I Made Air Fryer Cheese Fries That Taste Just Like Shake Shack!

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Drizzling cheese sauce on top of fries for cheese fries

Anyone here love warm cheese fries as a snack or side dish?!

Shake Shack not only serves up great burgers, but their fries are top-notch too! They recently released a yummy recipe for their incredible cheese sauce that’s served over their golden crispy crinkle-cut french fries, so I took the recipe for a test run.

I’m so excited we can all enjoy this awesome combo of crispy salty fries with a homemade creamy cheese sauce at home whenever the craving may hit!

I served up this homemade cheese sauce on frozen fries made using my air fryer and it turned out AWESOME!

homemade shake shack cheese sauce

Melted Velveeta has nothin’ on this grown-up version of cheese sauce!

What sets this Shake Shack cheese sauce apart is the process of sautéeing onion, jalapeño, and white wine together and then steeping it with the cream for 30 minutes. It’s truly such a rich flavor, and pairing both American and sharp cheddar cheeses together is perfection!

Let me tell you, your house will also smell like there’s a 5-star chef cooking in the kitchen! Plus, this is a fun culinary experience as I’ve never made a fancy cheese sauce like this and felt fully accomplished after easily pulling it off!

Get the Shake Shack Recipe HERE and watch the process on Shake Shake’s Instagram.

ingredients to make shake shack cheese fries

Here are my best tips when making Shake Shack’s Cheese Sauce recipe –

  • I loved this combo of sharp cheddar cheese and American cheese like they suggested. I used Boar’s Head American cheese from the grocery store deli and it’s amazing!
  • To keep the sauce warm, use a small Crock-Pot to keep it heated until ready to serve.
  • Note that leftovers didn’t heat up well the next day, and this recipe does make a ton of cheese sauce. I would consider splitting this recipe in half next time as it would still be enough sauce to top a bag of frozen fries.
  • There’s not really any special equipment needed to make the sauce although you’ll need a kitchen strainer to strain out the onion and jalapeño from the cream after it steeps. You can use any medium-sized skillet. I enjoyed using my 10-inch cast-iron skillet for this recipe.

onions and peppers in a skillet

The process of this Shake Shack cheese sauce is simple but takes time. Trust me, it’s worth the effort! Don’t skip the part about sautéing the onions and jalapeño with white wine. It doesn’t make it spicy, but instead super flavorful.

staining onions in cheese sauce

stirring cheese into cheese sauce

homemade cheese sauce for fries

Once you whisk in the American cheese and sharp cheddar cheese, they melt together in the cream to form the most amazing cheese sauce EVER, with bold and deep flavor!

air fryer french fries

Let’s talk about using the air fryer!

I bought some frozen crinkle-cut fries and air-fried them using my handy air fryer at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. The key is to shake the basket every once in a while, so they will crisp up nice and even. I also added a pinch salt and a little coconut spray oil to the fries before cooking.

Then you’ll drizzle the Shake Shack cheese sauce over your cooked fries to serve – YUM! 

plate or air fryer cheese fries

We all loved these cheese fries so much!

My family was super impressed with this Shake Shack cheese sauce and the crispy air fryer French fries. You can totally serve up the sauce on other foods like burgers, soft pretzels, baked potatoes, and even broccoli would be yummy, too. 😋

holding a plate of homemade cheese fries


Make IKEA’s famous Swedish meatball recipe at home!


About the writer:

Lina has a Bachelor's Degree from Northern Arizona University with 11 years of blogging and photography experience having work featured in Today.com, Martha Stewart, Country Living, Fox News, Buzzfeed, and HGTV.


Join The Discussion

Comments 7

  1. Mary

    OMG this looks so good. I will most certainly try it this weekend. Thank you!

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Oh yay! Let us know your thoughts – enjoy!

  2. Elizabeth

    A diet is ruined! Ha Ha Looks Delicious!! Will be trying also this weekend.

    • dealhunter

      Yep here comes more body fat for me 😳😝

  3. Mrsj6901

    Wow..keto cheese sauce, thank you!

  4. shop4mybabies

    this is honestly the first thing that has made me want to purchase an air fryer…YUM

    • Lina D (Hip2Save Sidekick)

      Haha That’s awesome – this is honestly SO GOOD, and I love my air fryer!

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