Nov 22, 2013

Low Carb "French Fries"

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Sugar Free Low Carb Foods

Ohhhh man I love french fries. I love McDonald's fries, but my favorite fries are from Arby's. They are heavily seasoned and breaded a bit..really crunchy. However, I haven't had fast food take-out in years and fries are something i've really missed, but i'm not willing to compromise my low carb lifestyle for. I've tried making a low carb version of the french fry using jicama, but while I do love raw jicama, it just doesn't make a great french fry. 

I'll tell you what though, you know what does make a good french fry?...TOFU. Yeah I said it...tofu. Seriously! Tofu and pork rinds.  That's all you'll need for this recipe! 
Oh..and some oil and a pan for fryin' them up! 

-Pork rinds
-Extra firm tofu


The first thing you have to do is soak up some of the excess water from your tofu. It'll be too wet to work with if you don't. Simply wrap the block in layers of paper towels and set it on a paper plate. Then set another plate on top of it and weight it down with something just so it presses enough to help expel the water but not squish it too much. 

Step 1
Cut your tofu into thin "pages" and then cut into thin strips of "french fries"  The thinner they are, the easier they will fry up and crispier they will be! 

Step 2
Crunch your pork rinds into "powder." I've done this a few ways...using my hands while they were in a plastic bag, using the blender, or using the food processor. You just want it to resemble bread crumbs. You can add salt or other spices to your pork rind crumbs and mix in now if you want or just salt the tofu strips. Then gently roll your tofu strips into the breading to coat. 

Step 3
Using an oil that can be heated at high temps for frying (vegetable oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, or palm oil), heat to medium/high heat and then carefully drop in your fries. You want your oil to cover the bottom of the pan, but not so much that your fries are swimming in it. Turn them till all sides are browned and crispy to your liking! I made mine super crispy! If you like your french fries crispy on the outside but soft on the inside, don't leave them in as long.

**You could also bake these instead if you'd like. I haven't tried it this way so I don't know if they'd get AS crispy as frying them, but you could try. I'd probably bake them at around 400 degrees. Let me know how they turn out if you go this route...i'd love to know** 

Step 4
When your fries are done, transfer them to a paper towel to drain. They'll continue to crisp up a bit while cooling off.

I ate these up so quickly that I hardly even wanted to take a picture first haha! 
Now don't forget your favorite fry sauce! I like either mayo, mustard, or a mix of both to dip my fries in. Hey, did you know you can pretty easily make your own low carb ketchup? Try THIS RECIPE from Domestically Nouveau

2nd option-Vegan Friendly!
If you're interested in a vegan friendly version, or just don't have the pork rinds on hand, you can also just fry the strips of tofu up without breading them first. I recommend salting them before frying though.  The texture isn't quite as close to "real" fries without the pork rind breading, but they are still crunchy and really good!  



  1. Love your site. Congrats on your weight loss success and low carb lifestyle. You have given me motivation to eat more healthy. Thank you.

    1. Thank you so much! It inspires me to keep posting when I receive messages like this :)

  2. sooooo happy to have found your site on pinterest! nothing I want more than to loose weight and be happy, & healthy! this is the exact motivation I needed!

    1. Thank you Kels! I am so happy to have you following along! Your goal is definitely reachable and being HAPPY is the "sweetest" reward of all :)

  3. Very happy to have found your site. You look beautiful !!

    1. Why thank you, that is so very kind! Thank you so much for following along, i'm glad you are enjoying the site :)

  4. Thank you so much for your recipes! After years of the same old things I never make much progress because of extreme boredom and frequent cheats. I think your creativity will really help me!

    1. The great thing is that nowadays, there are some really amazing low carb recipes out there! You can almost always find a way to turn your "old favorites" into yummy low carb alternatives! Thank you for following along! :)

  5. thank you for your inspiration & wonderful recipes. i will follow your example. :O)

  6. I absolutely love your blog..just on the beginning of my low carb journey, and I thank you for all the delicious recipes ..You look stunning by the way!!!

  7. Has anyone had a problem with gout while doing this low carb diet?



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