21 Junk Food Recipes We Love (2024)

We're not pointing any fingers, but it's quite possible you may or may not be looking for some serious junk food today. Whether you're observing a special occasion or just in the mood for some guilty pleasure foods, making them at home opens up a whole new world of options. Fry up some tater tots or potato chips with unique toppings and flavors for crispy carbs at their best. Homemade nachos, popcorn, and hot dogs drum up memories of the ballpark and state fair but taste way, way better. Or go sweet with a sundae, milkshake, or homemade candy bar to end your indulgent feast on a, erm, high note.

Savory

Perfect Thin and Crispy French Fries

The ideal French fry for lovers of the fast food rendition: long and thin, all crisp and bubbled on the outside, fluffy and light within. The trick? It all boils down to reverse engineering the McDonald's fry.

The Ultimate Poutine

Wondering what else you can do with homemade french fries? Poutine is the answer. Top your fries with homemade, beefy gravy and soft, fresh cheese curds for a snack that hits salty, tangy, and crisp all at once. Making the gravy, cheese curds, and fries yourself is worth the effort when the results are this good.

Mozzarella-Stuffed Crispy Baked Onion Rings

If you've ever struggled to choose between mozzarella sticks and onion rings, you know how difficult ordering bar food can be. But what if there was an appetizer that combined them both, so you'd never have to face such a cruel and impossible decision again? Under the working theory that nothing can go wrong when I combine my favorite bar foods, I decided to put them together and make one ring to rule them all: mozzarella-stuffed crispy baked onion rings.

Chili Cheese Dog Grilled Cheese

If you're slapping your forehead and exclaiming "duh!," then we can relate. Adding chili and sliced, fried hot dogs to your melty grilled cheese is a no-brainer. Be sure to cook one side of the bread before topping with chili and cheese so that you don't end up with a soggy mess. Or give any of these other variations a go!

Bagna Cauda (Anchovy-Garlic) Popcorn

In this take on kettle corn, rich brown butter and maple syrup are cooked into a quick caramel, which is then used to both candy the pecans and coat freshly popped popcorn. A generous pinch of salt makes all those sweet-savory flavors pop. For more savory and sweet popcorn-snacking possibilities, check out the other flavors Daniel concocted.

Extra Crunchy Potato Chips

We think a classic potato chip should be pale yellow and salty, but with a hefty crunch. To achieve this trifecta, wash your potato slices first, and add a little vinegar to the water when boiling (just like with french fries). Dry them well and then fry in batches for the optimal salty snack. Want to throw some variety into the mix? Check out our favorite flavor variations.

Crispy Deep Fried Jalapeño Poppers

It doesn't get much better in the category of junk food appetizers than piping hot jalapeño poppers. These bite-sized versions have a creamy, cheesy interior and crispy crust that can't be beat. A double-layer dredging with milk, flour, milk, and finally breadcrumbs creates a crust that won't slip off the poppers.

Pepperoni Pizza Tots

The great thing about making your own tater tots is customization. Lightly fry cubes of potatoes before pulsing in a food processor (do not over-work) and adding seasonings, pepperoni, and mozzarella cheese. Shape into traditional cylinders and fry again for tater tots that are the ultimate combination of two favorite junk foods: tots and pizza.

The Ultimate Fully Loaded Nachos

What does it take to make an incredible plate of bar-style, fully loaded nachos? For starters, at least three kinds of cheese, two kinds of beans, and two different applications of creamy, tangy dairy. It may sound like overkill, but you'll be more than happy with the results. If you're planning ahead, all parts of the recipe can be made ahead of time except for the guacamole and assembly.

Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos)

There are some mashups so gut-wrenchingly glorious, so decadently delicious, so damn greasy, that they deserve to be tasted, tested, improved, written about, modified, expanded, contracted, broken down, reassembled, broken down again, and possibly reassembled (after lunch) until they've finally emerged in their ultimate form. Totchos—that'd be Tater Tots dressed like nachos with gooey cheese sauce, charred tomato salsa, crisp chorizo, and fresh vegetables—definitely are.

Just like you can make or break a sandwich depending on how you stack it, proper layering is essential in constructing the perfect tray of totchos. Layer your tots and ingredients so that every tot is evenly gooped, from the first to the last.

Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs With Avocado, Tomato, Onion, Mayonnaise, and Potato Chips

These dogs have it all: a wrapping of crispy fried bacon, a fresh topping of salted tomato, avocado, and onion, pickled jalapeños, mayo with a squeeze of lime, and a crunchy crumbling of potato chips. They're a combination of meaty, tangy, and salty flavors with crispy and creamy textures all in one hand-held dish.

Stout-Battered Onion Rings

While you're doing some frying, why not make these beer-battered onion rings? The stout-based batter, along with a little spice and some tangy mustard, makes them much more flavorful than your average rings. They couldn't be easier to prepare—as long as you're up for hanging out with a pot of hot oil for an hour or so while you daydream about biting into a crisp, hot onion ring.

Ramen Crust Pizza

Yes, you heard right. Pizza with a ramen crust. A layer of barely-cooked ramen noodles is fried in a cast iron skillet and then topped with cheese, tomato sauce, more cheese, and toppings of your choice. The whole thing goes in the oven and is done in 30 minutes start to finish. It's a pan-style pizza that is sure to satisfy your ramen and pizza cravings in one go.

Vegan Frito Pie

Even though this recipe is vegan, it still fits snuggly in the junk food category thanks to the base of corny Frito's. Topped with hot chili, pickled onions, jalapeños, and avocado, it's sure to satisfy your Frito pie cravings. Not a vegan? Add cheese or sour cream or, dare I say, both.

Sweet

Chocolate Ice Cream Bon Bons

This two-ingredient chocolate dessert is perfect for a special treat with minimal effort. Bon bons are a great way to serve ice cream without having it immediately melt all over the place, and, even better, they can be made ahead. Be sure to use high-quality ice cream, as cheaper, fluffier versions don't form a tight enough ball.

Homemade Butterfingers

In the mood for something crispety, crunchety, and peanut buttery? This homemade version is flakier and definitely more peanut buttery than its namesake, and is topped off with your favorite chocolate. Accomplishing this kind of feat takes a fair amount of time, but the work itself isn't actually hard if you're patient. Remember while making to frequently return the candy to a warm oven to keep it pliable and easy to roll and fold.

Spiked Thin Mint Milkshake

If you're lucky enough to have a box of Thin Mints tucked away in your freezer, why not make these adult milkshakes? Combine chocolate and mint chip ice cream with cocoa powder, peppermint schnapps, tequila, and cookies for a lightly boozy dessert with lots of chocolate flavor. Garnish with whipped cream and crumbled Thin Mints, and you have a milkshake worthy of using a sleeve of your precious cookies.

Chocolate-Covered Caramel-Filled Shortbread Cookies (A.K.A. Homemade Twix)

Twix are a favorite of many candy bar lovers, but there is room for improvement. This recipe replicates the familiar flavors of the chocolate-covered caramel-and-shortbread cookies, but with high-quality dark chocolate, buttery homemade caramel, and crisp, flavor-packed shortbread cookies. The recipe takes some time, but your hard work will be worth it when you bite into these candy-cookies.

Yeast-Raised Doughnuts

Make fresh doughnuts, and you will be king or queen for a day. You will be loved by your adoring, doughnut-eating fans. Plus, as the cook, you will get the first warm, glazed bite because you obviously can't share them without sampling first. If you plan ahead and own a stand mixer, this recipe is less painful than it seems.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae

Chocolate and peanut butter lovers, this one's for you. With gooey hot fudge, warm peanut butter, and chopped peanut butter cups, this is a Reese's lover's dream. Making the homemade peanut butter sauce and hot fudge takes less than 30 minutes, so you can indulge at a moment's notice.

Ice Cream Pops

Of all the ice cream truck's frozen treats, nothing is more iconic than the Good Humor bar. At its simplest, that means vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate and propped on a stick.With the help of a pack of Dixie cups and some popsicle sticks, you can easily make these pops with softened store-bought ice cream (for the best results, churn up a batch of our Mr. Softee-style vanilla soft-serve). Once dipped in chocolate shell, the coating options are endless.

April 2015

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