Sunday, June 26, 2016

Appetitos Green Bean Fries - Aldi


Appetitos Green Bean Fries - Aldi
BOO! I'm the ghost from Meatless Mondays past! 
Well that was a weird opening. Blame it on my not getting much sleep. I'm writing all these reviews tonight (Friday) and scheduling them to post while I'm at the Summer Fancy Food Show in NY, so hello from the other side the past! I'm sleepy. Let's eat some fried green beans!  
Last month I tried the avocado version of these crispy veggie fries, and today I have the other, more traditional fried veggie version, green beans! Green beans fries are fairly popular and have been around for quite some time. Fast food burger shops like Smashburger and at restaurants like T.G.I.Fridays both carry their own version of green bean fries and I'm sure a lot of other restaurants do to. (I just don't eat out often enough to really know for sure.)  
I feel like they're marketed as a healthier french fry, but remember, french fries are made of veggies too. Potatoes. Once something is breaded and fried it doesn't matter how healthy it once was, it's junk food now, but I'm not complaining. 
The box art for this variety is the same as the avocado one, and it's...not pretty. If you want to see my thought on the design you can check out my last post where I critique the overall layout and branding. 
The instructions are very easy and they give you two cooking methods, frying in oil, or baking in the oven. I went with the oven method, since it's late at night and I am not about to set up my deep fryer for a handful of green bean fries, so I tossed the "fries" onto a baking sheet and threw it in the oven for the recommended amount of time while the sauce packet thawed in the sink. About 15 minutes later everything was ready for photographing and eating. 
Thanks to green beans being a LOT sturdier than avocado slices, these held their shape really well and were easy to handle. The fries themselves are pretty crisp, considering I went with the over method, and they taste...like breading and green beans. Nothing all too socking there. They're yummy, but they need a little something. Thankfully there's a packet of provided dipping sauce, and it's wasabi flavored! Not ranch! Thank goodness. The ranch sauce that came with my avocado fries was awful. It was super thick and there was way too much of it. The avocado fry to sauce ratio was WAY off. Here things are much more manageable.
I dipped a fry into my little sauce bowl (which I bought at H-mart for .99 cents) and the wasabi dip added a little bit of horseradish-y heat to this fry making it a lot more interesting and flavorful. This stuff is delicious! Way better than the ranch dip, and not only did it last good on it's own, it really enhanced the fried themselves. 
Without the dip, these are just breaded green beans, and they're yummy for what they are, but the provided sauce really saved the day. In fact, if the wasabi sauce had been included with the avocado version I might have liked it better.  
These are just breaded green beans, and I'm sure you could make your own or buy these from someone else for a fairly cheap price, so I wouldn't buy this again just for that, but this sauce? If it were sold on it's own I'd instantly buy a bottle. I think it's just a wasabi based mayonnaise, but it also has tartar sauce-like qualities. I can't quite figure it out just yet, but once I do, I'll be recreating this at home to serve with my own veggie fries. (Unless Aldi sells it on it's own. Then I'll just buy it.)  
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5 comments:

  1. ALDI also occasionally carries eggplant fries. Those are fantastic. As usual though, I waited too long to try them, and they were gone when I went back to the store the next week to buy more.

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    1. That's the heartbreak that comes from loving Aldi, products come and go so fast! (I still love them though.) <3

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    2. A few months ago we bought a big freezer for the garage, and it's filled almost exclusively with Aldi products - mostly Deutsche Kuche items. One shelf alone is dedicated to a (sadly dwindling) supply of Aldi Bienenstich and Donauwelle cakes. Cleaned out both Turnersville and Glassboro stores on those. Yes, we've got issues. LOL

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    3. The Aldi price tag just went red on Journey To Scotland Caramel Shortbread Squares. I have a free freezer shelf and zero willpower. ;)

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