So my honey went to Vegas a couple weeks ago for a business trip and he came back with a packet of ketchup from In-and-Out Burger. I guess when the cat’s 🐈 away, the mice 🐁 will play… and eat fast food! Well lucky for me, seeing the ketchup reminded me of some once swooned over “Animal Style Fries” 🍟 that I tried a few years back when we were on our ”babymoon” in California while I was pregnant with Zoey. I had never eaten at In-and-Out Burger before that trip and being a Miami native, I hadn’t yet felt the effect of the In-and-Out craze that has swept the West Coast. So naturally, I knew nothing of their secret menu until a California native friend told me that I had to try their “Animal Style Fries.” 🍟 I had no idea what he was talking about and told him I hadn’t seen that on their menu (yes, we went multiple times during that trip), but he insisted that I go up to the counter and order “Animal Style Fries” and they’d oblige. So I did. And at that very moment, it clicked. 😋 I finally got what all the fuss was about. 🍟 A tray of piping hot, deep-fried potatoes, slathered in melted cheddar cheese, grilled onions and their “secret spread” sauce… I mean, who could resist, right? If all that this place sold was these fries, I think they’d be just fine.

But here we are, over on the other side of the planet, where “Animal Style Fries” are just as obscure as the notion of earthquakes. So when I was reminded of those babies that I had tried three and a half years ago, I knew if I wanted to enjoy them again, I would just have to recreate my own. I did a little research on what might be in the coveted “secret spread” and found a recipe online. I made a few tweaks to that, a couple of other vegan changes, and caramelized some onions instead of grilling them… and Voila! Some homemade, baked (not fried) Animal Style Home fries. And while I say that this recipe serves two, you could probably serve this dish to 4 people as a side. But with a dish like this, I’d rather be conservative (i.e. have more all to myself)!

Servings	Prep Time	Cook Time	Total Time
2	5 mins.	45 mins.	50 mins.

Ingredients:

7 medium red potatoes
1 large white onion
2 tablespoons olive oil + more for greasing
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Heaping ¼ cup of Daiya or Follow Your Heart cheddar shreds
2 heaping tablespoons vegan mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
½ teaspoon yellow mustard
2 heaping teaspoons dill pickle, minced
Pinch of salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking sheet with olive oil.

2. Dice potatoes into approximately ¼ inch cubes.

First I slice the potatoes into thirds...

3. Toss the potato cubes in 1 tablespoon olive oil, black pepper, salt and garlic powder.

4. Arrange the potatoes on prepared baking sheet and place in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, until tender, browned and crispy.

5. While the potatoes are in the oven, heat a medium pan over low heat.

6. Slice onion and add onion and remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Slowly cook the onions, stirring occasionally for approximately 45 minutes, until golden brown.

then slowly over time, the magic happens...

then eventually they look like this and taste like heaven!

7. While waiting for the onions and potatoes to cook, prepare sauce by combining vegan mayonnaise, ketchup, yellow mustard, minced dill pickle, and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Stir together until everything is combined.

8. When potatoes are done, remove them from the oven and set aside. Reheat oven to 450 degrees.

9. Using a spatula, fill an oven safe ramekin (or 2 or 3) with potatoes. Top the potatoes with cheddar shreds and return to oven. Cook until the cheese begins to melt, approximately 5 minutes.