I love love love potatoes. And of course, so do my kids. We devour them in minutes around here. We dip them in all sorts of sauces - aioli, pesto, ketchup, mayo, bbq sauce and today: cheese sauce (plant based cheese sauce, of course!). 

This time my cheese sauce is nut-free. I usually use cashew sauce for creaminess but this time I used pepitas (pumpkin seeds) instead so that my Crispy Baked Fries with "Cheesy" Dipping Sauce don't feel so overly indulgent. 

Everybody always asks me how to get the fries to taste crispy! I have an answer for you: corn starch! You don't need more than 1 tablespoon of corn starch to crisp them up and it's an optional ingredient. If you want to keep your dish healthier and cleaner and not use powders, then great, you do not need to add it.

In this case, try

my Air Fried Potatoes

or my Garlic and Parsley Potato Salad

Tips for making great crispy baked fries

In addition to using corn starch to crisp your fries up. I have a few more tips. The Kennebec potato seems to work best for me. It's got a really soft skin and they are easy to cut. Much easier than a russet or sweet potato. They also cook quickly and crisp up really nicely.

Half of my potatoes were cooked on a deep dish baking sheet but one had parchment and the other did not. I prefer the cooking without the parchment for quicker cooking potatoes and crisper texture. But, of course that means I might have to scrub the pan a bit harder at clean up.

Crispy Baked Fries Recipe

Yields 2 cookie sheets or 2 medium bowls full

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 Kennebec Potatoes (keep skin on), cut into long chunky slices
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 3 pinches of sea salt

• Zip lock bag, freezer size (for mixing ingredients)
• Oil for baking pan/tray or parchment paper for lining pan/tray (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 430 degrees F (convection bake).
2. In a zip lock baggie combine everything but the oil/parchment for the pan. Seal the zip lock bag and shake and mix with hands.
3. Once potatoes are completely coated, spread out evenly onto lightly oiled baking trays (or covered in parchment). Do not overlap potatoes.
4. Bake for 30-40 minutes, depending on oven. Keep an eye out because if they do not have parchment paper they are quicker to cook and if they are thinner chunks of potato they are also cook quickly. So cook time will vary. They are done when both sides are browned. I like to swap trays from top tack to bottom rack and bottom rack to top rack for even cooking.
5. Once fries are done, remove them with a metal spatula so they don't get crushed or mangled.
6. Dip in your favorite sauce. See below for my nut free vegan cheese sauce recipe.

Cheesy Sauce [nut-free version]

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup soaked raw pumpkin seeds (pepita seeds)
• 2 tablespoon vegan sour cream
• 1 ½ lemons, juice only
• 1 pinch of sea salt
• 2 tablespoon water
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ½ teaspoon vegetable stock paste (I use this a lot you guys, it's great to keep on hand at all times)
• jalapeno or chili flakes for heat/spice

DIRECTIONS

1. Blend everything up in a blender on medium and then high speed. You'll have to scrape the sides of the blender a few times to get it all mixed evenly.
2. This will take about 2 minutes to get all the chunks removed and evenly mixed and creamy. Add more water if necessary.
3. Use this sauce as a dipping sauce or just squeeze it all over the fries before serving. We did the latter and dipped the cheesy fries into bbq sauce. So good.