Of Course You Can Have French Fries for Dessert: Spiced Vegan Apple Fries Have Arrived
If you think we’ve exhausted all of the options for healthified vegan fries, you’re wrong. Dead. Wrong.
First there were baked fries — totally worthy. Then, the sweet and savory sweet potato fries got us all giggly. Air fryer fries are still all the rage and a guiltless indulgence if ever there was one! And, of course, zucchini fries and other root vegetable variants hit hard last winter much to our tastebuds’ delight. But none have gone where we’re about to take you right now. Say hello (and “get in my belly!”) to Apple Fries. I know.
This recipe is different than any other you’ve seen before, primarily because it involves a fruit. Naturally sweet, apples offer a different kind of french fries experience — one that is, well, let’s be honest, a dream come true. Slathered in spices, low-glycemic coconut palm sugar, and coconut oil, before being baked to a crisp, these vegan fries are perfect for dipping into nut butter — or go ahead and give this vegan coconut cream a try.
Each bite feels like dessert, and a little goes a long way to satisfying your sweet tooth. Kids will also love these fries — they’re bite-sized, delicious, and secretly healthy. The real challenge: making enough to share!
The Benefits of Apples
What don’t apples do? They’re high in antioxidants, and have been shown to decrease the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. One medium apple contains 0.3 grams of fat (although the coconut oil we use in this recipe makes up for it), 200 milligrams of potassium, 4.4 grams of dietary fiber, and 14% of the RDA of vitamin C. They also happen to be low in calories, with just 95 calories in the same serving.
What You’ll Need
The addition of coconut oil, oats, and coconut sugar to the mix certainly ups the calories and fat grams of the recipe, but there’s no reason to get mad about it. Coconut oil is a healthy fat, oats reduce cholesterol, and coconut sugar is low-glycemic (and offers a deliciously caramel taste). Yum!
When shopping for ingredients, choose unrefined coconut oil, gluten-free oat flour, and a sweet apple variety, such as Fuji, Braeburn, Ambrosia, Cameo, or Gala.
And, as always, choose organic. Apples are #4 on EWG’s 2017 Dirty Dozen list, but even if you buy organic, be sure to wash, rinse, and pat dry your apples before using them.
Now, back to dessert – let’s make apple fries!
French fries take a sweet (and healthy!) turn with this vegan baked apple freis recipe.
Ingredients
Preparation
- Preheat the oven broiler to its highest setting.
- Wash and core the apples. Cut them into fries-sized pieces.
- In a small bowl, mix together the tapioca four, oat flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Pour the coconut oil in a separate small bowl.
- Dip the apple fries into the coconut oil and then into the dry mixture, making sure to coat every side and angle.
- Transfer the apple slices to a baking sheet and set on a low-elevated rack. Make sure to keep the fries separate from each other.
- Place the baking sheet into the broiler and let the fries broil until their outer coating browns and becomes crispy, or two to three minutes. Flip the fries and broil the other sides of the apple fries for another two to three minutes.
- Serve immediately.
