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Crispy, Oven Baked, Fat Free French Fries

By 149 Comments

Who’s mouth isn’t watering?  Come on….fess up.

Who DOESN’T love fat-free French Fries?  It’s America’s favorite vegetable!  (And yes, sadly, in some places the “french fry” is considered a vegetable – not the potato)

fat free french fries

Whether we dip them in ketchup, tartar sauce (hey I was in High School), or even fry sauce – America LOVES their french fries.

But – and you knew there’d be a but….

They’re usually Deep Fried!

Well there’s nothing NON-vegan about deep frying potatoes, but keep in mind all that fat is going to go somewhere, and it’s usually your middle, your thighs, or your bottom.

Not to mention what all that grease does for your arteries.  Don’t ask.

And baked french fries – well I’m sorry but they usually come out tasting like mini baked potatoes – not that crispy – french fry –  crunchiness we all know and love.

There has to be a better way.

And there is.

Here’s my trick to making some of the tastiest, crispiest, BAKED, french fries, and without using a single drop of oil……

 

 

Crispy, Oven Baked, Fat Free French Fries

 

fat free french fries

Fat Free French Fries | Brand New Vegan

 

Start with some good quality spuds.  I like Yukon Golds myself, but a good Russet will work nicely too.  Scrub them up and remove any eyes or green spots you may find.

With Golds, you don’t really have to peel them, or at least I don’t.  Just give them a good scrubbing first.  If you don’t like peels on your fries, then peel away.

Add some cold water to your cooking pot, and as you slice up your potatoes drop them in.  I slice mine pretty thick, as you’ll see why in just a minute.  Make them a good 3/4″ to an inch wide and thick.

After all the fries are in the water, turn the heat on high and wait for it to start boiling.  Always add potatoes to COLD water as they will heat more evenly.

Once it comes to a boil, set your timer for 5 minutes and start preheating your oven to 425 degrees.  You can also take this time to line your favorite cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Sure makes cleanup a breeze.

Once the timer goes off, drain the potatoes and then put them back into the pot.

 

Here comes the magic part……

 

fat free french fries

Add 1 tablespoon of flour, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and chili powder to the potatoes in the pot.  You can also add salt and pepper now if you want, or wait until they’re done.

Now place the lid securely on the pot, and while holding both the pot and lid in place….

 

SHAKE IT UP!

 

A good 5-10 seconds of shaking will not only distribute all the seasonings to the potatoes, but it will also smash up the edges a bit – and these are the yummy parts that get crispy!

Seriously!  Try it.

After a good shaking or two, spread these babies out on your cookie sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes.

What comes out is pure fat free french fry heaven.

Now if you didn’t slice your fries thick enough, as I mentioned earlier, they will just turn to mush at this step.  Oh they’ll bake up just fine, but they won’t be french fries.  They’ll be nicely browned, amoeba like, globs of potatoes.

But hey – if that’s your thing…. 🙂

______________

We had these for lunch today, with just a splash of malt vinegar and a bit of ketchup.   Mmmmm.  They served very nicely with our Vegan Tuna Salad Sandwiches. 

Oven Baked, Fat Free French Fries.

They’re crispy, they’re crunchy, they’re fat free, and they’re 100% french fry yumminess.

Go on, give them a try!

4.67 from 18 votes
fat free french fries
Print
Crispy, Oven Baked, Fat Free French Fries
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 
Crispy, oven baked, fat free french fries. You've never had baked french fries this good. The secret is in the shaking - go ahead and shake things up!
Course: Main
Cuisine: American
Servings: 3 -4 servings
Author: Chuck Underwood
Ingredients
  • 7-8 Potatoes (small - med)
  • 1 Tbs flour
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • salt and papper to taste
Instructions
  1. Clean and slice potatoes into fairly thick french fries 3/4" to 1" thick
  2. Add to pot of cold water (enough to cover) and bring to boil.
  3. Boil for 5 minutes.
  4. Preheat oven to 425 and line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  5. After boiling, drain potatoes and place back into pot.
  6. Add all seasonings, cover, and shake to distribute.
  7. Spread evenly on cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes.

