Healthier alternatives to classic french fries: How to make low-calorie fries and which ingredients to use to preserve flavor without unnecessary fats?
Emilia Szymańska
2026-03-21
3 min. read
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No matter how diligently we maintain a balanced diet, the craving for crispy french fries occasionally arises—unfortunately, those prepared the traditional way, via deep-frying in abundant fat, burden the body with excess calories while offering minimal nutritional value. Fortunately, a solution exists: replacing standard potatoes with vegetable-based alternatives such as sweet potatoes, carrots, celery stalks, or even cucumbers, which, when roasted at the right temperature, provide not only a delicious but also a nutrient-dense snack, ideal for individuals who value both culinary enjoyment and the health benefits of their food choices.
French fries with potatoes, cucumbers, celery and carrots
Instead of standard fries, which are high in calories and lack any nutritional properties, baked vegetables are recommended. They are usually available throughout the year, but the freshest ones are just as good and healthy for that. They have many culinary uses, including carrots, celery, and sugar cane. Potatoes, or sweet potatoes are considered to be one of the oldest vegetables consumed in Central and South America. They're usually available all year round, but they're just as tasty and healthy in winter.
What oil for fries?
It is best to use fat which is most resistant to adverse processes during frying, i.e. it contains few polyunsaturated fatty acids, is dominated by fatty oleic acid and saturated fatty acid, has a fairly high smoke temperature (indicates how much fat can be heated before it begins to decompose, that is to say, lose its properties), and in addition in the case of vegetable oils has undergone a refining (cleaning) process.
How do you make fries?
The vegetables should be picked from the skin and cut into columns, shaped like fries. Then sprinkled with oil and wrapped in your favorite spices (such as sweet peppers, cinnamon, ginger, thyme). Place on a sheet of paper and bake for about 1540 minutes (depending on the vegetables), sometimes rotating so that they are evenly ruminated.
The fries are calorie-dense
Product [100 g] Nutritional value [kcal] Fried French fries 330 Potatoes 86 Marchev 27 Seler 21 Chicken 16 A standard serving of French fry in the fit version (200 g) will therefore contain about 150200 calories (depending on the vegetables selected). If we use the right oil and make it in the oven, it can sometimes also be a good snack or an addition to dinner.