These homemade Greek Feta Fries are bursting with Greek flavor, with perfectly crispy fries are topped with Greek feta cheese, lemon, oregano and more.
A couple of years ago, my husband and I got to visit Greece for a few weeks.
We were living in Europe at the time, and had a travel blog. And we had some friends and fellow bloggers who were more than happy to meet us for a few weeks of eating, business, and a bit of fun.
Happily, our friends are huge cheese eaters. From Day 1, we wandered around Athens in search of all the food, and all the cheese.
Fried cheese made a regular appearance on our table. So did baked feta and whipped feta. But I was kind of surprised that fries also made their way to our table more often than not.
And when you think about it, it makes sense. Greek food, which has plenty of juicy meats, fresh veggies, generous quantities of olive oil, and yes – cheese – is the perfect accompaniment to potatoes done pretty much any way.
And while I love the simple baked potato wedges topped with a squeeze of lemon, I also wanted to offer up a bit of a fancier Greek french fry dish that you might enjoy making at home, as yet another way to consume feta cheese!
Introducing my Homemade Feta Fries: Loaded Greek Fries with Feta Cheese
What makes these feta fries great – aside from the flavour – is that they’re a slightly healthier for you alternative to your standard cheesy fries or gravy and curd heavy poutine.
Don’t get me wrong – I love cheesy fries as much as the next lady.
But I also love the tangy freshness of Greek Feta cheese, and how perfect and soft it feels in your mouth against a crispy french fry, a squeeze of lemon juice, and the crunch and tang of fresh veggies and parsley (or on a spinach and feta omelette, a staple at our house).
These feta fries make a great snack, but they’re also a fabulous accompaniment to any greek food you have planned.
Chicken souvlaki skewers, tzatziki and loaded greek fries with feta for dinner? Can I get a heck, yes?
How to Make Greek Fries
Another great thing about this recipe is that it’s actually pretty easy to make. I made these Greek french fries from scratch, and cooked them in an air fryer.
However, you could also bake them, or you could cheat and use frozen fries (air fryer is my preferred method for frozen fries!).
Prepare Your Fries
In my experience, Russet potatoes make the best homemade french fries, so it’s what I recommend for this recipe, if you’re making from-scratch fries.
Leave the skin on for extra fiber and iron – the skin of a potato contains about 80% of its total iron content! While the skin-on gives you a classic diner french fry, you do want to remove any bruises, knicks or soft bits from the potato.
You also need to give them a good scrub, getting rid of any dirt on the skin before going further.
Once they’re scrubbed and clean of majot blemishes, chop them into even french fry slices. If you have a mandolin or french fry cutter, this will make the job easier, but a large chef’s knife will do the trick if not.
Worth noting, it’s important to cut your fries into evenly sized strips, because this helps them cook evenly and consistently.
Soak Your Fries
One of the easiest ways to get super crispy homemade fries to serve as the base for your Greek feta fries is to soak the potatoes ahead of time!
Soak your uncooked Russet potato strips in a large bowl of water for 30 minutes, drain the water and replace with frech cold water, and then soak for another 30 minutes. Use cold water for soaking, or even a bowl of ice water.
Wondering why you should soak french fries in water before cooking? It helps remove some of the starch. This allows the fries to get even crispier than they would otherwise, giving you a worthy, restaurant-quality base to your Greek fries masterpiece!
Dry, Toss, and Season Your Fries
After soaking, give the potatoes a final rinse, let them drain, and then use paper towels to dry them, patting away excess water.
Toss them in a large bowl with olive oil, and sprinkle with granulated garlic if you want to start with a base of garlic fries (which I highly recommend).
Give them a toss so they’re fairly evenly coated.
Cook Your Fries
If you decide to air fry your french fries, pre-heat your air fryer to 375 °F and cook for around 15 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
This is my preferred method because I have an air fryer, and it’s super easy.
However, if you don’t have an air fryer, you can always bake them. In that case, preheat your oven to 425 °F and bake for about 20 minutes before aggitating and flipping, and returning to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown.
Whether you use an air fryer or bake your fries in the oven, cook the fries in a single layer and don’t crowd them. This may mean you need to cook them in batches or bake them on two baking sheets side by side in the oven.
