese and burger-friendly toppings including fresh tomatoes, minced onion, and homemade special sauce. YES!!

If your family likes cheeseburgers, they’re going to love this fun take on the classic. Just bake frozen french fries then top with the crock pot-cooked ground beef and freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and then broil for a couple minutes. So simple, and you can serve the meal right on the sheet pan the fries are cooked on so clean up is minimal.

You’ll have leftover cooked ground beef which is a wonderful thing because the meat is so, so versatile. Make the aforementioned Maid Rites, add to marinara sauce, roll into enchiladas or tacos, freeze for another day, or add to soups.

Let’s do this!

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How to Make This Recipe

Start by cooking the beef topping. In a 6 quart crock pot combine ground beef, chopped onion, beef broth, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce (I like Lea & Perrins) and gluten free Tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using soy sauce), plus lots of salt and pepper. Place a lid on top then cook on high for 4 hours, breaking the meat up 3 times with a spatula as it cooks. Feel free to cook the meat on a weekend then use all week – it keeps really well in its cooking juices in the fridge.

By the way, I wouldn’t go any lower in fat than 85/15 as the extra fat in the beef renders the meat super, super tender and luscious. 80/20 would work great too!

Once the beef is cooked bake frozen french fries in any cut (I used spiral cut – whee!) according to package directions then generously sprinkle with homemade gluten-free seasoned salt while they’re hot from the oven. This makes such a difference taste-wise – so yummy! You could also make your own french fries using regular potatoes and the method shown in this post.

Drain some of the meat then sprinkle over the top of the french fries, followed by freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and then broil until the cheese has melted, 1-2 minutes. I transferred the fries over to a cast iron skillet for presentation purposes, but you could definitely just leave them on the sheet pan.

Meanwhile, whip up the Special Sauce that gets drizzled on top and served on the side for dunking. It gets better as it sits too, so feel free to make 2-3 days ahead of time.

In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, ketchup, finely minced dill pickles, finely minced white onion, white wine vinegar, and white sugar.

Top the cheeseburger fries with special sauce, chopped tomatoes, and finely minced white onion then go. To. TOWN! If you love pickles on your cheeseburgers, feel free to chop a few up to toss on top – a drizzle of ketchup or mustard wouldn’t be out of place either. However you serve them, enjoy!

Crock Pot Cheeseburger French Fries with Special Sauce

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gluten free

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Description

Crock Pot Cheeseburger French Fries with Special Sauce is a reimagined, totally tasty take on classic burgers and fries!

Ingredients

serves 4 (will have leftover meat)

• 2lbs 85/15 or 80/20 ground beef
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup gluten-free beef broth
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 heaping Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon gluten-free worcestershire sauce (I like Lea & Perrins)
• 1 Tablespoon gluten-free Tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using soy sauce)
• salt and pepper
• 1-1/2lbs gluten-free french fries, any cut
• homemade gluten-free seasoned salt (optional)
• 6oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
• finely minced white onion
• For the Special Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 Tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 Tablespoons finely minced dill pickles
  • 1 Tablespoon finely minced white onion
  • 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar

Directions

1. Add the first eight ingredients (ground beef through salt and pepper) to a 6 quart crock pot then cook on high for 4 hours, breaking the meat up/stirring three times.
2. Bake french fries on a large baking sheet according to package directions then season with homemade gluten-free seasoned salt while still warm. Drain enough meat to cover french fries then spoon on top, and then sprinkle on shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Broil for 1-2 minutes or until cheese has melted. Top french fries with chopped tomato, finely minced white onion, and special sauce, then serve with extra special sauce for dipping.

Notes

• Freeze leftover meat for another use OR make Iowa's famous "Maid Rites" sandwiches by spooning the drained meat onto buns then topping with ketchup and dill pickle slices.

Special Sauce recipe adapted from Todd Wilbur

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.