I honestly thought I had done everything one person can do with an avocado. Guacamole. Pesto. Salad. Frosting. Hair masks. Face masks. What could possibly be left?
Oh…FRIES? I can make FRIES from an avocado? And I can bake them instead of frying? Come with me to the moment I found this out. Can you see the rays of heavenly light pouring down around me? Can you hear the Hallelujah chorus? Or do you just think I’m a little bit weirder than you did just a few minutes ago?
This starts with fresh, ripe avocado, sliced lengthwise. If you can keep from sprinkling some sea salt on it and eating it just like that, well, more power to you. You’ve got more willpower than me, and you get to move on to the next round, where it’s rolled through seasoned flour, dipped in an egg wash, and then coated with crispy, crunchy panko breadcrumbs.
All aboard! Next stop: awesomeness.
You also get to scare people when you’re done breading and your hands look like this:
Julie Pankohands: the tragically unsuccessful sequel to Edward Scissorhands
You can get people to agree to almost anything if you’re chasing them with hands like this.
A relatively quick high-heat bake finishes these babies off, and while you dance around ecstatically waiting for that twenty minutes to pass, you can think about what dipping sauce is worthy of these. It could be anything. I’m partial to sweet chili sauce myself, but you can go in almost any direction. Ranch, chipotle mayo, wasabi-soy sauce…whatever you dip these in, make sure it’s something you really like. Cooked avocado is tender and buttery but it’s mellow to the extreme – it’s good to have a flavor-packed sauce to go with the to-die-for crunchiness of the panko crust with the soft avocado middle.
Make these. Let me know if you hear the Hallelujah chorus like I did. You don’t need to be embarrassed – it’s not you. These really are that good.
| Baked Avocado Fries |
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- 3 ripe (but not overripe) avocados
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 eggs – see Notes for substitute to veganize
- 1½ cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Cooking spray
- Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on the sheet. Set aside.
- Slice avocados lengthwise – for three avocados, you’ll get 20-22 fries.
- Set up three bowls in an “assembly line” (prepare your best Laverne and Shirley routine). In the first bowl, place the ½ cup of flour and add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
- Crack the eggs into the middle bowl and beat lightly.
- In the last bowl, combine the panko and melted butter and mix with your fingers to coat. Add garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.
- Dredge each avocado slice through the flour, and then the beaten egg. Coat thoroughly with the panko and place on the wire rack. Spray lightly with cooking spray.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until panko is lightly browned. Cool for about ten minutes and serve with dipping sauce of choice.
Source: Adapted from Adventures in Cooking
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Nice use of avocado. It would be super if you linked this post in to Food on Friday Series which is all about avocado this week.
Thank you Carole! I have done so.
Great that you linked this in. I am sure lots of people will want to do this. I have taken the duplicate link out for you. Have a great week.
Nom. Nom. These look awesome. I am jealous you have eaten some before me.
If these were the only thing I ate for the rest of my life, I could die happy! So yummy.
This is such an amazing idea! We just made our own bread crumbs today and this is perfect to try out
I LOVE homemade breadcrumbs! Hope you enjoy.
Would love a vegan option! What can I use instead of an egg wash?
Hi Liz! Couple of options I can think of for replacing the egg wash – you could blend up some silken tofu with a bit of soy/rice/almond milk, but another option that I think would be really good is dijon mustard thinned out with a little agave or maple syrup, water, and Vegenaise. I use something like that to bind breadcrumbs to tofu and it’s fantastic – since the avocado is very mellow, like tofu, I bet the extra flavor would go a long way.
And I’ve edited the recipe in the post to include veganizing instructions, so thanks for asking that!
i’ve never heard of this. Very cool!
They’re insanely good. I hope you try them!
These came out absolutely fantastic! My little sister, who is a very picky eater went nuts for them, and we cleaned the entire tray in ten minutes. Thank you for this soon-to-be-favourite recipe
That’s great, Anna! I’m so glad they turned out well. The first time I made them, I’m ashamed to admit they were gone within minutes (and I was alone).
http://ourtangledbones.tumblr.com/post/25290128067/after-a-terrible-nightmare-i-woke-up-at-6-am-to
I should have linked it earlier, but here’s some pictures of how it turned out. I didn’t have panko on hand, so I just used some homemade breadcrumbs
They look super yummy! That feeling when you wake up from a nightmare is the absolute worst, but I’m glad you bounced back with a good breakfast.
These sound delicious, what a great idea for a new way to use avocado! It’s too bad that “Julie Pankohands” wasn’t more successful at the box office
I guess they really look more like E.T. fingers so maybe that’s how I’ll pitch it next time!
