The Veggie That Makes Even Easier French Fries Than Potatoes

Fast food fries can be a major letdown, but mom's old "We have it at home!" adage doesn't apply to the fry realm. Homemade fries take a long time to cook — 40 minutes to a full hour. In the summertime, keeping the oven on for a hot 60 is out of the question, and when hunger strikes, that long cooking time can feel like a punishment. We even recommend cooking your homemade fries three times for maximum crispiness. For quicker homemade fries, swap the spuds for parsnips. They feature comparable taste and texture, and they're ready in roughly half the time, a much more convenient 15 to 30 minutes.

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Parsnips are an off-white, carrot-shaped root vegetable with a subtly sweet, earthy flavor not unlike celery root. They're the textural midpoint between a carrot and a sweet potato, facilitating a toothy chew for structurally intact yet tender fries. Parsnips also have a high enough natural starch content that they perform like potatoes when fried, creating a crispy exterior and plush interior. Plus, when sliced and roasted, parsnips don the same pale yellow hue as classic potato fries, making for a solid dupe to both the palette and the eye. Unlike traditional potato fries, they make an elevated snack dipped in smoky barbecue sauce, sweet-tangy honey mustard, or garlic aioli. (Parsnips are also rich in vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, and fiber, so bonus points for the nutritional boost).

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Reach for parsnips for quicker, crispier fries

Oven-roasting parsnips helps their natural sugars caramelize for a nuttier depth of flavor. To do it, line a baking sheet with wax paper (easier cleanup later on) and slam 'em in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, flip with a spatula and cook for another 15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Alternatively, in an air fryer at 375 degrees, your parsnip fries will crisp up in just 15 to 20 minutes, tossing halfway through for an even roast. (We have a few tips for telling when your homemade fries are cooked to perfection, by the way).

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All it takes to transform parsnips into fries is a simple tossing in salt, pepper, and olive oil or avocado oil. Or, if you prefer a bolder flavor, you could whip up restaurant-worthy fries by roasting those veggies with fresh rosemary or even a few shakes of umami-bomb black truffle salt. Other flavorful seasonings like turmeric, garlic salt, onion powder, Madras curry, Old Bay seasoning, zingy za'atar, or nutritional yeast would make delicious additions, as well.

Peel the skin off for a fluffier, airier interior texture, or leave the skins on for a tougher, more rustic fry. To complete the meal, serve your parsnip fries alongside lamb burgers, pork tenderloin, or this shrimp and beet winter salad with seared halloumi. For an autumnal dinner party, you could pair those fries with butternut squash mac and cheese garnished with fresh sage leaves.

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