Craving a bold, crispy snack that hits all the salty-spicy notes? These Cajun Dirty Fries are piled high with juicy sausage, golden okra, melty cheese, and a creamy homemade remoulade sauce. It’s everything you love about loaded fries—just kicked up with Southern flavor.
🕒 Ready in 40 minutes | 🍽 Serves 4 | 🍟 Oven-Baked or Air Fryer
Main flavors: Crispy fries, Cajun seasoning, sausage, okra, spicy sauce
Best for: Game day, comfort food dinners, shareable party snacks
Recipe type: Sheet pan or air fryer loaded fries
These are a total crowd-pleaser—easy to throw together with store-bought fries and frozen okra, but layered with textures and flavor like you’ve been planning them all day. The sauce alone is worth saving.
Read on for all the loving details to make Cajun Dirty Fries.
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Featured Ingredients
Read below about a few of the ingredients used to make Cajun Dirty Fries
Cajun seasoning - This recipe utilizes Cajun seasoning twice, first in the sauce and then to season the French fries. To simplify this recipe, I'm not including a recipe for the cajun seasoning in the recipe card. It's readily available in most grocery stores, or you can use this recipe from Carlsbad Cravings. It's the recipe I always use, and it's perfect!
French fries - I believe there are certain types of fries for specific occasions. This one calls for plain and crisp! When adding extra ingredients to a pile of fries, you have to be careful because they can weigh them down and create soggy spots. That's why I prefer using crispy-style fries topped with light ingredients, such as thin-cut peppers and thinly shredded cheese. Larger fries don't get the nice crispy outer part that helps the fry stay that way.
Frozen breaded okra - I love fried okra!! Especially with some fresh ranch dressing. If you enjoy any breaded and deep-fried vegetable, you'll love fried okra. But feel free to omit it if you prefer. It's not commonly found here in the Pacific Northwest, but both local Walmart and one other local grocer had it.
Spicy Sausage - A classic choice would be Andouille sausage, but any spicy sausage made with peppers or chiles will work. (Probably not hot Italian sausage) I used a cheddar jalapeno stuffed sausage, which worked great!
Creole mustard - While testing the fry sauce for this recipe, I thought I had something good, but it was not quite there yet. Then I tried Creole mustard. This might be a hard sell because it's not readily available everywhere. I ordered a bottle online because I needed to know if there was a good substitute for this condiment, as I've seen it used in many Southern recipes. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it is, and I think it's worth having on hand. Since purchasing it, I've added the Creole mustard to so many of my meals. However, if you need to substitute it with a more readily available product, you can achieve a similar flavor by using spicy brown mustard with a splash of yellow mustard.
See recipe card for quantities.
Tools you'll need
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Sharp knife (paid link) and cutting board
- Small and large bowl
- Sheet pan lined with parchment or foil
- Cheese grater
How to make Cajun Dirty Fries
Make the sauce first so there's time for the flavors to meld, then prepare the vegetables and other toppings.
Making the Cajun sauce
- Add the cajun sauce ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add water to the mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it becomes more pourable, similar to a dressing. This will make it easy to drizzle onto the dirty fries.
- Refrigerate the sauce until you are ready to use it. Add more water if it becomes too thick.
Prepare the toppings for the Cajun Dirty Fries
- Slice the vegetables so they are ready to add to the fries as soon as they come out of the oven.
- See below for instructions on how to slice the peppers. I ended up using about half of each one.
- Finely grate the cheddar cheese so it will melt quickly when added to the fries.
- Cook the sausage according to the package directions. After it's cooked and cooled for a few minutes, slice it longways. Then, slice across the short way at an angle, creating biased cut strips.
Add all the sauce ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine.
Prepare the toppings for the dirty fries.
How to Julienne a bell pepper
Slice off either end and save for another recipe.
Cut the shell in half and remove the seeds and ribs.
Slice along the straight edge of the pepper. For this recipe, cut them in half.
Hot Tip!
Bell peppers come in male and female versions. On the bottom of the pepper, three bumps indicate a male, and four indicate a female. While they taste the same, the male bell pepper has fewer seeds, making it easier to clean.
Cook the fries and okra
- Cook the frozen french fries and okra according to their package directions.
- I think the fries are better cooked in an air fryer than in the oven, but either method works.
- After cooking the fries, toss them in 2 teaspoons of cajun seasoning.
- The okra I purchased had to be fried in oil.
Build the Cajun Dirty Fries
- Layer ⅔ of the cajun seasoned fries on the parchment-lined sheet pan and top with half the cheese. (To keep the parchment paper from rolling up, I crunch it into a ball, then unravel which helps the paper lay flat on the sheet pan)
- Next, add the remaining fries and the cooked okra. Scatter the sliced sausage over the top, and then add the remaining cheese. (I like to add extra cheese around the edges to get those yummy crispy cheese chips, too!)