AWESOME, thank you! Found some whole wheat bread crumbs at whole foods and they came out great using those:)
I’m so glad you loved them! I’ve just been thinking I need to make these again
I just made these, and they are delicious! I added a little chipotle chili pepper to both the flour and the panko, since I wasn’t making a dip. SO yummy, thanks for the recipe! =)
Ohh, yum! Chipotle powder in the dry mix sounds heavenly! So glad you liked them
[...] Adapted from Baked In [...]
This is great cooked it tonite and didn’t feel guilty after eating loved it. Thanks for the recipe.
When i saw this recipe i was like “ohhhmyyyyhgaaawwdd” i told my boyfriend about it. so we made them last night for the first time, they’re so good! We made a whole bunch! Haha. i love you so much for this recipe.
LOL! I’m obsessed with these. I make them all the time. Glad you enjoyed!
After an hour of “what’s for dinner?” I decided to give this recipe a try. Now, I LOVE avocados, but I have never had them like this…. Paired them with a salad of baby greens… Ahhhhhh-mazing!!!! My husband who is kinda “eh” with avocadoes thought they were the BOMB!
I’m so glad you liked them! I agree that they’re a perfect dinner with a salad
Just a quick note to let you know that this link you put in to Food on Friday: Avocado has been showcased today in my Need Some Inspiration? Series. Cheers
Ps I have just signed up to follow you – a follow back to Carole’s Chatter would be wonderful!
[...] creaminess. Not much of a dessert person, throw it into a smoothie or even go really nuts and bake [...]
Whoa. These were so yummy!
I made these as a spur of the moment side dish for dinner. I love them, my roommates loved them & my boyfriend loved them. Even my sister the dietitian asked for the recipe because the photo i took of them looked so good. I would recommend making them when you get a chance! But just as a warning defiantly have a dipping sauce. I didn’t this time, but i will next time! Oh, and make sure you have friends to share them with, too, cause it makes a whole lot!
I didn’t care for these, to be honest. Although you said they had a mellow flavor, I was still disappointed with the lack of flavor. We ate them with a wasabi soy sauce and some pickled ginger, which improved them a lot. I think they’d be good in a sushi roll. Overall though, I didn’t think they were worth the effort.
Fair enough! Sorry you didn’t like them.
WOW! Delicious. I made these for the first time tonight. Any ideas on how to store a few slices? Like you Julie, I was alone. I ate all but a few of the slices. I’ll eat the rest in a matter of hours. I didn’t use sauce. Maybe next time.
I improvised a bunch because I wanted them NOW. i used three types of crackers; and used sage, ginger, curry and turmeric (what I had in my cupboard) punched with crushed red peppers for the panko mixture. I substituted corn meal for flour. My cupboards are empty. But thanks to an amazing recipe my tummy is full.
♥:-)♥
I love your adaptations! I bet they were great with curry powder.
It is very rare that I have leftovers of these, but when I do I just throw them in a tupperware in the fridge. Reheating in the oven rather than the microwave seems to help in avoiding sogginess.
Tried these and followed directions to a T, but the avocados came out horrendously bitter! Had to throw out the whole batch. The coating tasted great, but not the avocado itself. I’ve been reading that cooking avocado can make them bitter. To be fair, I used avocados that were on the better side of ripe but definitely not starting to rot (they had no soft, black/brown areas). Any suggestions? Would love to recommend this recipe otherwise!
Yikes! I’ve never had this happen with these and I hadn’t heard about cooking them causing bitterness. So sorry that happened to you – such a bummer when you have to scrap a bunch of food. My only suggestion is to try again with new avocadoes (if you aren’t too disheartened by attempt #1).
What about pork skin crumbs in stead of flour and Panko. Would then be ok on Paleo and Ideal Diets .
I’m a vegetarian so I haven’t and wouldn’t try this – but anyone who does, feel free to report back with results for those interested.
Thanks Julie, What a neat web page. I can hardly wait to try the avocados….luckily they are in season and soooo reasonable to purchase.
Thanks again, Pat
Thank you Pat! I hope you enjoy them. These are one of my all time favorites.
[...] Baked Zucchini & Avocado Fries, inspired by Fun and Food Cafe & Baked In [...]
How would you suggest making this recipie gluten free? Any possible alternatives to the breadcrumbs or would just trying to buy gluten free breadcrumbs be the best bet?
Hi Devin, I haven’t tried this but I bet you could sub almond meal for the breadcrumbs. I haven’t tried so I can’t personally vouch for the results, but it seems like it would work. If you try it, let me know how it works and I’ll add it to the recipe as a GF sub.
[...] The image is not of mine (they were so good I had not time to take a picture…? Ahem…) Image credit [...]
[...] Recipe and Instructions [...]