These Vegan Stretchy Melty Cheesy Fries are the BEST secretly healthy comfort food.
Cheesy fries may be synonymous with bad junk food decisions from a kebab van after a drunken night out, but my healthier version here tastes just as good with significantly less guilt and nausea the morning after.
I went for oven-baked sweet potato fries for extra fibre and nutrients, and drenched them with my favourite dairy-free cheese.
The cheese is made with a base of neutral-tasting white beans, which not only provide a great base for other flavours, but also add extra protein and fibre.
The stretchy and melty aspect of the cheese is achieved thanks to mochi! Mochi are Japanese sticky rice cakes, which are made from pounding rice until it becomes sticky and glutinous (don’t worry, despite the name it is still gluten-free).
It is sold in many different forms, one of them being in hard blocks, which, when melted, become sticky and gooey.
You can buy mochi in Asian supermarkets, some local health stores, or online – just make sure you get the hard, firm type that’s sold in blocks in the dry goods section.
To create a delicious cheesy flavour I went for miso for umami, nutritional yeast for cheesiness, and vinegar for tanginess. And all of the ingredients happen to be oil-free and nut-free too!
You can make these Vegan Stretchy Melty Cheesy Fries using any type of fries you like. I went for sweet potato fries (a blend of purple sweet potatoes and regular orange sweet potatoes for extra colour!), but you could also use regular potato fries or get inventive with different vegetables…celeriac fries anyone?
Now you just gotta load up on the toppings! I recommend:
- Thinly sliced sweet red peppers for crunchy sweetness
- Thinly sliced jalapeños or green chilli for a kick of heat
- Homemade Domino’s Garlic Herb Dip – but watch out, it’s INSANELY addictive
- Coconut Bacon or Almond Bacon for smoky crispiness
- Chopped chives
If you come up with any other yummy garnishes, I’d love for you to let me know!
For more dairy-free cheese recipes, check out my:
- Vegan White Bean Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Stretchy Melty Grilled Cheese
- Vegan Stretchy Melty Quesadillas
- Vegan Stretchy Melty Cheese Nachos
- Vegan Stretchy Melty Coconut Bacon Grilled Cheese
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
If you’d like to see how to make the cheese, check out this 40-second video here:
Helpful tools to make these Vegan Stretchy Melty Cheesy Fries:
For the fries:
rectangular baking tray
baking paper
For the cheese:
measuring jug
food processor
blender
hand-held stick blender
Vegan Stretchy Melty Cheesy Fries (GF)
Ingredients
For the sweet potato fries*:
- 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes (I used a mixture of regular orange sweet potatoes and purple sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons oil (vegetable, rapeseed, olive or coconut)
- Salt, to taste
For the cheese:
- 400 g (14oz) tin of white beans, drained and rinsed (haricot beans, cannellini beans or butter beans)
- 120 g (4oz) mochi (the hard firm mochi sold in blocks)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 heaped teaspoon miso** (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- Salt + pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the sweet potato fries:
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Peel sweet potato if you wish or keep skin on
- Slice into thin matchsticks
- Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper
- Drizzle with oil, add a pinch of salt and mix well
- Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes, mixing around a few times, until crispy and golden
For the cheese:
- Place the mochi in a pan with 100ml (just under ½ cup) water and cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes or so until mochi has melted and become sticky - until soft enough to stick gently pierce with a fork
- Add the white beans and continue to cook for a couple of minutes until heated through
- Turn off heat and add nutritional yeast, miso, vinegar, salt + pepper
- Use either a blender, food processor or hand-held stick blender (this is the easiest option as you can just do it in the same saucepan) and whizz until completely smooth
To serve:
- Place sweet potato fries on a plate
- Cover with the cheese
- Top with desired toppings***
- Best enjoyed immediately!
Notes
- Thinly sliced sweet red peppers
- Thinly sliced jalapeños or green chilli
- Homemade Domino's Garlic Herb Dip
- Coconut Bacon or Almond Bacon
- Chopped chives
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you click through and purchase any of the products, a small percentage will come to me, with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Emma
I miss cheesy fries so can’t wait to try this!
Rhian Williams
Thank you!