This Chili Cheese Fries recipe is a popular American dish of fries with chili sin carne, vegan cheese sauce and fresh herbs that is quick and easy to make and incredibly delicious! Perfect as a finger food snack or main meal.
Craving a delicious, quick snack that’s healthier than traditional fast food and ready in less than 30 minutes? Then try these Chili Cheese Fries with my best vegan cheese sauce instead of dairy cheese!
What are Chili Cheese Fries?
Chili Cheese Fries or “Cheesy Chips” is a popular fast food dish from the USA, which is also the origin of the delicious Tex-Mex cuisine. The dish usually consists only of French fries topped with cheese, but various other toppings can be added too. You can find it in many restaurants around the world, where they are served for lunch or dinner.
Unlike traditional chili cheese fries recipes, my vegan version doesn’t need to be baked in the oven, since the cheese sauce is already “melted”. This is actually super convenient, too, because it keeps the cheese from getting dry and hard.
Which Vegan Cheese Sauce is the best?
I have 3 vegan cheese sauce recipes here on the blog which are all perfect for these chili cheese fries. While my classic vegan cheese sauce is made with potatoes and carrots, my sweet potato pasta sauce is made with sweet potatoes and my pumpkin mac and cheese sauce can be made with pumpkin or squash. They are all based on the same main recipe but are made with different veggies.
However, if you don’t want to make the vegan cheese sauce yourself, feel free to use store-bought grated dairy-free cheese. Then before serving, bake the Chili Cheese Fries in a preheated oven for 5 minutes, until the vegan cheese is melted.
Which BBQ sauce can I use?
The BBQ Marinade makes the Chili sin Carne Sauce for your Cheese Fries really tasty! You can use your favorite brand or substitute any BBQ sauce you have on hand. If you’re looking for a homemade version, try the BBQ sauce recipe of my Barbecue Cauliflower Wings. It’s vegan, organic, made from natural ingredients and above all incredibly delicious!
Homemade or store-bought French fries?
To make the Chili Cheese Fries, feel free to use store-bought fries or make them yourself with this recipe! For variety, feel free to try sweet potato fries, potato wedges, polenta fries or croquettes. No matter what you choose – all options taste super delicious!
What meat substitute can I use?
I used vegan veggie mince granules for my Chili Cheese Fries because not only is it soy-free, low-fat and gluten-free, but it also makes a great texture! However, you can also use any other ground meat alternative such as soy granules or 7 oz (200 g) of packaged vegan ground beef from the refrigerated section.
Regular firm tofu also works very well as a vegan meat alternative. Use 7 oz (200 g) of it and prepare it as instructed in my vegan bolognese recipe. Otherwise, you can just use more beans or cooked lentils.
Note: Dry products absorb liquid and thus increase in volume and weight. Therefore, you need less of the dry weight than you would need of tofu or ready-made products from the refrigerated section.
How to make Vegan Chili Cheese Fries – Here’s how easy the recipe is!
As always, I recommend checking out the recipe video and this step-by-step instruction first. Then you can find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Bake the fries and soak the veggie mince
First, cover the veggie mince with hot vegetable broth and let soak for 5 minutes. Then drain in a fine-meshed sieve. Meanwhile, make homemade French fries according to this recipe or prepare store-bought fries according to package directions.
Step 2: Cook the vegan chili
In the meantime, you can prepare the chili. Start by sautéing the onions and garlic. Then add tomato paste, paprika powder and chili powder and sauté briefly. Add veggie mince and sauté for a short while. Next, add chopped tomatoes and BBQ marinade or BBQ sauce. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the beans and corn. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Assemble Chili Cheese Fries
Spread the chili on the baked fries and pour vegan cheese sauce over it. Garnish with scallions, parsley and hot peppers as desired and enjoy!
Tips and variations
- Feel free to serve your Chili Cheese Fries with different dips such as guacamole, cashew dip, vegan mayonnaise or vegan aioli.
