These baked yuca fries are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The creamy cilantro dipping sauce is tangy, herbaceous, and ridiculously addictive!
I first discovered yuca fries – and yuca in general – at one of my favorite restaurants here in NYC. They serve all the greatest hits of Cuban cuisine, make a mean mojito, and sometimes feature a live salsa band, too. In a nutshell, this place is just the freakin’ greatest. I fell in love with their yuca frita at first bite and have been making it at home since. Read on for my technique!
What is Yuca
Yuca (a.k.a. cassava or manioc) is a mild-tasting, starchy root vegetable native to South America as well as parts of Asia and Africa. It presents as a large, somewhat irregularly-shaped brown stalk with bark-line skin.
Underneath, yuca has a hard white flesh that’s not unlike a potato or parsnip’s. When cooked, yuca becomes creamy and absolutely delicious – again, like a potato. (“Yucca,” on the other hand, is a shrub and is unrelated to this root vegetable.)
Yuca (pronounced YOU-kah) happens to make the most delicious fries (also called “cassava fries”), which are commonly served in Cuban restaurants as a side dish or appetizer, alongside a garlicky cilantro dipping sauce. This is my homestyle – and slightly healthier! – version of the dish, where I bake the fries instead of deep-frying.
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
- Yuca Look for firm, evenly-colored yuca without dark spots or mold on the ends. Yuca is available at many supermarkets, as well as in Asian or South American markets. You may also find it in the frozen vegetables aisle! Frozen yuca will work just as well here.
- Cooking Oil Use any neutral-flavored cooking oil you have on-hand. My favorites are avocado, organic canola, and refined coconut.
- Mayonnaise You can use conventional or vegan mayo for this cilantro sauce.
- Cilantro Cilantro gives this sauce an unmistakably vibrant, green, grassy flavor that I can’t get enough of. If you’re a cilantro-hater, substitute with basil, dill, mint, and/or parsley.
- Lime Feel free to sub with lemon.
How to Peel Yuca for Fries
Yuca is much firmer than a potato. You’ll definitely need a sharp chef’s knife – plus patience and plenty of elbow grease – to get the job done…
- Using a sharp knife, cut the yuca stalk into 2 or 3 pieces. (When you cut into it, the flesh should be white; if you see brown spots or detect an unpleasant acidic aroma, the yuca has gone bad and should be thrown away.)
- Working with 1 piece at a time, stand the piece upright on a flat side, and carefully slice off the skin, turning the piece as you go. Repeat with each piece.
- Cut the peeled pieces lengthwise into 4 batons to reveal a woody core (you may not see it, but it is there). Slice away a thin piece of the core and discard it.
- Cut each resulting baton into French fry shapes.
How to Make Baked Yuca Fries
Boil: Start by putting the cut-up yuca in a pot with water and bringing it to a boil. It needs to simmer for about 5 minutes, until it’s cooked about halfway through.
Drain: Next, drain the yuca and let it stand to dry out for a few minutes. When it no longer looks wet, toss it with a bit of oil and salt.
Roast: Arrange the yuca on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake until the fries are golden brown and crisp, 20 to 30 minutes. It’s super important to bake these in a single layer so each fry has a chance to crisp up; if they’re too crowded, the fries will steam and become mushy instead.
A note on safety: yuca should never be eaten raw. The yuca sold here in the US contains small amounts of natural cyanide that’s safely neutralized when yuca is cooked until tender.
How to Make the Cilantro Dipping Sauce
While the yuca is in the oven, make the sauce. This tangy cilantro-lime dip is super simple to make: just combine mayo, cilantro, garlic, and lime juice in a blender (or Vitamix, Nutribullet) and blend until smooth!
More Latin-inspired favorites…
- Mexican Rice and Beans Casserole
- Enoki Mushroom “Carnitas” Tacos
- Vegan Black Bean Dip
- Black Bean and Plantain Bowls
Let me know if you try my baked yuca fries! Give them a rating below and leave a comment, and don’t forget to tag your creation with @thenewbaguette on Instagram.
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Baked Yuca Fries with Cilantro Dipping Sauce
(8 votes, average: 4.38 out of 5)
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- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Cuban
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These baked yuca fries are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The creamy cilantro sauce is tangy, herbaceous, and ridiculously addictive!
Ingredients
For the Baked Yuca Fries
- 2 large yuca stalks (about 3.5 pounds)
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- About 3 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil, like avocado, canola, or refined coconut
For the Cilantro Dipping Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups cilantro leaves with tender stems
- 3/4 cup vegan or conventional mayo
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice, or more to taste
- 1 medium garlic clove
- Fine sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
- Prep the yuca. Using a sharp knife, cut each stalk into 2 or 3 pieces. (See Note 1) Working with 1 piece at a time, stand it upright on a flat side, and carefully slice off the skin, turning the piece as you go. Cut the peeled pieces lengthwise into 4 batons to reveal a woody core (you may not see it, but it is there). Slice away a thin piece of the core and discard it. Cut each resulting baton into French fry shapes.
- Place the yuca in a pot with 1 teaspoon salt and add enough water to cover by about 2 inches. Cover tightly with a lid and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and gently simmer with the lid ajar until the yuca is just starting to cook through but is not yet soft, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and let the yuca stand for 5 minutes to dry.
- Place the yuca back in the dry pot where you boiled it and drizzle with about 3 tablespoons of oil and season with a generous pinch of salt. Toss to coat evenly and arrange on a large baking sheet in a single layer. (See Note 2) Roast until the fries are golden brown, about 25 minutes, flipping once halfway through baking.
- Meanwhile, make the dip. In a blender, combine all the sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Chill until ready to serve.
- Serve the fries immediately, with the dip.
Notes
1. When you cut into it, the flesh should be white; if you see brown spots or detect an unpleasant acidic aroma, the yuca has gone bad and should be thrown away.
2. If all the fries don’t fit on one baking sheet, divide them among 2 sheets and rotate the sheets halfway through cooking.
3. If you don’t like cilantro, substitute with basil, dill, mint, and/or parsley.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the recipe
- Calories: 311
Keywords: yuca, baked fries, cilantro dip
