The Best Vegan Baked Cheese Fries Recipe
The best healthy, crispy baked fries topped with vegan cheese for the ultimate comfort food. Whip up a plate for yourself for a quick and tasty meal or share your fries with friends for a simple snack. These fries are also a great dish to make for your next party or gathering!
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Best Vegan Baked Cheese Fries
Hey everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve posted a fry recipe on my blog. This post was inspired by my original baked French fry recipe, which was one of the first recipes I ever shared on this blog, over three years ago!
I figured it was time to revamp that recipe and add a special flair – a vegan cheese sauce. While I do love dipping my fries in ketchup (or even hummus), I also love to switch it up and dip them in my favorite vegan cheese sauce on occasion.
This cheese sauce is super easy to make. On top of that, it’s made with natural, good for you ingredients that you can feel good about eating. It’s unlike most of the cheese alternatives you’ll find at the grocery store, and it tastes way better because it’s made of fresh, natural ingredients.
This is one of my favorite recipes to enjoy with a veggie burger, or just as a quick and healthy vegan snack. I also love to serve these fries up with some tofu and broccoli for a quick and healthy meal.
You get carbohydrates from the potatoes, healthy fats from the olive oil in the cheese sauce, and protein from the tofu. It truly does make the perfect balanced meal. But even if you’re just having these fries as a quick snack, they’ll give you the energy boost you need and nourish your body as well. So, let’s take a look at all the ingredients you need to make this recipe a success.
Best Vegan Baked Cheese Fries – Ingredients
- Potatoes – Ok, this one is pretty much a given. If you’re making a single pan, one large Russet potato is enough. But, there’s also some sneaky potato hidden in the cheese sauce. I know, putting potato on potato sounds weird, but just trust me on this one, you’re going to love it.
- Carrots – I used baby carrots in the sauce to add flavor and thickness. We want a thick, creamy texture for the cheese sauce, and the carrots help make that happen. They also add nutrients to the sauce, which is a huge bonus.
- Nut Milk – I used unsweetened cashew milk for this recipe, and it served as the perfect liquid to create a nice, creamy cheese sauce. Any unsweetened nut milk should work for this step, so use whatever you have on hand.
- Nutritional Yeast Seasoning – Without the nutritional yeast, you absolutely cannot get that perfect cheesy flavor we are going for here. The nutritional yeast is key to creating that super flavorful sauce packed with nutrients and vitamin B12. Make sure you have some, because there isn’t really anything else you can substitute for this crucial ingredient.
- Olive Oil – The olive oil is super important in this recipe, because it adds richness and a source of healthy fat. I used extra virgin, and it adds so much flavor.
- Salt – I used my Himalayan pink salt grinder to add a few dashes of salt to the sauce. I also added a few dashes of salt to the fries. We don’t want to go overboard here, but we do want our fries lightly salted. You can adjust the amount to your own taste for this ingredient.
- Garlic + Onion Powder – These two spices are ones that I use quite often. They pair really well with potatoes, and when I’m making standard baked French fries, I often season the fries with them. Today, we will be putting them in the sauce instead, and they add a lot of flavor to the cheese sauce.
- Turmeric – This spice is an incredible anti-inflammatory spice that also adds some natural yellow color to the cheese sauce. Therefore, it’s the perfect addition to this recipe.
- Paprika – This rounds out the seasonings for the cheese sauce. The paprika does a wonderful job of adding the final flavors to this perfect healthy vegan cheese sauce to dip our fries in.
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The Best Vegan Baked Cheese Fries
Ingredients
Fries
- 2 russet potatoes (medium to large)
- salt (to taste, I used himalayan pink salt)
Cheese Sauce
- 1/2 cup russet potatoes (peeled and chopped)
- 1/4 cup baby carrots (chopped)
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- a few dashes paprika
- a few dashes turmeric
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp unsweetened nut milk (I used cashew milk)
- salt + pepper (to taste, I used Himalayan pink salt)
- chives (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Cut two of your potatoes up into matchstick fry shapes.
- Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and add a few dashes of salt to taste.
- Pop them in the oven to bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.
- While fries are baking, peel and chop another potato until you have half a cup.
- Add it to a small pot with your carrots and cover with water.
- Bring potatoes and carrots to a boil, and boil covered for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are soft.
- Drain the liquid from your potatoes and carrots, then add them along with the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, turmeric, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil, and cashew milk to a food processor.
- Process for a few minutes until you achieve a nice and smooth consistency.
- Serve your sauce up hot and fresh with your fries, and top with optional chives for garnish.
Notes
I hope you enjoy this wonderfully simple snack with an added twist. The cheese sauce that goes on top of these fries is super versatile, and could even be used on top of veggie burgers, pasta, and much more. I can’t wait for you to try it!
Sending happiness & light your way!
-Alyssa 🙂
