Baked “Fried” Vegetables with Spicy Ranch Sauce

Portland has been getting some rainy, fall-like weather over the last week so I’ve been snuggled up in hoodies and blankets and craving comfort food! As I’m about to fry up a batch of veggies I remember that my love handles and my wedding dress will probably not appreciate it, so I made a “skinny” version instead! They have the same crisp, crunchy flavor and texture as fried vegetables do, but without the greasy guilt!

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Ingredients:

1 zucchini, sliced about ¼ of an inch thick

½ of a red bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 cup cauliflower florets

1-2 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ of an inch thick strips

1 cup baby bella/crimini mushroom slices

Other veggies you could try: yellow squash, broccoli, jalapeños, pickles, or onions.

2 cups panko bread crumbs

2 Tbs olive oil

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp garlic salt

3 eggs (I started with 2, but ran out of egg mix so always go with 3!)

1 ½ Tbs water

1 ½ Tbs honey mustard

¾ tsp paprika

½ tsp dried thyme

Spicy Ranch Sauce:

¾ cup ranch dressing

1 ½ Tbs Sriracha sauce or your favorite hot sauce (let’s be honest though.. Sriracha beats them all!)

Rinse and cut vegetables and then set aside on a few paper towels to dry.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (246 degrees C) and line a baking sheet with foil. Lightly coat with olive oil and set aside. I wasn’t able to fit all of my vegetables on one sheet so you may want another small baking sheet prepared.

(1.) Heat a large skillet over medium to high heat. Stir in olive oil and panko bread crumbs. (2.) Toast crumbs for 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Transfer to a plate. (3.) On a separate plate, combine flour and garlic salt. (4.) In a shallow dish or bowl whisk together eggs, water, mustard, paprika, and thyme.

One by one, roll vegetables in flour and shake off excess. Dip into egg mixture and then dip into the toasted panko crumbs. Press into the crumbs to fully coat and then place on the prepared baking sheet.

When finished, place in the oven to bake for 7-8 minutes. Remove and flip vegetables over. Place back in the oven to bake for another 7-8 minutes or until dark golden brown.

While waiting on the vegetables, mix ranch dressing and Sriracha sauce in a small bowl and stir until combined.

When the vegetables are finished baking, remove from the oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve with dipping sauce.

Enjoy!