Healthy fast food is home cooked fast food. Whether you’re cooking your own burgers and fries, fried chicken, battered fish and chips, meat pies, sausage rolls or sauces, when you make fast food at home you know exactly what’s going into them plus they taste infinitely better. Here are our favourite healthy fast food recipes. These days they’re called ‘fakeaway’.
Fakeaway recipes are everywhere at the moment. Fakeaway is freshly made takeaway cooked at home because it’s healthier and more affordable. While fakeaway recipes include fast food chain copycat recipes that’s not something you’re going to see here. We prefer to share our recipes for nostalgic fast food favourites and our takes on classic fast food like burgers, hot dogs and meat pies.
We first shared this healthy fast food recipe collection when we were in lockdown in Siem Reap during the pandemic, when everyone seemed to be searching for healthy fast food. We were all finding comfort in food, whether in cooking or eating, from traditional dishes that inspired a nostalgia for far simpler times to fast food that provided quick calories and satisfied cravings. But fast food that’s healthier.
If you want healthier fast food you have to cook it at home, because home cooked fast food is fresher, more nutritional, less fatty, and made with real ingredients, not ‘pink slime’ or ‘tuna’ with no tuna DNA. Below you’ll find our favourite healthy fast food recipes for everything from fish and chips to burgers and fries and meat pies and sausage rolls. Plus some spicy sauces to go on those.
But before I tell you about our healthy fast food recipes for home cooked fast food, we have a favour to ask Grantourismo is reader supported. If you’ve cooked and enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo by supporting our Cambodian cuisine history and cookbook on Patreon; buying a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever; or buying something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers or classic cookbooks for serious cooks.
Healthy Fast Food Recipes for Home Cooked Fast Food
These healthy fast food recipes for home cooked fast food make everything from fried chicken to burgers and fries and meat pies and sausage rolls.
Burgers and Hot Dogs
My parents had a takeaway on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland when I was a teenager (and a beachside French restaurant on the New South Wales Central Coast when I was a child). Their specialty was classic Australian fast food, from burgers and fries to gourmet hot dogs, that were more generous and healthier than the standard fast food joints and greasy takeaways.
It was a successful business that was super popular with holiday-makers and locals alike, especially surfers. My dad made the absolute best Australian burgers, with home-style beef patties that he’d make every morning. Terence and I love to recreate Dad’s ‘burger with the lot’, which we’ll get around to publishing here one day. Until then, we’re sharing Terence’s best burger recipes.
Char Siu Pork Burger Recipe with Asian Slaw
Our char siu pork burger recipe with Asian slaw is like the best bacon burger you’ve ever tried with an Asian twist. Using skinless pork belly strips marinated in the classic Chinese char siu sauce, it’s a flavour-packed burger with a little kick from the Sriracha mayonnaise and a refreshing Asian-style slaw in every bite.
Instead of bacon rashers, Terence uses fresh skinless pork belly strips, which he marinates in Chinese char siu sauce. He then bakes the pork belly slices in the oven, which is quick and easy, makes the Asian ‘slaw’ and Sriracha mayo, and the rest takes minutes. When it comes to the mayo, one of our favourite condiments, we use Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise or Hellmann’s creamy mayonnaise, and homemade Sriracha.
Char Siu Pork Burger Recipe with Asian Slaw, Crunchy Cucumber and Sriracha Mayo
Corn Fritter Breakfast Burger Recipe
Our corn fritter breakfast burger recipe with fried egg and Thai sweet chilli sauce makes an incredibly delicious vegetarian breakfast burger that’s packed with flavour and crunch. With a Southeast Asian twist on the classic breakfast burger, it’s so good you won’t miss the burger patty and bacon, and the grease that comes with it.
This is another of our favourite healthy fast food recipes, as well as one of our best burger recipes. If you made our Thai corn fritters recipe and you have a batch of our homemade Thai sweet chilli sauce in the fridge, then you’re all set to go.
