Easy Cheese Crisps Recipe

Crispy cheese fricos are a delightful savory appetizer or snack that you can serve with wine or as an accompaniment for soup or salad. They’re so versatile, you can add them to a charcuterie board or make them for a wine and cheese party.

Cheese crisps bake up thin and lacey as the cheese melts and spreads out. When they cool they become crips and crunchy! Whatever occasion you decide to make them for, I guarantee you’re guests will love them!

Why You’ll Love It

• 1 Ingredient. This is about as simple as a recipe can get! They’re most commonly made using cheddar cheese or Italian parmesan, however you can experiment with some substitutions below.
• Quick & Easy. All you need is a grater to shred the cheese before baking.
• Delicious. These cheese crisps are perfect for any occasion from ladies night appetizers to game day party food, and cocktail parties to happy hour.

Ingredients & Variations

• Cheese. I used extra sharp chaddar, but Colby Jack is also great. Grab a block of it because you’ll have to grate it yourself.
• Optional, Cheese Nips or Cheez Its. I saw this special ingredient added on an episode of Chopped. They give extra crunch and depth to homemade fricos. This version doesn’t fit the keto diet, but you can make a batch with half and half to suit everyone.

Other Ideas

• Different cheeses. This recipe works well with various firm cheeses. Try it with Pepper Jack, Monterey Jack, Parmesan or Asiago.
• Bacon. Sprinkle on some cooked and crumbled bacon before cooking the cheese rounds.
• Seasoning. Add a pinch of seasoning from your spice cabinet. A little cayenne will give these a kick, while Everything Bagel seasoning creates more complex flavors. Other good choices include Italian blend, garlic powder, chili powder or cumin.
• Beware of adding anything that already has salt added, such as packets of ranch, taco or Cajun seasoning. The cheese is naturally salty so adding more can be overkill. Try a light sprinkling on each round just for a hint of flavor.

How to Make Cheese Crisps

1. Using a grater, shred a small pile of cheese into a circle onto a baking pan, about 8 slides on the grater. Spread out the pile of cheese evenly so the middle is a little thinner than the edges.

2. If you want the variation, crumble 1 or 2 cheese crackers over each of the shredded cheddar circles.
3. Bake until they turn golden brown in order for them to get crispy. If you take them out too soon they will be chewy.
4. Use a paper towel to dab off visible oil from the cheese crisps. Let them cool for about 1 minute on the pan and then remove carefully with a spatula onto another paper towel to dab off the bottom side.
5. Move to a cooling rack or other cool surface (granite countertop) and let them cool completely so they crisp up. It can take about 15 minutes.

Storage

Allow the crisps to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container. Keep at room temperature for about 5 days.

Helpful Tips

• I find that making the rounds smaller makes them cook up crisper. So if you’re serving these as snacks, keep the shredded cheese scoops to about 1-inch in diameter.
• When placing the shredded cheese circles on the baking sheet, make sure there’s plenty of space between each one because they will spread out as they cook.
• To help with crispness and uniformity, keep the center of the cheese circles a little thinner while the outer area can be a bit thicker. This helps the crisps cook more evenly.
• Allow the crisps to sit on the baking pan for a minute before moving them to cool on a cooling rack. That way they are easier to transfer without breaking.
• Dab the top and bottom of the baked crisps with a paper towel to remove excess oil.
• Watch them closely in the oven to make sure they don’t burn. All ovens cook differently so try a test batch first and adjust the time or temperature accordingly to find the sweet spot.

How to Make a Cheese Bowl

As I mentioned above, these are fabulous when served with soup or salad. Turn them into edible salad bowls with just a couple of easy tricks, and impress your guests at a ladies luncheon.

• Follow the directions for making the cheese crisps, but make the circles of shredded cheese about 2 ½ inches in diameter. For the bowls, you can make the circles more uniform in thickness rather than making them thinner in the center.

• Once you’ve baked the cheese, let them sit on the hot pan for at least 30 seconds and then lift with a spatula and lay them over an upside down muffin tin. You can gently press the sides down to create a bowl.
• Once they’re cooled completely, lift the cheese bowl and serve a salad inside. This spinach and arugula salad with tomatoes and goat cheese is the perfect combo.

More Cheese Appetizers

• Cheddar cheese coins
• Easy cheese hors d’oeuvres (2 ingredients)
• Ham, cheese and fruit kabobs
• Pimento cheese spread
• Ham and cheese phyllo cups

These cheese crisps are little bites of heaven, and you probably have the ingredients on hand to make them!