Air-Fryer Carrot Fries

There is truly no better addition to your plate than these carrot fries, begging you to stuff your face with this amazing, zero-point veggie side that doesn’t really taste like a vegetable anymore!

Anyone else ever get sick of eating the same stuff over and over again?

A few weeks ago, I was inspired by a lady I follow on Instagram for a new vegetable side. I was going to make a sandwich (of all things, I know!) for dinner and I needed a side to go with it because I’m just not someone who can eat just one thing for dinner. The sandwich was pretty high in points, so I knew if I was going to do a side, it needed to be low – if not zero- in points. I just wasn’t willing to allocate even more points for fries or chips, and I just couldn’t figure out what else seemed like a good pair to a sandwich. But then I saw a photo she posted, and her caption said that she made carrot fries.

Fries… made of carrots. Freakin’ carrot fries.

The best part?

Zero Points. 🤩 That’s what I’m talking about.

I’ve read that you can get carrots pre-cut from certain grocery stores or you can cut your own carrots into fry-like shapes, but that I have heard/read/discovered that it works best if you don’t just use baby carrots as is. My favorite way is to use these pre-peeled, small carrots of varios colors from Trader Joe’s, but plain old regular carrots would be just fine too. What I like about these:

1. The different colors make these feel ~fancy~ to me
2. They’re all relatively the same size so the fries work out to be about the same size too
3. I don’t have to peel them myself
4. Already packaged and measured out

Basically, in the land of #lazycooking, all I have to do is cut these up and I’ve got something that feels “elevated” as a finished product and that’s all I’m ever trying to do in this life.

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To prep these little beauties, I basically just quartered all of them. First, I cut them in half length-wise, and once there was a flat edge, I cut each half in half again. If all of the pieces are generally the same size, it means they will have the same cooking time, so each bite will match in terms of texture once they’re done. That’s what you’re going for.

You’ll want to make sure you pick a bowl large enough that allows for some tossing, or you could try throwing them in a large, gallon-size bag to allow for vigorous tossing in a safe space. Honestly, this “recipe” couldn’t be easier. I used spray Olive Oil to make sure the spices would stick and then dumped in the flavor-makers onto the carrots. You could really use anything, but I have found that I like the mix that paprika, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper gives. We like a little bit of heat in this family, so those red pepper flakes are a game changer. Toss those babies around so each one is coated. I just use my hands because they’re the best tool I’ve got, and then all you have to do is throw them into your air fryer! (Alternately, you could also bake them in the oven.)

I set the temp to 400 on my air fryer and the timer for 15 minutes, shake them, and then put them back in at 400 for another 5 minutes. That’s it. That’s really all there is to it. After this, all you have to do is stuff your face with this amazing, zero-point veggie side that doesn’t really taste like a vegetable anymore.

Pro Tip:

A light dusting of parmesan cheese and some parsley take these Carrot Fries to the next level. You can also create a quick, fresh & tangy dipping sauce by mixing fat free Greek yogurt, lemon juice, salt & pepper, garlic powder and some parsley together! This dipping sauce is Zero Points, too!

Did you try this recipe? I’d love to see how it turned out!
Snap a photo and tag @glimpseofgrace on Instagram!

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