Fellow french fry fiends, fear not. I'm not about to ruin your diets with pictures of deep fried potatoes.
No, really, I'm not. These "fries" aren't fried at all, and they're definitely not potatoes. Instead, these fries are made of a different tuber called Jicama (pronounced hee-ka-ma), which is most often found in Mexican and Asian cuisine. It's sweet and crunchy and (best of all) pretty darn healthy, comparitively speaking.
Jicama looks like an oversized hybrid of a potato and a turnip, but the taste and texture more closely resembles that of a water chestnut, making it slightly sweet and great to eat raw. I've eaten jicama in salads and salsas before, but it wasn't until I found out that it's related to the sweet potato that I really thought about baking it to make fries!
With just under half the calories, about half the carbohydrates, and more than double the dietary fiber of a white potato, it's easy to see why someone would want to switch up their side dish with Jicama Fries!
For these particular Spicy Baked Jicama Fries, you're looking at 84 calories per serving. Compare that to a medium-sized order of fries at McDonald's which comes in at 380 calories!
My favorite thing about these fries is the way that the sweetness plays with the spices. The balance of the two is addictive-- you'll be eating fry after fry and won't even feel a bit guilty about it. I like to dip my fries, so I threw together a Cilantro-Garlic-Lime Greek Yogurt Dip to bring the flavor to the next level without bringing myself to the next pant-size. (The mayo-based dips have not been quite so forgiving.)
Give them a try and let me know what you think!
Spicy Baked Jicama Fries
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 3
Ingredients
For the Jicama Fries:
- 1 medium jicama
- 1 tablespoon oil of your choice (coconut oil or canola oil both work great)
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- Pinch cayenne or chili powder (or more, to taste)
For the Cilantro-Garlic-Lime Greek Yogurt Dip:
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Juice of ½ lime
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Peel the jicama and cut into skinny fries. You don't want to make these thick, they don't bake as well when they're wider.
- Place the jicama in a microwave-safe bowl with a tablespoon of water. Cover and microwave for 6 minutes. This will prevent the jicama from staying too crisp and raw inside when the outside bakes.
- As you wait for the jicama to precook in the microwave, mix together the yogurt dip ingredients and set aside.
- If there is any water left in the bowl holding the jicama, pour it out. Drizzle the jicama with the tablespoon of oil and add the spices. Toss until evenly coated. Beware! Turmeric will stain your hands temporarily so you might want to use a utensil!
- Spread the jicama fries out on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until they begin to brown in spots, tossing once.
- Serve warm with the dip.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
Steve Castle says
Looks great!
Q: If I think fried french fries taste way better than baked do you think I'd prefer to fry the jicama or will that not work?
Morgan says
Yep, you can fry jicama! It has a high water content so be careful of oil spatter, though. Sprinkle with spices after frying.
Millie l Add A Little says
Sounds totally amazing Morgan - I love the fact that its baked!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
I love making my own fries at home but have never used jicama before! Definitely a delicious idea that I need to try - thanks for sharing it.
Marla Meridith says
Love that you used jicama for fries! Gotta try & pinned 🙂
Susan | Simple Healthy Kitchen says
I just added these to my "must try" list. Look fantastic! and healthy:)
Nicky @ Kitchen Sanctuary says
I love coming across totally original recipes. I've never heard of a Jicama, but you've piqued my interest! Nice one Morgan 🙂
Trang says
This is such a cool idea!
Evi says
This looks amazing, but I don't know where to find jicama. Actually I've never even seen it in any supermarket or farmer's market. Do you gave any idea where to get it?
Morgan says
I found mine at Wegmans but I've heard Asian and Latin grocers often have it as well!
Evi says
Thanks, I'll try to get some 🙂
Bruce says
In most grocery stores in the produce section near the potatoes and ginger roots.
Andres says
We are in Mexico right now and bought a jicama from the back of a pick up truck of a local vendor not knowing what to do with it. My wife wanted burgers for dinner and I wondered if the jicama would be any good as fries. Hence me finding your recipe. They were 'GREAT'!! The only thing I could suggest is to cook them in a convection oven to help dry them out a bit while cooking. What a great flavour and texture. I will definitely make them again and again. Cheers.
Lauren says
Made these tonight. They were like a cross between sweet potato and carrot fries. I only microwaved them for 4.5 mins and baked for 25, so they were still slightly crisp inside, which totally worked. The seasoning and sauce were also great. I can see this becoming a new favorite food. Thank you!
Kathy Miller says
How did you cut these fries? I used a spirilizer yesterday to make fries similar to this and even that was EXTREMELY hard! It is a very TOUGH veggie- but I loved even the raw taste!
Morgan says
I used a sharp knife and cut them by hand. It is definitely a tough veggie, just be careful when cutting it!
Kathy Miller says
Wow! Labor intensive, but I can't wait to try it! 🙂 Thanks so muc
Lara says
I don't have a microwave, you think I could blanch the jicama in boiling water to pre-cook them?
Cindy says
Your picture is amazing - I love food photos! What did you sprinkle on them for the photo?
Mom in Nevada says
These are delicious but do you have the nutritional information for them?
I tried these in my spiralizer but it didn't work out very well. Hand cutting is the way to go. A bit labor intensive but worth it for carb lovers like me who are reducing carbs! I love these!
przepis na muffinki czekoladowe says
Good post
Ashley says
Made these today and they were delicious! Also very clever to use turmeric to give them the more familiar yellow tint of traditional fries.
I did run into an issue with these cooking very unevenly, even using convection. Several were on the burnt side only about 10 minutes into the cooking time. I hand cut the fries to a shoestring size, so may try leaving them just a tad larger next time.
Never thought of turning jicama into fries! Love this and will keep iterating on it.