Crispy Homemade Air Fryer Turnip Fries
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These air fryer turnip fries are a twist on traditional French fries. Made with turnips and roasted until perfectly crispy in an air fryer or convection oven. They’re even more delicious served alongside a homemade and creamy chipotle salsa dip with cottage cheese.
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I love French fries—like, truly love them. But let’s be real, fried food isn’t something I want to eat every day. So when a friend raved about turnip fries, I was skeptical. I didn’t even know what a turnip tasted like, and honestly, I wasn’t excited to find out. But I gave them a shot, and this veggie fries recipe using turnips totally changed my mind.
Now I’m always looking for simple side dish ideas. If you’re into easy air fryer recipes, try my Cilantro Lime Roasted Vegetables in the Air Fryer or this tasty Air Fryer Butternut Squash recipe.
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.
Step-By-Step Made Simple
Making the Dip
To make the chipotle salsa dip, add all the ingredients to a small bowl and mix well until combined. Serve alongside the air-fried turnips. If you are using regular cottage cheese, which is lumpier and want a smoother texture, use a food processor, hand mixer or immersion blender to blend the dip until smooth and creamy.
Peri-Peri Yogurt Dip is also another great option and just as easy to make!
Crispy Homemade Air Fryer Turnip Fries
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
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 400F.
- 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!