If you’re a fan of sweet potato fries, you’ll love these crispy air fryer carrot fries. Carrots have roughly half the calories of sweet potatoes, leaving room for extra cheese and garlic infused olive oil for extra crispy fries!
How to Make Carrot Fries
This is an easy one, but let’s run through the recipe with a few notes and tips.
Step 1: Crush a clove of garlic and add to a tablespoon of olive oil.
If you’ve never crushed garlic, begin by peeling and chopping a clove. Then sprinkle a bit of kosher salt on top and press the flat of your knife down firmly and drag the garlic across the cutting board. This should create a thick paste.
Note: You can also find garlic infused olive oil if you wanted to skip a step!
Step 2: Cut the carrots.
Wash and dry the carrots before removing the tops. Cut them in half and then cut each half in two to create flat surfaces.
You should be able to cut 3 strips from the larger end and 2 strips from the smaller end.
Note: Feel free to peel the carrots, but I did not. Just be sure to wash them well if you’re not peeling.
Step 3: Toss the carrot fries in the olive oil and garlic mixture.
Note: A common question about these carrot fries is whether or not you could reduce or skip the oil. I tested both in my Instagram stories to demonstrate the differences. I’ve included my notes in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 4: Mix reduced fat grated parmesan with optional ground black pepper and red pepper flakes. Toss the oil coated fries in the parmesan.
For an even coating, add half the parmesan, toss, and add the remaining parmesan before tossing again.
Step 5: Add the carrot fries to an air fryer basket or on a baking sheet (oven method) in an even layer. Cook at 350F for 16-20 minutes. Gently shake halfway through for crispier fries.
Note: I used my 6.5-quart Ninja Foodi, which I’ve found to have similar cook times to other air fryers of the same size. Every air fryer is a bit different so check on your carrot fries along the way. You can check out the Ninja Foodi and other kitchen equipment I use on my Amazon list, if you’re interested.
If you’d like to bake these in the oven, check out my oven baked carrot sticks for an example of how to do that.
Step 6: Sprinkle with chopped parsley or parsley flakes and enjoy your crispy garlic parmesan air fryer carrot fries!
Okay, because I know everyone likes their chips with some dip, let’s talk sauce ideas.
Dipping Sauce Ideas for Carrot Fries
For the dipping sauce pictured in this recipe, I mixed 2 tablespoons of fat free Greek yogurt with 1 tablespoon of sriracha. If you’re spice sensitive, you could cut the sriracha in half.
Other dipping sauce ideas:
- light mayo (or Greek yogurt) mixed with a bit of mustard and sugar free ketchup
- lemon juice, fresh parsley, and yogurt or mayo
- sugar free ketchup and sriracha
- more crushed garlic with a bit of vinegar and spices
- any pre-packaged dipping sauce for garlic parmesan wings or fries
Let me know what you come up for sauce. I’d love to add more ideas to this recipe!
Side note: Check out my spicy air fryer sweet potato fries recipe for a great seasoning alternative once you try the garlic parmesan carrot fries. The recipe includes a creamy chili lime sauce that’s a must try, too! And if you’re a fan of cajun food, you could make some cajun carrot fries with my copycat Five Guys cajun fries recipe.
And I think that’s all ya need to know. I’ve included a printable recipe card below if you like to print or save recipes. Enjoy your carrot fries!
Air Fryer Carrot Fries
Ingredients
- 3-4 150-180g Carrots
- 1 Tbsp 16g Olive Oil*
- 1 clove Garlic, crushed
- 2 Tbsp 15g Reduced Fat Grated Parmesan
- 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper, optional
- 1 pinch Freshly Cracked Black Pepper, optional
Instructions
- Add the crushed garlic to the olive and stir well. (To crush the garlic, peel and chop a clove. Then sprinkle a bit of kosher salt on top, press the flat of your knife down firmly, and drag the garlic across the cutting board. This should create a thick paste.)
- Wash and dry the carrots. Remove the tops and cut them in half. Then cut each half in two to create flat surfaces. You should be able to cut 3 strips from the larger end and 2 strips from the smaller end.
- Toss the carrot fries in the olive oil and garlic mixture.
- Mix the parmesan with the red and black pepper. Sprinkle half the mixture over the coated carrot fries. Toss and repeat with the remaining parmesan mixture.
- Add the carrot fries to an air fryer basket or on a baking sheet in an even layer.
- Air fry at 350 for 16-20 minutes, shaking halfway through for crispier carrot fries. (If you’re baking, bake for a similar time and temp.)
- Top with freshly chopped parsley or parsley flakes and dig in!
Notes
- Each serving has 3 Smart Points.
- Nutrition facts do not include any dipping sauce.
- If you’re sensitive to spice, omit the red and black pepper.
- You could try using nutritional yeast as a dairy free parmesan substitute.
- If you don’t have garlic on hand, you can try adding a pinch or two of garlic powder to the parmesan mixture.
- Cook times are with a 6.5-quart Ninja Foodi (air fryer, pressure cooker, crockpot all-in-one).
Let me put it simply: I didn’t eat carrots before I found this recipe and it’s become a weekly staple in my household!
I would never just eat a carrot, never – But these are absolutely amazing. I know other people
Said these don’t taste like carrots – but I didn’t believe them, they were right. These turn into something so delicious and totally satisfy my French fry cravings. I’ve been serving these when I make burgers or mason’s Nashville hot chicken burgers. They’re fantastic and super easy!
So, I am lazy, and always have bagged petite or baby carrots in our fridge. I wanted to see if this recipe would be as good with the bagged carrots as regular chopped whole carrots. I definitely think it is. I have made this recipe MANY, many times. Probably 2-3 a week as a healthy snack instead of eating chips, and have never been disappointed. Works just as well as the original way, but I do bake them about 2-3 minutes longer when I use the bagged carrots as opposed to regular whole. I also use jarred minced garlic bc (lazy) and don’t wanna chop garlic- lol. All in all, one of our favorite weeknight sides and snack dishes.
These were so good that I sent the recipe to my mother! SO good. I still prefer ketchup as a dipping sauce.
I made these a few weeks ago and almost every week since. I did try both the oven and air fryer and found the air fryer worked better for the “crisp” the oven took a little longer but were still pretty good!
OH MY!!! We ate these plain and about to make a second batch they were so good! Hello carrot heaven!
Thanks, Stephanie! I may have to add “carrot heaven” to this recipe’s description.
Delicious. No sauce needed.
Typically have a hard time getting in veggies. These are so good! Love to meal prep them and reheat for a few minutes in the air fryer. Great side for dinners
It’s honestly criminal that I waited so long to try these. I love fries, especially sweet potato fries, and with macros like these, I can fit them in AND feel full, even on a cut.
Mason’s recipes are always top notch. For someone new to tracking macros, I’ve needed help with flavaaaa. These recipes hit the spot!