 

fat free french fries

 

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Does it matter what kind of flour you use? Will it work the same with w/w or w/w pastry flour or do I have to use a white unbleached flour? What did you use?

    Reply

  3. Great recipe, looks amazingly tasty. Wondering – could this work with sweet potatoes? Would any adjustments be required eg less boiling time or maybe steam instead of boiling?

    Reply

  4. Just made these, and they were delicious – a big hit with the whole family! We are four days in to this new way of eating, and missing our oil! This made us feel indulgent without compromising. Thank you!

    Reply

    • Welcome and thanks for the comment! The craving for oil will eventually go away, and then the slightest taste will be noticeable. I’m so glad you decided to take this journey! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!

      Reply

  5. We made these for the first time and they were really great turned out exactly as you said they would. Felt like we were having a real treat. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  6. Made these for lunch today to go with our bean burgers and they were fantastic! Loved the flavor! Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply

  9. These are awesome! Made them tonight and the entire family devoured them.
    Definitely a keeper! Thanks for the recipe 🙂

    Reply

  13. These are fantastic – hands down the best oven baked fries ever. I wouldn’t have believed how crispy they could be without oil until I tried them myself. I’ve had these 7 out of the past 9 days, and they just keep getting better every time (seriously, you’ve created a monster…). Loving your site – thank you! 😀

    Reply

    • Yes! I cooked the potatoes whole for 10 min, ran them under cold water, then cut them. Put them back in the IP and put a plate on top and shook away.

      Reply

  16. I made these this evening, using a spiralizer to make curly fries, boiled for 1 minute, instead of 5, and they were amazing… Best oil-free fries ever!!! Thanks for a great recipe.

    Reply

  17. I made these, or attempted to but they look nothing like the picture and came out all powered! 🙁 Not trying to be a vegan or anything like that, just wanted something different!

    Reply

    • From experience I would say yes. maybe try shorter boiling time as someone below suggested. GOod luck. Enjoy)

      Reply

  19. All the seasoning came off and stuck to the pot during the shaking. We had to add more once it was on the parchment. Oven is almost pre-heated…

    Reply

    • that happened to me too. Enough stuck to make it okay though, and they are baking right now. We’ll see. I may sprinkle more seasoning on the finished fries.

      Reply

  20. Trying these “as we speak,” to go with VLTs tonight (veggies, lettuce and tomato on sprouted wheat toast). They are in the oven and smell wonderful!

    Reply

  21. I know we are all about using fresh foods when possible but when I first saw this recipe I had to try it. I only had canned new potatoes so I drained them, dried them on paper towels then jazzed them up with the dry ingredients. My hubby and I ate every last crumb. I think the trick to the crispy is to have the potatoes not too wet.

    Reply

  23. WONDERFUL crispy fries! I baked them on a silicone mat (I didn’t have parchment) and they were perfect!!! Thanks so much for this recipe!

    Reply

  24. Finally made these last night, and WOW, delicious! I used 1 T brown rice flour to make them GFand it worked beautifully. Served them with low fat vegan ranch dip and what a treat!

    Reply

  25. Have made these once a week now since I saw this recipie. Making them again tonight! Thought I owed you a WOW and a thank you. We (me and my 2 teenager boys and hubby) love them and it is just majical how they crisp up.

    Thanks, Nicole

    Reply

  27. Thanks, Chuck! I have been baking the fries in the oven but you are absolutely right, they taste like a baked potato. Going to try your recipe tonight. A trick I learned about cutting the spuds – use the apple slicer. BIG time saver.

    Reply

    • Coming from a guy who’s only eaten fried french fries, loaded baked potatoes, potatoes au gratin or some other form loaded with dairy/animal fat or oil. No wonder he got fat since 50% of the calories came from fat. It’s not his fault he doesn’t know any better.

