French fries are, without a doubt, one of the most popular foods in the US. According to Talker Research, Americans consume around 5.6 billion pounds of them every year. But new research suggests that eating fries too often could carry serious health risks.<\/p>\n
A study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, published in The British Medical Journal, found that eating French fries three or more times per week was linked to a 20 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. To reach these findings, researchers analyzed data from more than 205,000 adults across the US.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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RELATED:<\/strong> Never Bake Again: How to Use Your Air Fryer for Nearly Every Meal<\/a><\/p>\n Does that mean fries should be off the menu altogether? Not necessarily. The good news: other potato preparations, like baked, boiled, or mashed, did not show a significant link to type 2 diabetes. This suggests the problem isn\u2019t potatoes themselves, but the deep-frying process.<\/p>\n Are French fries always unhealthy?<\/p>\n We\u2019ll put you out of your misery: no, French fries aren\u2019t always unhealthy. It all comes down to how they are cooked.\u00a0<\/p>\n Potatoes themselves are highly nutritious<\/a>. As a root vegetable, they\u2019re a good source of fiber<\/a>, carbohydrates, vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium. They also provide antioxidants like flavonoids and carotenoids. In fact, research suggests that eating more potatoes may even help reduce the risk of certain diseases.<\/p>\n \u201cI often tell clients to consider swapping some of the rice or pasta that they eat each week for potatoes,\u201d nutritionist Sophie Trotman told The Telegraph. \u201cPotatoes contain a lot of micronutrients, as well as a good amount of fiber and resistant starch, both of which are crucial to gut health and may help prevent bowel cancer.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The healthiest ways to enjoy potatoes are boiled, mashed, roasted, air-fried, or baked. The least healthy? Processed and deep-fried versions, such as those from fast-food chains or the frozen aisle. Processing strips away many of the natural nutrients, while frying adds extra fat and calories.<\/p>\n The good news: you can still make French fries in much healthier ways.\u00a0<\/p>\n 5 healthier ways to make French fries<\/p>\n Deep-frying isn\u2019t essential. With just a potato, a little olive oil, and an oven, you can make a lighter, more nutritious version. Here are some healthier French fry recipes for inspiration.<\/p>\n 1<\/strong> Supreme Vegan Nacho Fries With Tofu Bacon Crumbles<\/p>\n In this tasty nacho fries recipe, the French fries are made from scratch with boiled and baked potatoes. A savory tofu topping and a creamy homemade nacho cheese sauce, made with simple ingredients like carrots, garlic, and nutritional yeast, add both flavor and extra nutrition. 2<\/strong> Oil-Free Air Fryer French Fries<\/p>\n If you want to keep it simple, this recipe from Beautiful Ingredient\u00a0requires just potatoes, salt, pepper, and an air-fryer<\/a>. The crispy, delicious texture comes from cutting the potatoes really thin. \u201cThere is no need to add any ingredients other than thin-cut potato strips,\u201d says recipe developer Kari Gray. \u201cThough if you\u2019d like them to be salty, it helps to add salt while the potato is raw so that it sticks well.\u201d 3<\/strong> Crispy Baked French Fries<\/p>\n No air fryer? No problem. In this recipe, Danielle Brown of HealthyGirl Kitchen shows how to make restaurant-quality crispy French fries<\/a> in the oven without a drop of oil. The secret? Ice water. \u201cQuite honestly, these taste just as good, if not better,\u201d says Brown. 4<\/strong> Vegan Loaded Greek Fries<\/p>\n The crispy base of this recipe is composed of oven-baked fries, lightly coated in avocado oil and seasoned with plenty of dried herbs and garlic. They\u2019re topped with red onion, fresh parsley, and vegan feta<\/a> for extra flavor and texture. 5<\/strong> Baked Vegan Sweet Potato Fries<\/p>\n Want to make your fries even healthier? Try sweet potatoes<\/a> instead. They\u2019re packed with nutrients like vitamins A, C, and B6, plus beta-carotene. Slice them thin, season with spices, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and bake until crispy and delicious. For more plant-based stories like this, read:<\/p>\n Charlotte is a VegNews editor and writer based in sunny Southsea on England’s southern coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"French fries are, without a doubt, one of the most popular foods in the US. According to Talker…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":196464,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[210,1182,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-196463","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115139657373074201","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"VegNews.LoadedFriesSupreme\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/VegNews.LoadedFriesSupreme.png\")
<\/a>Lauren Toyota<\/p>\n
Get the recipe<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Beautiful Ingredient<\/p>\n
Get the recipe<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Crispy](\"https:\/\/vegnews.com\/media\/W1siZiIsIjU0MjY3L0NyaXNweSBCYWtlZCBGcmVuY2ggRnJpZXMud2VicCJdLFsicCIsIm9wdGltaXplIl1d\/Crispy%20Baked%20French%20Fries.webp?sha=f248e1d29b963711\")
<\/a>HealthyGirl Kitchen<\/p>\n
Get the recipe<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>The Healthful Ideas<\/p>\n
Get the recipe<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Baked](\"https:\/\/vegnews.com\/media\/W1siZiIsIjU0MjY5L0Jha2VkIFZlZ2FuIFN3ZWV0IFBvdGF0byBGcmllcy53ZWJwIl0sWyJwIiwib3B0aW1pemUiXV0\/Baked%20Vegan%20Sweet%20Potato%20Fries.webp?sha=563fed6ba0213613\")
<\/a>The Spruce Eats<\/p>\n
Get the recipe<\/a><\/p>\n![\"VegNews.CharlottePointingBio\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/VegNews.CharlottePointingBio.jpg\")
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