- Put the pan in the oven and broil for 2-3 minutes, watching carefully.
Sprinkle the cooked fries with cajun seasoning and toss quickly.
Layer the fries and okra with finely shredded cheddar and top with the sausage.
- When the pan comes out of the oven, scatter the vegetables all over the top of the dirty fries.
- Then, using a spoon, drizzle Cajun sauce over the top of everything.
- Serve the dirty fries with the remaining Cajun sauce for dipping.
Broil the fries for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese.
Sprinkle the vegetables all over the top.
Drizzle on lots of cajun sauce!
Variations and Ingredient swaps
- Fries - Use your favorite brand or style here, but avoid any type of seasoned fry (salted is ok.)
- Cheese - Spice it up with shredded pepper jack cheese
- Cooked veggies - Try sauteing the peppers and tomatoes before topping the fries for a softer texture and sweet caramelized flavor.
- Additions - Some yummy additions to these toppings are pickled jalapenos or banana peppers. Avocado is delicious and cooling and provides a pleasant creamy texture to the dish.
Storage tips
- Any leftovers should be wrapped in parchment, put in a container, or wrapped in foil, and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
- Reheat leftovers in a 375°F oven. For best results, use an air fryer. Top with more sauce if you have any left.
FAQ
At the heart, dirty fries are made up of seasoned french fries, cheese, and a complimentary sauce.
Dirty fries, loaded fries, or filthy fries are named for all the extra toppings and sauces added to a "clean" pile of fries. The more toppings, the dirtier they are!
While they have a slight kick of heat, it does not linger long. If you are heat sensitive, use a non-spicy sausage, omit the hot sauce from the fry sauce, and make your homemade cajun seasoning, omitting the cayenne.
Absolutely! If you have a solid recipe for very crispy fries, go for it! I haven't been super successful at making homemade "ultra crispy" fries, so I use the frozen version. The toppings can make the dish soggy if the fries are not crisp enough, and I find that unappetizing.
Surprisingly, dirty fries reheat very well. The air fryer is the best option, but the oven will work, too. I store leftover dirty fries still on the parchment they were cooked on, which can be reheated right along with the fries. You will need to drizzle them with more sauce after they're reheated.
Food Safety
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with a high smoke point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Similar recipes
Check out these similar appetizer and potato-based recipes
Cajun Dirty Fries
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Description
Get a taste of Cajun and Creole cuisine with Cajun Dirty Fries. Loaded with flavor, these fries are a must-try.
Ingredients
Cajun Dirty Fry Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon creole mustard (NOTE 1)
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Dirty Fries
- 1 - 32 ounce bag of frozen french fries, cooked to package directions
- 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
- 1 - 16 ounce bag of breaded frozen okra, cooked to package directions
- 4-6 ounces cheddar cheese, thinly shredded
- 2-3 spicy sausage links (NOTE 2), cooked to package directions
- ¾ cup thin sliced matchsticks of bell pepper, preferably 3 colors
- ½ cup finely diced tomato, seeds removed
- ⅓ cup sliced green onions
Instructions
Cajun Dirty Fry Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients for the fry sauce in a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add water, one tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is pourable like a dressing.
- Refrigerate the sauce while preparing the rest of the dish. Add more water if it thickens up after refrigeration.
Dirty Fries
- First, prepare all of the vegetables according to the recipe. Shred the cheese on the fine side of the grater.
- Cook the sausage according to the package directions. Cool for a few minutes, then slice the sausage from end to end. Then, slice across each strip diagonally to create biased strips. (See photos for example)
- Cook the french fries according to the package instructions, tossing with 2 teaspoons of cajun seasoning when finished.
- Cook the okra according to package instructions as well.
- Once all the components are ready, it's time to build the dirty fries.
- Move the top rack in your oven to a 3-4 inches from the heating element and set it to broil.
- On a parchment lined sheet pan, layer ⅔ of the fries and ½ of the shredded cheese. Top with the remaining fries, the okra, and the sausage. Top with the remaining cheese.
- Broil the fries for 2-3 minutes keeping a close eye on it.
- Remove from the oven and top with the vegetables and drizzle with lots of Cajun sauce.
- Serve as an appetizer or with a side salad to make it a meal.
Notes
NOTE 1: Substitute 1 teaspoon of Creole mustard with 1 teaspoon of spicy brown mustard and ¼ teaspoon yellow mustard like French's.
NOTE 2: You can use Andouille sausage for the most authentic flavor, but any sausage make with chilis or peppers works great. Or use your favorite flavor of sausage, though avoid Italian flavored sausages.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: appetizer
- Method: Stove-top, oven
- Cuisine: American
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