Corn Fritter Breakfast Burger Recipe with Fried Egg and Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
Chicken Schnitzel Burger Recipe with Creamy Pickle Mayo
This chicken schnitzel burger recipe will make you our crunchy chicken schnitzel with panko breadcrumbs, parmesan and lemon zest, spread with creamy pickle mayo and topped with bacon, cabbage and tomato between soft burger buns. Serve with spicy potato wedges.
When we finally bit the bullet a couple of years ago and made chicken schnitzel for the first time in more than 25 years in a bout of homesickness, we were very pleasantly surprised. Served with my amazing warm potato salad recipe with anchovies, capers, chives and celery leaves, it was damn good.
Chicken Schnitzel Burger Recipe with Creamy Pickle Mayo and Bacon, Cabbage and Tomato
Chicken Katsu Burger Recipe
This chicken katsu burger recipe places a crunchy tender chicken cutlet, prepared using the classic Japanese katsu method of panko-breaded and deep-fried chicken, between spicy Asian slaw, tangy Japanese-style barbecue sauce, and soft burger buns.
Serve with hand-cut fries and you’re in chicken katsu burger heaven. We love these so much we eat them as often as we do Japanese pork tonkatsu! If you’re a fan of breaded chicken or pork, what we call ‘chicken cutlets’ and ‘pork cutlets’ in my family, see our best cutlet recipes for everything from chicken Schnitzel to chicken parma.
Chicken Katsu Burger Recipe for Crunchy Tender Chicken Cutlets with Spicy Slaw
Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe with Southern Fried Chicken
This spicy fried chicken sandwich recipe makes a classic fried chicken sandwich or fried chicken burger, if you like. We Aussies would call this a fried chicken burger but as the inspiration was an Australian chef’s American-style chicken and we have a significant American readership, we’ve gone for the American name.
Our spicy fried chicken sandwich is made with Australian chef Morgy McGlone’s famously fiery Belles Hot Chicken, crunchy lettuce, melty American cheese, and tangy mayonnaise. If you’re a fan of the Aussie chef’s take on Nashville-style Southern fried chicken, you’ll love this spicy fried chicken burger. Or spicy fried chicken sandwich.
We like to pile crispy shoestring fries on the side, but you could also serve these spicy fried chicken burgers with crunchy hand-cut fries or spicy potato wedges. Recipes for all below. If you have leftover spicy fried chicken, make my famous chicken fried rice.
Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich Recipe with Southern Fried Chicken and Tangy Mayonnaise
Best Shoestring Fries Recipe
Our best shoestring fries recipe makes crunchy matchstick fries, which are the perfect side for burgers, as well as fried chicken, sandwiches, barbecued meats, and beef Stroganoff. In fact, any of my best Stroganoff recipes, actually.
Tuck into these super-crispy skinny potato fries as you would French fries or wedges, sprinkled with your favourite salts or spices or doused in home-made condiments such as Sriracha, mayo or sweet chilli sauce.
Best Shoestring Fries Recipe for Perfect Side for Burgers and Beef Stroganoff
Homemade Sriracha Sauce Recipe
This authentic homemade Sriracha sauce recipe makes the real thing – the Thai hot sauce that tastes just like it does in its place of origin, the coastal city of Sri Racha, Thailand. This spicy sauce is far simpler to make than you might imagine and you can tailor it to suit your own taste!
With so few ingredients, it’s the quality of the chillies that make this authentic homemade Sriracha sauce recipe so special. Using Thai chillies from Thailand or a similar variety – but not the chillies in the world-famous American ‘rooster’ hot sauce – is your key to an authentic Thai Sriracha sauce. This is another of our favourite healthy fast food recipes.
This Sriracha Sauce Recipe Makes the Best Homemade Thai Sriracha Sauce You’ll Taste
Gourmet Hot Dog Recipes for Mediterranean Inspired Healthier Hot Dogs
These gourmet hot dog recipes make healthy hot dogs inspired by the Mediterranean cuisines of Italy, Morocco and the Middle East. If you’re planning on making hot dogs for a casual weekend gathering or game day get-together, but are looking for healthier hot dog recipes beyond the classics, try out our Italian inspired, Moroccan inspired and Middle Eastern inspired hot dogs.