      Reply

    • Yeah, sorry, that’s BS. A really fast way to reduce fat and lose waist size is to switch to a potato-based diet. Works wonders, quickly and deliciously. Potatoes should definitely be brought out of the ground and used as a primary food.

      Reply

  32. They are good, but didn’t get very brown. I baked for an additional 10 minutes, but they didn’t get any darker. Hmmmm….maybe the cookie sheet was too crowded?

    Reply

  33. I made these fries last night with black bean burgers. They were really good! The boiling first took them up a notch from just baking. The seasoning stuck very well. I love your recipes!

    Reply

  34. These are my family’s favorite fries. Thanks so much for a great method that ensures perfect fries every time!

    Reply

  35. Tried these tonight with russet potatoes. They were very promising for this newly plant strong, potato loving lady! I will for sure try them again with the Yukon golds just like you say.

    Reply

  37. Hi, Chuck! Thanks for sharing this! I was skeptical about using that much paprika and chili powder, thinking they would make the fries too spicy, but I went ahead and used them, and we really loved the fries! One small change I would make is to actually mix the flour and spices together before adding to the drained potatoes in the pot — makes for more even distribution. I also added one teaspoon salt to the spice mix, because I thought it stuck better than when I salted them during the baking time. I left out the pepper altogether, but it could also be mixed into the spice mixture.

    Thanks again for a great recipe and a clever technique! At our house we call these Chuck Fries. 🙂

    Reply

  38. I was worried about making them too thin, so I probably instead made them a little too thick, but they were so delicious!! They reminded me of potato wedges or “rustic” style fries that you would get at a steakhouse. They are definitely the best no oil fries I’ve tried. So happy to have found this recipe, my whole family loved them! Felt like a sinful treat! 🙂 Can’t wait to play around with the spice mixture and try different varieties. Thank you so much!

    Reply

  40. I made these last night and they were delicious! I made the mistake of not checking the done-ness of my potatoes before the timer went off – I had sliced them fairly thin. When I dumped them in the drainer some of them started to crumble. I rolled with it and stirred in the seasoning mixture and spread on the baking sheet. They were more the texture of home fries but my whole family loved them. And they had no idea they were oil free!

    PS, I noticed the skins really crisped up so if you like crispy I would say leave them on. Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply

    • “With Golds, you don’t really have to peel them, or at least I don’t. Just give them a good scrubbing first. If you don’t like peels on your fries, then peel away.” He doesn’t peel them.

      Reply

  43. Totally looking forward to trying these after someone shared them on Facebook. Later today, I’ll pass it along as my pick for #RecipeOfTheDay on my social media. Thanks so much. Those spices got my taste buds dancing!

    Reply

  45. They are delicious, but I put them in a ziploc bag to shake them in the seasonings. The pot is just too heavy for me. I ended up making a mess the first time and most of the spices clumped up and stuck to the pot.

    Reply

  48. Eating these as I write this.. they came out sooooo good the whole family loved them. I used tapioca starch instead of flour and it worked great!!

    Reply

  50. 425 degrees? Daymn that’s hot. My oven doesn’t even go that far. And I also feel like they are just gonna burn in such temperature. Anyways, did these & was pretty good.

    Reply

  51. These fries are delicious! You don’t even miss the oil! They are Pure French Fry Heaven! Thank you for posting this recipe. Making them again tonight! YUM!!!!!!

    Reply

  52. I have been making these at least once a week and using the Yukon gold type potatoes does make the best fries. So good and satisfying. My husband loves them. Thanks for the great recipe.

    Reply

    • You could cut them and freeze them. I’ve made a glass jar of spices so that’s ready to go. But I don’t know about boiling and then waiting. But try it with one potato and see! What have you go to lose?

      Reply

  54. Hmmm. I am guessing that the reason there is starch on frozen fries is similar. They are usually much smaller though. Perhaps they only blanche them before adding the starch to avoid the mush problem you mentioned happened with smaller fries.

