I never had potato smiles at home as a child because my mom would have never bought "junk food" like that, but whenever I enjoyed them as a treat at a friend's house, I devoured them. I decided to recreate them, vegan-style and in a healthy way my mom would definitely approve of.
They are so easy and fun to make! You begin by roasting the potatoes and then mashing them into a dough with the rest of the ingredients. I added fresh herbs and spices that blend together to create a delicious cheesy flavor. I used sweet potatoes for added healthiness and tastiness, and these are baked instead of fried, without any added oil!
We roll the dough balls in a mixture of garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and breadcrumbs, for an extra parmesan-cheezy crunchy exterior! These tasty little smiley fries were just as delicious as they were when I was a child, as an adult now, if not more so! I served mine alongside ketchup and a homemade vegan ranch. I hope you enjoy this snack as much as I do.
Recipe
Cheezy Baked Sweet Potato Smiley Fries
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 large or 3 small sweet potatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
- ¼ cup corn starch or arrowroot powder
- ⅓ cup chickpea flour
- 2 tablespoon breadcrumbs gluten-free panko, if needed
"Parmesan" Breadcrumbs
- ½ cup breadcrumbs gluten-free panko, if needed
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Bake sweet potatoes on a baking sheet for one hour or until easily pierced through with a fork and skin is easily removed. Leave oven at the same temperature to use later. Let roasted sweet potatoes stand for a few minutes until easy to handle and no longer steaming. When cooled sufficiently, peel off skin and drain excess liquid or pat dry as much as possible.
- Put soft, roasted, peeled potatoes in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher or fork. Add all the rest of the ingredients for the dough and mix together until a dough forms. Transfer to refrigerator and let cool for at least 1 hour.
- In the meantime, mix together ingredients for "parmesan" bread crumb coating and place aside in a bowl.
- If dough is still too sticky or difficult to work with, add more arrowroot powder 1 tablespoon at a time. Take rounded heaping tablespoons of dough, roll into a ball, and flatten into a thick disc. Press both sides into bread crumb mixture and transfer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. If desired, spray oil onto parchment paper. Use a straw to punch two "eyes" into the discs and the tip of a spoon to make a rounded smile. If desired, spray on top with oil as well.
Bake smiles at 425 for 30-40 minutes, until slightly browned. Let cool and serve with your favorite dipping sauces.
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