Vegan Mcdonald’s Fries
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With just a few ingredients, we can whip up some homemade Vegan McDonald’s Fries that are just as good as the original!
are mcdonald’s fries vegan?
If you live outside of the US, you might be scratching your head. “Aren’t McDonald’s Fries already vegan?” Well it seems as though they are in every country except the US! You see back in the ’90s they used to be fried with beef tallow. Then I guess people wanted “healthier” fries, so they stopped using the beef tallow.
Of course Americans noticed the fries didn’t taste as good, so McDonald’s started using “Natural Beef Flavor” and on top of that there’s milk ingredients too! Well I stumbled upon a recipe by MASHED where they recreated the McDonald’s Fries with a few ingredients. So of course I had to see if I could make some vegan swaps, and as per usual it worked out!
These Vegan McDonald’s Fries are a hit and totally remind me of the ones I used to eat. If anything they are better because they are made fresh and crispy!
What’s the best fry for vegan mcdonald’s fries?
As the folks at Mashed recommend, don’t bother making fries from scratch. They take way too long, and unless you are a french fry master, they won’t be as good. Plus McDonald’s uses frozen fries that are made with machines, and you’re not a machine!
The best frozen fries that I can find for these are the Ore Ida Fast Food Fries. They are so reminiscent of the McDonald’s Fries! In fact, if you are feeling super lazy, you can just heat these up and skip the other ingredients. They’ll be good, but not quite as good as the ones we’ll make!
ingredients for vegan mcdonald’s fries
- Beefless Broth – To replace the “Natural Beef Flavor”
- Soy Milk – Make sure it’s unsweetened!
- Baking Powder – I use baking powder in everything I deep fry since it reacts with the hot oil to make things extra crispy!
how to make vegan mcdonald’s fries
The process is quite simple! First make a “Beefy Milk Bath” by combining some vegan beef broth, soy milk, baking powder and ice cubes.
Then dunk the fries for about 10 – 15 seconds. You’ll need to do this in batches. Let them rest on a wire rack, and then put them back in the freezer.
Then we’ll get some neutral oil up to around 350 F and fry our fries! They might splatter a bit since we got some liquid on them, but fret not, it’ll only last a few seconds. Fry them until golden brown and beautiful!
Add them to a wire rack and salt them immediately, and enjoy!
storage
Just like with real McDonald’s Fries, these are better the fresher they are. So I don’t really recommend storing them. Eat them all IMMEDIATELY!
Can I air Fry or bake these?
Probably, but they won’t be as good! I haven’t tested it, but the fries usually have air fry and baking instructions on the package, so follow those if you like!
Tips for Vegan McDonald’s Fries
- Use Shoestring or Fast Food style frozen fries.
- Use unsweetened soy milk! You can also use other plant milks if you want (I actually used Ripple and it was great!)
- Get a deep fry thermometer to monitor the oil temperature.
- Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point such as Peanut, Vegetable or Canola.
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Vegan McDonald’s Fries
Ingredients
- 1 Bag Frozen Fast Food Style Fries 1 lb. 10 oz.
- 1/2 cup vegan beef broth
- 1/4 unsweetened soy milk
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup ice cubes
- Oil for frying
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Mix the vegan beef broth, soy milk, baking powder and ice cubes in a bowl.
- Dunk a handful of fries and get them all nice and covered in the beefy milk mixture for about 10 – 15 seconds. Remove and let them rest on a wire rack. Repeat with rest of the fries.
- Once all fries have been dunked, add the wire rack to a freezer.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat up enough oil to cover the fries. Use a neutral tasting, high smoke point oil such as Peanut, Vegetable or Canola.
- Once oil is heated to 375 F, add the fries to the pot carefully. They WILL splatter at first but it should only last a few seconds. The oil temp will drop to 350 or so, which is good. That's where we want it.
- Fry the fries in batches (don't crowd the pot) until they are golden browned. This shouldn't take too long, maybe 2 – 3 minutes max. Don't let them get too browned / burnt.
- Remove fries from oil and let them rest on a wire rack and salt to taste immediately. Enjoy while they are fresh!
