Air-Fryer Turnip Fries
Turnip Fries – a twist on a traditional French fry made with turnips roasted in an air-fryer or convection oven. Plus, I have added a low-fat high protein chipotle dip to make it even tastier!

Save This Recipe!
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, you get more tasty recipes every week!
I don’t know about you but I love french fries! I mean I really love them! But they aren’t exactly the best thing to be eating. And let’s face it fried food isn’t the best thing to be eating ever really.
I learned to love turnip fries first by eating sweet potato fries and giving other fries a try like carrot and yucca. Then a friend told me that she had fallen in love with turnip fries. At first, I was like hell no. Turnips? To be honest, at the time I had no idea what a turnip tasted like. I just know that most people turn their noses up at them so I went right there. No way!

So What Do Turnips Taste like?
Turnips are actually very similar in my opinion to the flavor and texture of sweet potatoes. When air-fried or baked they become soft and sweet with crispy edges. They do have a slightly spicier taste to them than a sweet potato though which I really like.
When eaten raw they taste like a cross between a cabbage and a radish with a slightly bitter flavor and a texture much like a potato. Eaten this way you can add them to salads or as a crunchy veggie to munch on.

Ingredients you will need for Turnip fries:
- 2 lbs turnips
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Low-Fat Chipotle Salsa Dip ingredients:
- 1/2 cup smooth cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup salsa
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp chipotle chilli powder
How To make French Fried Turnips
To make the chipotle salsa dip simply add all the ingredients to a small bowl and mix well until combined. Serve alongside the air-fried turnips.
Now I am not going to profess that this turnip fries recipe is as good as actual french fries straight out of a fryer. But as a cleaner snack idea, they hit the spot. Turnips have higher water content and are much less starchy than an actual potato so they will never get as crispy but the sweet flavor and crispy edges when air-fried are really good.
More Snack Ideas
- Air-Fryer Korean BBQ Cauliflower Wings
- Snickerdoodle Dessert Hummus
- Warm Cherry Greek Yogurt Parfait


Air Fryer Turnip Fries
Equipment
- Air-Fryer or Convection Oven
- Air-fryer basket and baking sheet
- Large Bowl
- Knife
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Small Bowl (2)
- Spoon
Ingredients
- 2 lbs turnips peeled and sliced to 1/2 inch sticks
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Low-Fat Chipotle Salsa Dip
- ½ cup smooth cottage cheese
- ¼ cup salsa
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp chipotle chilli powder
Instructions
- Preheat air-fryer or convection oven to 450F.
- Peel and slice turnips to 1/2. Add them to a large bowl and toss with 2 tbsp of cornstarch to lightly coat.
- In a small bowl add 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Mix to combine and pour over turnip sticks. Mix well to evenly coat the turnips.
- Place the turnip pieces in the air-fryer basket and then on top of the baking sheet or likewise in the oven. Air-fry or bake for 20-25 minutes. Turn halfway through and continue cooking until turnip fries are softened and crispy on the edges. Remove from the air-fryer or oven.
- While the turnip fries are cooking in a small bowl add 1/2 cup of smooth cottage cheese, 1/4 cup salsa, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp chipotle chilli powder. Mix well. Serve as a dip for turnip fries.
Video
Nutrition
Notes
- If using a convection oven you may need to increase the cooking time by about another 5 minutes.
- Can’t find smooth cottage cheese? Just add the dip ingredients to a small blender and blend until smooth.
- Turnip fries should be consumed right away so they remain as crispy as possible and any unused dip can be stored in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

I HATE turnips! But I made these anyway…because I eat keto. Surprisingly they were quite edible and I will make them again, but tweak the spices a bit. I wish I could crisp them up a bit more.
If you want them a bit more crispy you can cook them a little longer or try adding a tsp of baking powder to the spice mix to give them a bit of a coating.
I grew up around turnips so the taste was no surprise. They are a decent substitute for greasy high carb fries. I will eat these again. The spices were perfect.
These settings turned them into charcoal in an air fryer. I found another recipe that said 380 for 15 minutes which would have worked better
Hi Kevin, I am sorry that happened. It is a difficult thing when it comes to cook times with appliances as they all are a bit different. With my air fryer they could actually maybe even go a little longer. I would always suggest keeping an eye on anything to be baked or fried in an appliance as it gets closer to the last 5 or 10 minutes to be sure this doesn’t happen. Again, I am sorry my timing for this recipe is different than what your appliance requires.
Hi, this sounds wonderful, but I was wondering if you could leave the corn starch out of the recipe? Do turnips need a starch in the air fyer?
Hi Ro, The cornstarch helps to create a crispy coating on them. If you are not able to eat cornstarch then you could also try using a bit of baking powder. It works much the same.
Great alternative to potato fries and the sauce is really good. Loved it.
So happy you enjoyed them Daniels!
Since being at home, the kids have gotten more involved in the kitchen. Today we made this and it was delish! The kids and the adults loved it!! We love our air fryer!
So glad it was a hit Cindy!