I enjoy a traditional hot dog spread with mayo and mustard and topped with generous squirts of chilli sauce or ketchup as much as the next person. Add caramelised onions, bacon and melted cheese and I’m in heaven. But when I feel like healthier fast food or hot dogs that are a bit fancier, I make these gourmet hot dog recipes.
Gourmet Hot Dog Recipes for Mediterranean Inspired Healthier Hot Dogs
Fried Chicken and Chips
As a child growing up in Australia, fried chicken, especially of the Kentucky Fried Chicken kind (these days called ‘KFC’), was my favourite fast food. I’d often join Nan and Pop, my Australian grandparents, on Sunday drives to the countryside. As we’d approach one of our favourite towns, where we knew there was a branch, my grandfather would say “I think the wheels are talking…”. Soon after we’d be leaving with a bucket of fried chicken and tubs of potato mash and gravy. These days, we much prefer to make fried chicken and mashed potatoes or chicken and chips at home.
Korean Fried Chicken Recipe
This Korean fried chicken recipe makes crispy fried chicken brushed in a special spicy Korean fried chicken sauce. The chicken skin soaks the sauce right up so you’ve got fried chicken with a super flavourful skin. It’s incredibly delicious and tastes even better re-heated the next day.
One of the key components of this Korean fried chicken recipe is the Korean fried chicken sauce. The secret to this spicy sauce is the Korean fermented hot chilli paste known as gojujang and there is no substitute. We combine the gojujang with honey, fresh garlic, ginger, and Japanese soy sauce.
Korean Fried Chicken Recipe for Crispy Fried Chicken in a Spicy Sauce
Southern Fried Chicken Recipe
Our Southern fried chicken recipe is an Aussie take on classic fried spicy Nashville style chicken. Australian chef Morgan McGlone learnt to perfect this during his time in the USA’s South, home to some of the world’s best fried chicken. We make a big batch and use it in everything from chicken burgers to chicken fried rice.
The secret is boneless skin-on chicken thighs that are coated in seasoned flour that forms a ‘glue’ on the chicken and then the pieces are deep fried to get the crispiest skin you’ll ever taste. Then there’s the sauce it’s slathered in…
Southern Fried Chicken Recipe for Belles Hot Chicken Spicy Nashville Style Chicken
Hand Cut Potato Chips Recipe
Our hand cut potato chips recipe is another of our top takeout recipes to cook at home that will make you potato fries that are far tastier than any home-delivered fries. Terence’s recipes makes perfect crispy fries for your fish and chips or moules frites or whatever else you like to serve with fries.
Our mouthwatering potato chips are crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. There are a couple of ways to achieve this, but ultimately you need to fry the chips twice. Fortunately, our method doesn’t mean hours in the kitchen and these are better and healthier than any frozen chips you’ll ever eat.
Hand Cut Potato Chips Recipe for Crispy Fries for Your Fish and Chips
Spicy Potato Wedges Recipe
This spicy potato wedges recipe makes another Australian takeaway favourite that began life as an Australian café, pub and bar snack of potato wedges with sweet chilli sauce and sour cream and gives it a spicy Asian twist. These skin-on potato wedges can be fried or baked, but we’ve gone for the oven-baked route for a healthy fast food recipe.
Don’t worry, this spicy potato wedges recipe will still make you potato wedges that are crispy on the outside and fluffy within. Served with the classic Aussie combo of sweet chilli sauce and sour cream, these spicy wedges make a filling snack or a fantastic side for burgers.
Spicy Potato Wedges Recipe With Sweet Chilli Sauce and Sour Cream
Homemade Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce Recipe
You’ll need this easy Thai sweet chilli sauce recipe for your potato wedges. After you make this the first time, you’ll remember why that bottle of sweet chilli sauce you bought a couple of years ago is still in the fridge. To be fair, it’s probably still edible because of all the preservatives and thickeners that are added to commercial sauces. But if it tastes like most Thai sweet chilli sauce brands it’s probably sickly sweet.