- If you prefer to use vegan grated cheese instead of the vegan cheese sauce or sweet potato pasta sauce, bake the Chili Cheese Fries in a preheated oven at 392 °F (200 °C) for 5 minutes before serving.
This vegan Chili Cheese Fries recipe is:
- Plant-based (Vegan, Vegetarian)
- Meat-less
- Gluten-free
- Protein-rich
- Quick and easy to make
- Healthy and delicious
- Made with fresh ingredients
- Versatile and customizable
- Perfect for parties , potlucks and other occasions
- A great lunch or dinner
More healthier and vegan Fastfood Recipes
- Crunchwrap Supreme – Burrito Wraps XXL
- BBQ Jackfruit Pulled Pork Burger
- Garlic Mushroom and Spinach Pizza
- Chinese Scallion Pancakes
- Vegan Quesadillas
- Vegan Burrito Samosas
- Turkish Borek
- Turkish Pizza (Lahmacun)
- Vegan Empanadas
- Aloo Paratha
- Sweet Potato Falafel
- Vegan Fish Nuggets
- Pasta Chips
If you try this vegan chili cheese fries recipe, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you share a photo of your delicious dish on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your creations! Enjoy! 🙂
Chili Cheese Fries with Vegan Cheese Sauce
Author:Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs (1 kg) French fries store-bought or homemade
- 1 cup (240 ml) vegan cheese sauce or sweet potato pasta sauce or pumpkin cheese sauce
Chili sauce
- 1.4 oz (40 g) veggie mince or soy granules other meat alternatives are mentioned in the post above!
- ¾ cup (200 ml) vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp olive oil or other oil for frying
- 1 onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 ½ tsp chili powder or to taste
- 14 oz (400 g) chopped tomatoes
- ⅓ cup (50 ml) BBQ marinade or BBQ sauce, use more to taste
- 14 oz (400 g) kidney beans 8.5 oz (240 g) drained weight
- ¾ cup (120 g) corn thawed and drained
- salt and pepper to taste
For garnish (optional)
- chili flakes
- scallions sliced
- hot peppers or jalapeño, sliced
- fresh parsley
Instructions
*Note: Feel free to check out the recipe video + step-by-step pictures in the blog post above!
- Make homemade French fries according to this recipe or prepare store-bought fries according to package directions.
- Pour 200 ml of hot vegetable broth over the veggie mince and allow to soak for 5 minutes. Then drain in a fine-meshed sieve.
- Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Then add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
- Add tomato paste, paprika and chili powder and sauté briefly. Then add veggie mince and sauté for a short while. Now add chopped tomatoes and BBQ sauce. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the beans and corn. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
- Spread the chili over the crispy baked fries and pour vegan cheese sauce over the top. Garnish with chili flakes, scallions, parsley and hot peppers if desired and enjoy!
Notes
- Feel free to serve your Chili Cheese Fries with different dips such as guacamole, cashew dip, vegan mayonnaise or vegan aioli.
- Alternatives to veggie mince are mentioned in the post above.
- If you use vegan grated cheese instead of the vegan cheese sauce or sweet potato pasta sauce, bake the Chili Cheese Fries in a preheated oven at 392 °F (200 °C) for 5 minutes before serving.
- More tips and information about the recipe are mentioned in the post above!
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So good! I also added a bit of basil, oregano, cumin and coriander. This chili gets even better left over. Will definitely be making again, thanks for a great recipe!
Great, thanks for your feedback! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I felt like I am in the vegan heaven 😍 So an awesome recipe 🤩 Definitely not the last time I cooked it
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Such a delicious recipe, thank you so much for sharing! This time I used store bought vegan cheese https://violifefoods.com/ – thank you for the tip on baking! I’m so happy I found your website everything looks amazing!
That’s great! Glad you enjoyed it! Happy Weekend! 🙂 ♡