Healthy-ish Loaded Fries

These loaded sweet fries can be made with sweet potatoes or regular white potatoes. They are a delicious way to indulge in a healthier way at gatherings with friends and family and to quiet down teenagers' ravenous appetites. It's also a great game day recipe that everyone will love

Do you have teenagers at home with an increasingly growing appetite? Do you find yourself having to constantly come up with healthy snacks to prepare, to break the never-ending "I'm hungry / what do you want / I don't know, what do you have? " cycle? The occasional chips and tomatillo salsa (we are bloggers what do you expect?) are ok, but sometimes do you feel you need something a little more "substantial"? A recipe you won't feel too guilty about?

We came up with this healthy and loaded fries recipe as a way to make snacking time during sports watching and kitchen wondering a little more nutritious. If you want to maximize the health benefits of this recipe, make your own sweet potato fries. They are loaded with nutrients (vitamins A, B, and C, fiber, and minerals), and they're super tasty and satisfying.

We topped them with fresh veggies and vegan tempeh bacon, which adds some crunch and smokiness. And for the obligatory gooey cheese, we added Shredded mozzarella, you can use your favorite shredded vegan cheese here. A delicious way to indulge responsibly, it doesn't get any better than that!!

Ingredients for Loaded Fries

• Large Organic Sweet Potatoes or white potatoes Or 20 ounces of Frozen Sweet Potato Fries or frozen French Fries. Want to be fancy? Use waffle fries.
• Olive Oil.
• Salt.
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese. You may use vegan cheese here. 
• Homemade Tempeh Bacon. Click HERE for the recipe, you can also replace it with any vegan ground beef.
• Baby Sweet Peppers.
• Scallions or green onions
• Plum Tomatoes.
• Fresh Cilantro.

Variations and Toppings for Loaded Cheese Fries

• Change the cheese: use cheddar cheese, pepper jack, or blue cheese
• Add jalapeños instead of sweet peppers
• Use red onions or chives instead of scallions.
• Top with fresh avocado
• Top with salsa
• Top with black beans
• Add sour cream
• Add hot sauce
• Drizzle Ranch dressing

How Do You Make Loaded Fries?

You can either use fresh homemade sweet potato fries or frozen sweet potato fries. If you want to use fresh, start by slicing up the sweet potatoes into fry-size slices. Then toss them in the oil and bake them on a baking sheet.

If you want to use frozen sweet potato fries, just toss them on a baking sheet and bake them according to the package directions.

Once your fries are finished, you'll need to load up the fries layered with shredded cheese and place them back in the oven to melt the cheese. Chop or crumble the remaining ingredients while the cheese is melting. As those hot baked sweet potato fries come out of the oven, add your toppings: scallions, tempeh bacon, tomatoes, sweet peppers, and cilantro. Serve them hot.

How to Cut Sweet Potato Fries or French Fries

First, peel and slice the sweet potatoes into flat rounds. This creates a nice flat surface to have contact with the cutting board. Next, slice the rounds into strips and place them on a single layer in a sheet pan. That's it! That's how to make sweet potato fries at home.

Make-Ahead, Storage, and Reheating

If you need to save time on the day of the big game or party, you can chop and prep all of these ingredients ahead of time and have them ready to go. We wouldn't recommend actually making the loaded fries ahead of time because fries are always best hot and fresh. Instead, layer and bake, and add the toppings right before serving.

Serve Loaded FrenchFries With These Dishes

What goes well with these loaded fries?

Loaded sweet potato fries are a perfect appetizer and go well with any variety of finger foods and party appetizers you can imagine. They can also be served with a hearty chili.

• Baked Brie with Cranberries and Pecans
• Mini Sweet Peppers With Grilled Halloumi Cheese
• Sweet potato veggie meatballs

Some Easy Variations to Loaded Fries

Chili Cheese Fries. A chili is a great option for loaded fries. Try any of our vegan and vegetarian chilis, simply scoop some chili on top of sweet potato fries or French fries.

• Homemade Vegetarian Chili Recipe
• 30 Minute Black Bean Chili
• 20 Minute Cayenne Chocolate Vegan Chili
• Sweet Potato Chili

BBQ Cheese Fries. Make our gluten-free BBQ Tempeh instead. Add black beans, cheese, and jicama salad.

How to make cheese sauce for loaded fries or nachos at home?

If you want a saucy cheese sauce, try our Vegan Queso Dip is the perfect cheese sauce for your loaded fries!

If you enjoyed this recipe, it would help us tremendously if you left us a star rating in the comments below or on the recipe card. Do you have any questions about the recipe? Do you need a swap for any of the ingredients? We are here to help, just leave us a question in the comments below.