High-Protein Big Mac-Inspired Loaded Fries Recipe

The Big Mac isn't just any hamburger; it's a burger so popular that more are sold per year than the entire American population. Just about anyone who has been to a McDonald's could tell you what a Big Mac is, and just as many could likely name every ingredient (perhaps even to the tune of the Big Mac jingle). The truth is: It isn't a complicated burger. With two patties stacked between three buns and smothered in shredded lettuce, melty cheese, and secret sauce, the Big Mac is a hearty burger made affordable — which is in keeping with its origin story, as the Big Mac was originally invented to appeal to hungry steelworkers.

Making a high-protein version of a Big Mac is made even easier when you swap the multiple buns for baked French fries. In this Big Mac-inspired loaded fry recipe, lean beef is cooked in bone broth then layered onto scratch-made French fries and covered in a high-protein take on Big Mac sauce. Great for hitting macros without compromising flavor, this recipe makes the most of simple ingredients by turning them into a fork-and-knife version of everyone's favorite burger. The best part? There's still plenty of pickles.

To make the baked French fries, you will need about a pound of russet potatoes (that's  about three mid-sized spuds). You'll also need some olive oil and plenty of salt. From there, you'll need lean (at least 90%) ground beef, beef bone broth, and pepper. For the high-protein Big Mac sauce, we're using Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, sugar-free ketchup, Dijon mustard, pickle brine, nutritional yeast, and sweet (not hot or smoked) paprika. Then, to finish the loaded fries, you'll just need sliced dill pickles for topping.

Slice the potatoes into batons and submerge them in cold water. Soak for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Drain the fries and dry them completely.

Toss the fries with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt, then arrange on a parchment-lined sheet tray.

Bake the fries for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Sprinkle them with ¼ teaspoon salt while hot.

In the meantime, make the beef and Big Mac sauce. To make the beef, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet.

Add and crumble the beef until browned, about 5 minutes. Season with ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

Add the bone broth and simmer to reduce, about 5 minutes further.

To make the Big Mac sauce, add the yogurt, cottage cheese, ketchup, Dijon, pickle brine, nutritional yeast, paprika, ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper to a compact blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Assemble the fries on a large plate or platter.

Top them with the crumbled beef.

Drizzle the beef with Big Mac sauce and top with pickles to serve.

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The first element that makes this Big Mac recipe high in protein is the beef. While chicken is famous for being a high-protein favorite among gym enthusiasts, there are many foods with more protein than chicken, and ground beef is one of them. The only problem is that the beef used in the juiciest of burgers is also higher in fat and calories than chicken, which can make it far less useful for hitting macronutrient goals. This recipe uses lean (or extra lean, even) ground beef paired with protein-dense bone broth, which infuses the low-fat beef with juicy texture and a deeply savory flavor. This means that not only is the beef as high-protein as possible, but it's also lean without compromising flavor.

The other component high in protein is the Big Mac sauce. The sauce is normally made with a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and relish, but this version is made with protein-packed substitutes like cottage cheese and Greek yogurt and saves on sugar and calories by swapping in sugar-free ketchup and nutritional yeast. Though the sauce is just a small part of the recipe, when used in full, it offers up to 20 extra grams of protein (or 5 grams per serving).

Even though they're a remarkably versatile ingredient, potatoes can be tricky to work with. Frying potatoes requires removing the extra starch and moisture as much as possible, and this is even more true when you're baking or roasting them in the oven. If your French fries aren't crisping in the oven and are instead soggy, wet, and limp, it is likely because there is too much moisture on the potatoes, and the fries are actually steaming instead of crisping. To avoid this, dry the potatoes between towels or chill them in the refrigerator overnight to completely remove moisture. If the potatoes still look moist in the oven, remove the tray, pat the surfaces with paper towels, and continue baking them until they're crisp.

Baking potatoes into French fries admittedly requires a lot of prep and time to get crispy, fluffy results. To get similar results faster, you could use an air fryer. You can get away with not soaking and drying before air-frying, and can even air-fry them without any oil at all. Just spray them with a bit of oil and sprinkle with salt while the fries are still warm and crisp.

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