    Reply

  55. jusrt tried the fries, they were awsome!!!!!!!!!! spices and herbs i used was garlic salt paprika powder and dried parsley. will most certainly be making chips like that from now on!!!!!

    Reply

  56. Just wanted to say I was looking for a way to make oil-free “fries” that taste decent; I tried your method and they were great! I used russets, peeled some and left some with the peels, the latter which held their shape better. Although, the bits that fell apart in the shaking process got nice and crispy in the oven 🙂 Also, I subbed cornstarch for the flour and added dried parsley to the spices

    Reply

  57. I’ve never commented on a blog in my life and I made an account thing just to tell you how AMAZING these fries are!!! No oil?! And the best that I’ve ever made?! You are great, thank you!!! Excited to check out the rest of your blog 🙂

    Reply

  59. These were a big hit with my kids. They liked it better than how I used to bake these with olive oil. To make them celiac friendly I used sweet rice flour I had on hand. They have asked for me to make them again soon. Thank you for the great and healthier idea!

    Reply

  60. My husband put the boiled potatoes in an extra large bowl, sprinkled some seasoning on top, tossed them, added more seasoning and tossed until they looked good. We cooked them on our Pizza Pizzazz for about a half hour. They were some of the best fries I’ve had in my life! Thank you! I’m having them for lunch again today. PS I quadrupled the seasoning recipe and put it in an empty glass jar to have it ready to go.

    Reply

  61. Hey Chuck… can I parboil ahead of time? I cut way too many fries and so I’m thinking of only baking half tonight and saving the other half…

    Reply

  63. I made these as home fries for our weekend breakfast, had to cook 40 minutes (used red potatoes) however turned out amazing!! This is a keeper.

    Reply

  64. These were good! My hubby & teen gave them 2 thumbs up and there were no leftovers! I may have left the spuds in too big of chunks because I thought they’d be crispier, but I will definitely make them again to perfect my technique.

    Reply

  66. I just ate these with Tesco frozen Asparagus (👍) and fish fingers. I used 1 large 353 gram potatoe, cut into 8 wedges. I often cook wedges, but this was the first time without oil. They were crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. I also added a shake of Rosemary. Delish!

    Reply

  67. Hi, as so many have already stated these are amazing!! Thanks for the great recipe!
    One question though: After draining the potatoes, I put them back into the pot I cooked them in, added the flour and spices and shook them up. A lot of the mix then stuck to the bottom of the pot rather than spreading nicely over the fries. Was I supposed to dry the pot before putting the potatoes back in? Has anyone else had that problem and can advise?
    Best regards
    Marion

    Reply

  69. Tried this recipe and when I went to shake the mixture, my potatoes crumbled and became a mess. Still baked and they were delicious, but how can I avoid this next time?

    Reply

    • Cut your fries thicker, cut down the boil time, or both. I was having the same problem. I cut my fries about 3/4″ thick and boil for 3 min.

      Reply

  71. I tried these tonight but wondered if I should’ve broiled them instead because mine turned out not very brown but hard and floury on the outside. I used Russet potatoes and took the skins off too. Maybe I shouldn’t use very much flour either next time? I really wanted to enjoy them but couldn’t. Tis time to go back to the drawing board again.
    Someone mentioned about how potatoes cause a weight gain but that’s only cause they’re made of starch. But I don’t mind gaining weight cause I need to, but everything in balance is the key. I’ve always enjoyed spuds done all kinds of ways and they’re easy on the digestive system too.

    Reply

  72. Just plain great. I follow Dr. John McDougall, and any recipe that matches his requirements is for me, and this certainly does. Good job…this will be a staple for me from now on…..by the way, I bought an air fryer, but your recipe is so easy with just a knife, a pot, and a baking sheet w/parchment, there’s no need for the fryer. I’m returning it.

    Reply

  73. Made these fat free french fries today, they were awesome! Liked the crispy outside and the creaminess of the inside. They actually crunch when you bite into them. Whipped up an avocado hummus to dip them in. Great lunch. Great recipe!

