Name: Cheesy Air Fryer Fries - Loaded Cheese Fries
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 600 gram potatoes; 2 tsp olive oil; 1/4 tsp smoked paprika; 1/2 tsp cayenne; 50 gram vegan cheese (I used violife ); 10 gram cilantro; 1 chili pepper (cut in rings); salt (to taste); 30 gram vegan bacon (optional)

Ever since I’ve started using my airfryer I’ve been looking for ways to make healthier versions of my favourite deep fried foods. One of those foods are fried potatoes. You can never go wrong with these and combining them with vegan cheese create the ultimate comfort food. These cheesy air fryer fries are patiently waiting for you.

I personally reserve deep frying foods for special occacions. It requires you to focus, get the right temperature and results in the most delicious foods. The only down side is that you use a lot of oil.

The reason I love the air fryer for these kinds of recipes is that it requires a little amount of oil. You also don’t have to be present. You can shake the basket once and let the air fryer do it’s thing while you do something else. In the meantime you could make these sweet potato cakes. You can’t have too many potatoes in one meal, right!?

How do you make crispy air fryer fries?

The secret too making crispy air fryer potatoes is that you first soak the potatoes. Soaking them will remove excess starch making them less sticky and extra crispy. You can easily soak them in the morning and just let them chill in the water. This way you’ll safe time in the evening. After soaking we will rinse and dry them. Drying the potatoes is essential, we don’t want any moisture because this will make them soft.

We will also use some oil. For the oven fryer recipes I like to use a oil spray, this ensures even distribrution, maximum crisp and still less oil than when deep fried. And be sure to evenlty distribute the cheese and eat it as soon as possible. The vegan cheese introduces moisture which makes the fries softer. But of course you can make these without the vegan cheese. For these fries I used violife cheese.

Another tip is to not over crowd the pan, let them chill on their own. You can overlap them but make sure theres enough space for the air ventilation. This means you might do multiple batches. In the end when their all crisp just add them all to the air fryer for a minute or so.

For these fries I used the smart air fryer from princess (not sponsored). So far I’m really happy with the results.

Turn these Cheesy Fries into rainbow fries

You know me, I take every opportunity to make something extra colourful. Just like this tempe protein bowl or this comforting peanut spinach stew. Both recipes are super comforting and full of colour. All of this is of course optional, so feel free to skip, but if you wan’t to take it all the way, here is what I did.

For the tempe bowl I used blue spirulina to make a blue tahini. For these cheesy air fryer fries I’m using the same principal. I’m turning my mayo blue and purple using blue spirulina and acai powder for some contrasting colours. I also added different coloured hot peppers, you can obviously skip this if you don’t like any heat.

Another way to add some colour is by adding herbs and veggies. Think about cilantro, spring onion, micro greens and colourful pickles. A squeeze of lime also adds some extra freshness to the dish.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram for daily vegan updates and recipe videos which you can find on my story highlights. I also have a Pinterest account where you can find more food inspiration.

One love, Jason