Crispy bacon and beef Loaded Carrot Fries with a dairy free cheese sauce! These fries are the perfect Paleo game-day snack!

I. Am. Exhausted.

Last night I hosted a Baconsgiving for my coworkers (basically a full Paleo Thanksgiving without the traditional Thanksgiving food) and I cooked liked 10,000 things. Ok maybe it was seven things, but it felt like 10,000. Don’t get me wrong — I love cooking for people and it was so fun to have everyone over, but I’m ready to stay far away from my kitchen for a few days. Too bad that isn’t actually an option for me since, you know, food has to happen.

Had you ever had bacon-wrapped smoked ribs? We had them as our main dish at our feast and…. wow. Just wow. Bacon really is one of the most wonderful substances on earth. I have it on a sweet potato with almond butter almost every morning after my workout, and it gives me life. I keep a steady stream of bacon ready to go in my fridge for tossing on bowls, etc. I know it’s not exactly the healthiest form of meat, but I’m absolutely pro high-fat-diet, and bacon Is certainly is a means of getting there.

Bacon is also a great way to increase calories if you’re dealing with hypothalamic amenorrhea (which I still am). In this case, all food is good food. Because my gut health is also a concern right now, my version of “all food” looks a lot more like…bacon. It’s a pretty good consolation prize. I’m having a hard time eating enough calories when I feel like I’m already completely full. Calorie-dense foods like bacon and avocado definitely help with that.

That is where these bacon burger loaded carrot fries come in. I’m all about bacon burgers, but sometimes I don’t want the mess of making burger patties and splattering grease on my stovetop trying to cook them. Sometimes I just want a bacon burger party in my mouth without the clean up, ya know? That where these carrot fries come in. And, as a bonus, these are a total crowd pleaser for a holiday party of game day gathering! Or you can eat them solo while you watch Schitt’s Creek. That’s where I’ll be.

PRINT

Loaded Bacon Burger Carrot Fries

PREP TIME 10 minutes

COOK TIME 25 minutes

TOTAL TIME 35 minutes

SERVINGS 4

INGREDIENTS

For fries:

• 2 lbs carrots peeled and cut into “fry” shape
• 1-2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• Salt and pepper

Toppings:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 lb bacon
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
• 2 green onions sliced

Cheese Sauce:

• 3 cups cauliflower florets steamed until soft
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat oven to 425 F and line a baking sheet with parchment pepper.

2. In a large bowl, toss carrots with coconut oil, paprika, salt, and pepper. Lay on baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
3. While carrots are cooking, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Set aside.
4. Clean the skillet, but set aside 1-2 tbsp bacon fat.
5. Return the skillet to heat and cook the ground beef in the leftover bacon fat for 7-8 minutes, or until beef is no longer pink. While cooking, stir in garlic and onion powder. Set aside.
6. Once the bacon is cool, crumble into pieces.

7. To make cheese sauce,  combine cauliflower, almond milk, olive oil, nutritional yeast, tumeric, and salt in a food processor. Blend until very smooth, adding additional almond milk as needed.

8. Top the finished sheet of carrot fries with half of the cheese sauce, setting aside the rest for dipping. Add on bacon crumbles, ground beef, cilantro, and green onions. Enjoy!