    Reply

  74. I made these but used my air fryer – they turned out great! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. 10 – 15 minutes on 400.

    Reply

  77. Can I just say this is the best chip recipe I have ever used and I’ve used A LOT. I make these all the time sometimes changing the seasoning to mix it up a bit and I made these for friends before and they were insanely impressed ha! Thanks so much great recipe x

    Reply

  78. 50 / 50 i was so excited to make this recipe that i shook the pot a lot more than 5-10 seconds so i have half fab fries and half potato gob!! i am sure they will both be great, I love the recipe and will definitely be doing this again – with more control over the pot shaking!
    your photo really sealed the deal – i want mine to look like that – thanks Chuck!

    Reply

  79. Perfection! I’m a brand new vegan and I can’t believe it can be this delicious without oil even!!! These are crispy and delicious. Best potatoes I’ve probably ever had and for sure the best I’ve ever made.

    Reply

  81. When I dipped them in your Vegan Ranch dressing, I died and went to heaven. All other recipes should be deleted from cyberspace. Period. End of story.

    Reply

  82. The spice rub did not adhere very well to the potatoes. I need to find a better way for the spice rub to adhere without using oil.

    Reply

  83. Hey Chuck,
    I make these all the time. As a shortcut I cook a pot full of whole potatoes in the Instant Pot for 4 min. I let them cool completely then slice wedges and put in a bowl; add the other ingredients to coat and stir.. Then into the oven they go. They are a family favorite to be sure! You can spice them according to your meal or your hearts desire. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  85. Tried these tonight and put them in black bean tacos for some added crunch. Delicious!! Wound up eating them by themselves, they were so good!

    Reply

  86. Pretty sure I didn5 do these correctly b3cause they were soft and not crispy a5 all. I used a pampered chef baking pan and maybe m8n3 were too thick. 8 would omi5 th3 chili powder but keep smoked paprika and maybe add some rosemary a5 the end. I will try them again, but fo4 me 5his was a fail.

    Reply

  87. You know, I’m not one for repeating recipes. I usually choose to try a new thing rather than make the same recipe again. That is not the case with these fries. I find myself coming back to this recipe over and over again, telling my friends about it, generally evangelizing the joy these fat free (!!!) fries bring me. Thank you for this recipe! And anyone who’s on the fence: try these immediately!

    Reply

  88. Tried them tonight for the first time – GOD, what an experience! The best potatoes I’ve ever tasted – and oil-free! I added a teaspoon of ground breadcrumbs to help with the crispiness, They were amazing, thank you so much!

    Reply

  89. My entire family gobbled these up! Absolutely amazing flavor and texture- especially for a zero oil recipe! Thank you so much for making veggie burger night so much tastier!

    Reply

  90. I had these for lunch today and they were great! I used purple potatoes and had some nice crispy bits but also had some that weren’t crunchy enough for my taste. I could have cooked them longer than the 25 minutes in the oven but I was hungry and they made a great lunch!

    Reply

  91. I made these using Yukon Gold potatoes, and while the seasonings made for nice flavor (I omitted the chili powder), I wouldn’t say they were “crispy”. More like steak fries, with a little bit of a “skin” on them rather than crunch. I would still make them again, though.

    Reply

  92. I’m glad so many people commented on this recipe.
    So this is the just it;
    •leave skins on & boil whole in pot or 4 minutes in PC,
    •drain potatoes & cut into wedge sizes
    •dry pot
    •stir or mix the seasonings to blend
    •add seasoning to pot & cover w lid to shake & bruise the potatoes,
    •bake in the oven or 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees in Air Fryer
    •Potatoes should turn out Crispy on the outside and Soft on the inside.

    Reply

  94. Hi Chuck! My husband and I are getting ready to start our Mary’s Mini tomorrow and are using your recipes to help us through.. We love this french fry recipe, but it seems like flour is not allowed on the mini. Is the amount so minimal that it’s ok, or would you say to leave it out? Thanks!

    Reply

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