Air Fryer Rutabaga Fries
Swap out the potato & swap in rutabaga! This Air Fryer Rutabaga Fries recipe makes a crispy batch of seasoned hand-cut rutabaga fries to serve alongside burgers, steaks, chicken nuggets, and your favorite dips and sauces. Low carb, keto, and Whole30 compliant.
Let’s start at the root of rutabaga. This delicious, nutrient-dense root veggie is a hybrid between turnip and cabbage. Therefore, rutabagas have fewer carbs than most root vegetables and are a great low-carb and keto-friendly alternative to potatoes.
Rutabaga is a cold-weather crop, so they’re in season from October to March. Within those months, grocery stores and farmers’ markets typically have an abundance.
As for taste, rutabaga is pleasantly earthy and sweet. As for how to cook rutabaga, cutting it into thin fry shapes and “frying” the rutabaga in your air fryer with simple seasonings is the way to go!
♨️ Why Make Rutabaga Fries In The Air Fryer?
- The ease. This method requires basic knife work and less than 30 minutes of your time.
- The crisp. Served fresh from the air fryer, these rutabaga fries are hot, crispy, and delicious.
- The benefits. Rutabaga is rich in antioxidants like carotenoids and vitamins C and E.
- The lack of carbs. For Keto purposes, rutabaga is a fantastic substitution for potatoes in many dishes, including French fries!
🧾 Ingredients & Tools
- Rutabaga – When picking your rutabaga, look for larger ones with smooth, purple-tinted hardened skin. When you pick the rutabaga up, it should feel like it has a decent amount of weight.
- Avocado oil – A light coating of quality cooking oil with a high smoke point gives the fries crunchy surfaces and soft centers.
- Spices & seasonings – A simple blend of salt, black pepper & garlic powder enhances the naturally delicate and delicious rutabaga flavor. Feel free to put your spin on the flavors. See below for ideas.
🥣 How To Make Rutabaga Fries In Air Fryer
1️⃣ Prep rutabaga for air frying. Set your air fryer or Ninja Foodi temperature to 400°F and preheat for 3-5 minutes. Meanwhile, cut each rutabaga in half and carefully cut away the hard skin. Then, slice each half into 1/2″-thick half-moon shapes and cut the half-moons into long, thin fries.
2️⃣ Toss with oil and seasonings. Add the cut fries to a bowl along with the oil and seasonings. Toss to fully coat the fries in oil and seasonings.
3️⃣ Cook rutabaga fries in the air fryer. Let’s cook! Place the rutabaga fries in the bottom of the preheated air fryer basket in a single layer and set the timer for 20 minutes.
4️⃣ Flip the fries, finish cooking, and serve. At the halfway mark, use tongs to flip and rotate the fries. Continue air frying until the fries are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces, and enjoy!
🔪How To Cut Rutabaga
Don’t be intimidated by the hard outer peel. Cutting rutabaga into fries is super simple.
- After rinsing the rutabaga, cut off the woody root end with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler.
- Then, set the rutabaga cut side down and slice it in half, cutting through the hard stem and down the middle.
- Use a sharp knife or vegetable peeler to remove the skin.
- Then slice each half into thin half-moon shapes. From there, cut each half-moon into long, thin fries.
💭 Recipe Tips
- For the rutabaga fries to cook and crisp up evenly, take time to cut everything in the same size and shape.
- Don’t overcrowd the basket. For the best results, only cook one layer of fries at a time. It’s okay if the fries overlap slightly, but they shouldn’t be crammed. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to work in batches.
- The precise cooking time will depend on your air fryer’s functionality and the fries’ size and shape. 20 minutes at 400F is a good start. After the first 10 minutes, toss the basket, and modify the time accordingly.
🍽️ Flavor Variations & Serving Suggestions
Flavors – Upgrade your rutabaga fries with spices and seasonings. Swap out the garlic powder for something more exciting like:
- Cajun or Creole seasoning
- Blackened seasoning
- Homemade Ranch Seasoning
- Seasoned salt
- Greek seasoning
- Italian seasoning
- Freshly chopped herbs
Dips – We can’t forget the sauce! These homemade sauces and dressings are great with crispy rutabaga fries.
🧊 Storing & Reheating
Storing: These fries are best served hot out of the air fryer. Keep leftovers in a shallow, air-tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating: To reheat and recrisp leftover rutabaga fries, prreheat the air fryer at 375F and cook the fries in a single layer for 5-6 minutes or until crispy.
No freezing! The water content in rutabaga is too high for it to freeze properly.
❔FAQ
Rutabagas and potatoes do not taste exactly the same, but there are strong similarities. Rutabagas are texturally similar to turnips. As for flavor, they taste like creamy potatoes with an earthy, pleasantly peppery flavor.
One cup of rutabaga adds up to about 8 net carbs. So, they are a great keto-friendly root vegetable instead of potatoes.
You can enjoy rutabaga raw with creamy dips, roasted with savory spices, made into mashed potatoes, and as crispy fries. It’s also great in stews, soups, and casseroles instead of potatoes.
🍟More Air Fryer Fries Recipes
- Yuca Fries
- How to Reheat Fries in Air Fryer
- Crinkle-Cut Fries
- Frozen Sweet Potato Fries
- BBQ Sweet Potato Fries
Air Fryer Rutabaga Fries
Equipment
- air fryer or Ninja Foodi
- sharp knife
- vegetable peeler
- mixing bowl
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds rutabaga
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Set the air fryer temperature to 400°F and preheat for 3-5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prep the rutabaga by cutting it in half and carefully removing the skin with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Cut the halves into 1/2"-thick half-moon shapes, then cut the half-moons into long french fries (about 1/2" wide).
- Add the cut fries to a bowl and drizzle the oil over top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and toss to fully coat the fries in oil and seasonings.
- Add the rutabaga fries to the preheated air fryer basket in a single layer and set the timer for 20 minutes.
- At the halfway mark, use tongs to flip and rotate the fries.
- Cook for the remaining 10 minutes or until the rutabaga fries are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Serve with your favorite dipping sauces and enjoy!
