Baked Yuca Fries with Creamy Cilantro Dip

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, which are commonly served in Cuban restaurants as a side dish and 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.

A Few Notes on Ingredients…

• 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 oils.
• Mayonnaise You can use conventional or vegan mayo for this sauce. For a healthier alternative, substitute the mayo with vegan yogurt!
• 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 substitute with lemon.

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How to Peel Yuca

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: Finally, 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!

Variations

If you can’t find yuca but are still intrigued by this technique, just use potatoes! I’d skip peeling them, though, and roast them for a bit less time than yuca.

If you like these yuca fries, you should check out…

• Pan-Fried Plantains with Cilantro-Lime Cashew Cream
• Enoki Mushroom “Carnitas” Tacos
• The Easiest Herbed Potato Salad (Plus, My Potato Salad Formula!)
• Creamy Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce

Let me know if you try this recipe! Give it a rating below and leave a comment, and don’t forget to tag your creation with #TheNewBaguette and @thenewbaguette on Instagram.

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