Prepare Your Greek Feta Fries Toppings
While the fries are cooking, prepare your toppings. Here are the ingredients you’ll need.
- Slice a lemon in half, and cut one half into half again. Set aside two 1/4 pieces for squeezing over your loaded feta fries. Lemon and feta (and lime and feta) is a delicious combo!
- Chop 1 to 2 Tablespoons of fresh parsely. If you’re not a huge parsely fan, you can simply use the parsley for garnish. However, I find the fresh flavor really adds to these Greek fries, so I like to be a bit more liberal with it!
- Crumble 1/2 cup of Greek Feta cheese.
- Finely chop half a red onion
- Dice 1 tomato
- 1 teaspoon died oregano
- Kosher salt and Freshly ground pepper to taste
- Tzatziki (optional)
Load ‘Em Up!
Transfer your baked fries to a serving platter, and sprinkle the toppings on.
I recommend sprinkling with oregano to start.
Then pile the veggies on top.
Sprinkle the crumbled Greek feta on top of the fries, and let it warm up a bit from the heat of the fries.
Just before you serve them squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice over top.
If you love tzatziki, add some right to your pile of Greek fries, or serve it in a side dish for dipping.
The Most Important Ingredient in this Greek Fries Recipe with Feta?
The feta of course!
The feta is really a star of this recipe, so you want to use good quality Feta, and buy it in a block rather than precrumbled.
I prefer Greek Feta Cheese where possible, because it’s going to give you the most authentic taste.
If you can’t get Feta PDO in your area, look for primarily sheep’s milk, or sheep-goat’s milk blend, of Feta style cheese.
Feta is not a cow’s milk cheese, so be sure you’re getting the right kind for this recipe!
Final Thoughts
I hope you love these loaded feta fries / Greek french fries as much as I do! Please share with a cheese lover in your life!
Loaded Greek Feta Fries in Air Fryer
These air fryer Greek Feta Fries are bursting with Mediterranean flavors. Golden brown, crispy homemade garlic fries are topped with Greek feta cheese, lemon, oregano, red onion, tomato, and parsley. These make a great side dish to chicken souvlaki, or a healthier alternative to cheesy fries or nachos as a snack.
Ingredients
- 4 Large Russet Potatoes
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
- 1/2 Fresh Lemon
- A small bunch of fresh parsley
- 1/2 Cup of Greek Feta, Crumbled
- 1/2 Red Onion, Chopped
- 1 Small Tomato, Diced
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
- Kosher salt and Freshly ground pepper to taste
- Tzatziki (optional)
Instructions
- Thoroughly scrub potatoes to remove dirt, and chop off small cuts or soft spots from the skin.
- Chop potatoes into evenly sized french fries, using a large chef's knife or (ideally) a mandolin or french fry cutter.
- In a large bowl of cold or ice water, soak french fry slices for 30 minutes. Drain and replace water and soak for another 30 minutes to remove excess starch.
- Preheat air fryer to 375 °F.
- Drain and dry soaked potatoes, using paper towels to pat the fries dry.
- In a large bowl, combine soaked and dried french fry slices with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon granulated garlic.
- Spread the french fries in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook for 15 minutes. Remove basket and toss fries, returning to cook in the air fryer for another 5 to 10 minutes until crispy and golden brown.
- While french fries cook, prepare the toppings and set aside (see below)
- Once fries are golden brown and slightly crispy, remove from air fryer basket and transfer to a large serving plate. Sprinkle the fries with dried oregano and then top with red onion, tomato, parsley, and crumbled feta cheese. Just before serving, squeeze fresh lemon juice over the fries and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with tzatziki on the side, or dab it on top of the feta fries.
While french fries cook, prepare the toppings and set aside:
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 small tomato, diced
- 1 to 2 tablespoons washed and chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup Greek feta cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 a fresh lemon, sliced for squeezing
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Tzatziki (optional)
Notes
If you don't have an air fryer, you can cook the fries in your oven. Preheat your oven to 425 °F, coat your baking sheet with some oil, and cook on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes before agitating and flipping, and returning to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown. Be sure to cook them in a single layer, cooking in batches if needed.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 428Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 305mgCarbohydrates: 70gFiber: 8gSugar: 6gProtein: 12g
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