This homemade Thai sweet chilli sauce is so perfectly balanced and super easy to make that you might never buy a supermarket sweet chilli sauce again. Most commercial sauces use potassium sorbate to prevent mould occurring but this homemade chilli sauce will keep very well for at least a month or two in your fridge, as long as you always dipping clean utensils into the jar, so as not to contaminate the sauce.
Homemade Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce Recipe for the Best Sweet Chilli Sauce You’ll Taste
Meat Pies and Sausage Rolls
In Australia, we have bakeries making incredibly delicious gourmet meat pies and sausage rolls with fillings prepared from beautiful Australian produce that we highly recommend. But we also have fast food meat pies and sausage rolls that are mass produced in factories, with who knows what’s in them. People pick these up on the run, mostly from service stations. These recipes make home made pies and sausage rolls that are far superior alternatives to those.
Pepper Steak Pie Recipe
My pepper steak pie recipe makes a Cambodian beef lok lak meat pie that is inspired by one of Cambodia’s most popular street food-style dishes, served at local eateries around the country. Typically eaten for lunch, but also acceptable for dinner or breakfast, when a fried egg on top of the stir-fried beef is compulsory, lok lak is one of those dishes that is as popular with foreigners as locals.
A dish of Cambodian-Chinese origin, it’s a cousin to Vietnam’s loc lac or ‘shaking beef’, whose history is much-debated – but there’s no debate about how good these pies are and they’re healthy.
Pepper Steak Pie Recipe for a Cambodian Beef Lok Lak Meat Pie
Spicy Pork Mince Pie Recipe
This spicy pork mince pie recipe made is with Cambodian prahok ktis – Cambodia’s deliciously spicy dip of minced pork, coconut cream, pea eggplants, and prahok, the Khmer fermented fish paste.
Anything fermented is good for your gut health and your immunity, making this another of our favourite healthy fast food recipes. Stuff this into an an iconic Australian meat pie casing and you have a curried meat pie that’s unlike any you’ve ever tasted.
Cambodian Chicken Curry Pie Recipe
Our chicken curry pie recipe takes the much-loved classic Cambodian chicken curry to make a flavourful spicy chicken pie like no other. Unlike the classic curried chicken pie which uses curry powder to flavour the chicken filling, this recipe uses a Cambodian red curry paste. The classic Cambodian chicken curry has potatoes, long beans and Asian eggplants, which we’ve included to create a really hearty chicken pie that is another of our favourite healthy fast food recipes.
Homemade Chicken Curry Pie Recipe Made with Cambodian Chicken Curry
Cambodian Curried Beef Sausage Rolls
These homemade curried beef sausage rolls are filled with rich Cambodian Saraman curry, which is a cousin to the Thai Massaman curry and Malaysia’s Beef Rendang – all complex and slow-cooked curries. The Saraman curry is a time-consuming curry to make, which is why it’s often considered to be a special occasion dish for Cambodians and it’s extra special when made into sausage rolls!
Homemade Curried Beef Sausage Rolls Recipe Made With Cambodian Saraman Curry
Classic Aussie Sausage Roll Recipe
Our sausage rolls are a breeze to make – and making them at home means you know what’s going in them, and while this particular Aussie sausage roll recipe makes delicious homemade sausage rolls, you can easily tweak it each time to your taste.
In Australia, sausage rolls are warming snacks when you’re at a chilly sports stadium watching footie in winter, morning tea for ‘smoko’ (a break) for a hungry tradie working on a construction site, and a party food staple for Aussie kids when you can serve mini-sausage rolls.
Sausage Roll Recipe – How to Make Delicious Homemade Sausage Rolls
If you’ve cooked and enjoyed any of our healthy fast food recipes for home cooked fast food, we would love to know what you think in the comments below.
