Chili Cheez Fries are a great game-day snack: crispy French fries topped with a chili and my queso sauce. It’s easy to make this a plant-based no-oil dish!
I make a quick chili using this recipe with kidney beans instead of lentils.
Here’s the recipe for the queso sauce.
French fries are typically cooked in oil, and potatoes love to soak up oil. This method creates crisp matchstick potatoes.
Crispy Baked No-oil Potato Sticks
Ingredients
- 2 Yukon Gold potatoes
- 2 tablespoons salt for soaking
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch matchsticks. Leave the skins on, or peel.
- Soak the potatoes in a bowl of water with the 2 Tbs salt for at least 30 minutes.
- Drain them, and dry thoroughly.
- Place in a bowl, sprinkle with cornstarch and paprika. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, as separated as possible.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven, turn them over, bake another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, add salt and pepper. Serve hot.
Notes
Soaking in salt water removes starch and water from the potato, so that it crisps up better. Cornstarch also helps with the crispness.
I like to use a little paprika to color the potatoes golden. You can use other herbs and spice–cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika–if you wish.
These are best served right out of the oven.