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Vegan Chili Cheese Fries

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How do I love fries, let me count the ways….

I love them any way you give them to me!! I love them plain, I love them waffled, curly, seasoned, and most of all, I love them loaded with chili and cheese.

I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I make a mean chili! My mom makes the best non vegan chili so once I became vegan I just swapped the meat for cauliflower and really changed nothing else. (ok that’s a lie, I added cocoa powder, but thats it, I swear!)

I also make a crazy good cheddar cheese sauce using cashews. It’s great as a dip, a filling for quesadillas, or a grilled cheese, and 100% the best cheese for chili cheese fries. So flipping good!

You can buy frozen fries and I won’t judge you. You can normally find a few bags of Trader Joe’s frozen fries in my freezer. But for this recipe, I always make my own. If I am going to eat chili cheese fries, I want THE BEST chili cheese fries, so the requires homemade fries in my mind. They are really not hard to make and far superior to frozen every single time!!!

I also suggest making chili and freezing any leftovers specifically for future fries. I will make for a quick dinner! Just thaw the chili, reheat, whip up a batch of cheese and fry some potatoes! TA-DA, dinner is ready!! I always have leftover chili and freeze with visions of future chili cheese fries.

I love comfort food and fries are my favorite of all the foods!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 russet potatoes

  • 2 cups of The Best Vegan Chili

  • 2 cups vegan cheddar queso

  • vegan sour cream, diced onion, or green onions (optional toppings)

  • oil for frying, OR you can oven bake them

Vegan Cheddar Queso:

  • 1/2 cups cashews soaked overnight, or covered in water and microwaved for 3 minutes then drained

  • 1 cup water

  • 2 tablespoons corn starch or tapioca starch

  • 1 teaspoon light miso paste

  • 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

  • 1/2 teaspoon tumeric

  • 1 teaspoon smoke paprika

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/2 small can of green chilis

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Wash the potatoes, peels on.

  2. Cut potatoes into fries.

  3. FOR FRYING THE POTATOES, heat a few inches of oil in a deep skillet (I use a cast iron skillet)on medium heat.Once the oil is nice and hot, start adding small batches of the fries to the oil. Allow them to fry until nice a crisp, about 5 minutes. Once they are done frying, remove from oil and place on a wire cooking rack with some paper towels underneath. This will help them stay crispy while you finish frying the rest.

  4. FOR OVEN BAKING, preheat oven to 400 degrees, Lightly coat fries in a few teaspoons of oil and place them on a cookies sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure the fries are not over crowded. Sprinkle with salt and bake for about 15 minutes or until the fries seem crispy on one side. Take the cookie sheet out of the oven, and turn the fries with a spatula or a pair of metal tongs. Put the fires back in the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the fries seem fully crisp.

  5. TO MAKE THE CHEESE SAUCE add all of the ingredients except the chilis to a high speed blender or food processor, and blend until completely smooth.

  6. Transfer the cheese mixture to a medium pot and heat on medium/ low heat, whisking continuously until the cheese begins to thicken to a queso consistency. If it gets too thick, you can add a little more water to thin it back out. Add the chilis and stir.

  7. Portion fries between 4 - 6 plates, top with chili, cheese sauce, and whatever toppings you like.

serves 4-6