Most days, I wish that french fries were on the bottom of the food pyramid…meaning that I could eat 6-11 servings daily.

They do fall into the vegetable category as potatoes, but somehow I don’t feel like it translates well since oil is considered as “use sparingly” and there is a lot of oil involved with french fries. So, anyway, here’s a fantastic alternative to french fries that is nearly as tasty, healthier, and much less mess to make. I’ll be repeating this recipe quite a bit moving forward. (I paired it with my mom’s meatloaf recipe, which means I detoured a bit so they could both bake at the same time.)

This is what you need:

• 2 pounds red potatoes, washed and quartered
• 1 packet Ranch salad dressing and seasoning mix (dry)
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

This is how you make it (option 1–use option 2 if baking with meatloaf):

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. In a large bowl, mix potatoes with a little drizzle of olive oil.
3. Add Ranch dressing dry mix, salt, and pepper and toss well to coat.
4. Lay potatoes out on a large baking sheet lined with tinfoil. (Be sure to spray the tinfoil with cooking spray!)
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are baked through and edges are turning a dark brown. To check doneness, pierce a larger piece with a fork to see if the inside is soft.

This is how you make it (option 2 for baking with meatloaf):

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Complete steps 2-4 above.
3. Bake for 60 minutes on bottom shelf with the meatloaf baking on top shelf.

Source: original recipe can be found here.