Jicama Fries, Oven Baked (Great Alternative to French Fries)

Name: Baked Jicama Fries
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 raw jicama (about 1 pound ); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground ); 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Jump to Recipe

These flavorful jicama fries make a great alternative to French fries. Making them is easy! Simply microwave them briefly and then bake them in a hot oven. They will satisfy the need for a salty, savory snack.

Jicama fries are served on a white plate wrapped in parchment paper.

These delicious fries are one of my favorite side dishes. While they are not exactly like French fries, they are delightful when served with ketchup or any other dip. To make sure they bake evenly, I first microwave them briefly to soften them. This helps prevent them from remaining crunchy after they've been baked.

Ingredients

Here's an overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below.

Raw jicama: When I started making this recipe in 2014, I had to peel and slice a whole jicama. As I update this recipe in 2025, we have the option to buy pre-sliced jicama sticks. As you can see in the photo below, the packaged sticks are sometimes fairly wide, so it's best to cut them thinner to better resemble the shape of French fries.

Olive oil: I love the flavor this delicious oil adds to the fries.

To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.

Variations

Use melted butter instead of olive oil. It's delicious!
You can vary your spices. Seasonings that work well in this recipe are ½ teaspoon of onion powder and ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin.
Make them spicy by adding a pinch of cayenne pepper to the seasoning.

Instructions

The detailed instructions for making this recipe are listed in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps:

You start by peeling the jicama and cutting it into strips. As mentioned above, you can also find it pre-cut in many grocery stores. Microwave the strips to make them somewhat tender, then dry them with paper towels and toss them with olive oil and spices.

Coating jicama fries with olive oil and spices.

Arrange them in a baking dish and bake for about 40 minutes in a 400°F oven, until they are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and golden brown.

Serve them immediately with your dip of choice. Here, they are shown dipped in unsweetened ketchup:

2nd time making this and it's delicious! thank you for a fabulous substitute for fries!
Madeline
Read more comments

Recipe Tips

Microwaving the fries before baking them is optional. But if you don't microwave them first, the fries retain some of their crunch even when baked for a long time. I tried both versions, and my family preferred the microwaved version.
Sometimes, I bake the fries with other sturdy veggies like cauliflower, as shown in the photo below.

Jicama and cauliflower on the same baking sheet.

Recipe FAQs

Can I eat the jicama raw, or do I have to cook it?

You can eat it raw. Its taste is similar to an apple or an unripe pear, but not as sweet. When cooked, it becomes creamier, but it's still very mild, so it takes on the flavor of the seasonings you use.

Do these fries taste like French fries?

No. They are a good substitute, but in terms of flavor and texture, it's not exactly the same. These fries are delicious, but they lack the texture that only starchy potatoes can offer - crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Can you make jicama fries crispy?

The challenge is not so much to get them crispy as to make them tender on the inside. They tend to remain crunchy on the inside even after being cooked for a long time. The method described here, of microwaving them first and then baking, is the best way I have found to make them relatively tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Can I keep the leftovers?

You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave, covered, at 50% power. Better yet, re-crisp them in a 350°F oven for about ten minutes or until heated through.

Serving Suggestions

Suggested Main Courses

Jicama fries are very versatile! Just think of them as regular fries, and serve them with whatever dish you would serve with those. However, since I bake them in a 400°F oven, I like to serve them with a main course that I can bake in the same oven, such as:

They are also a natural choice to serve with steak (think steak frites!), including New York strip steak, ribeye steak, and flat iron steak.

Dipping Sauce

I usually serve these fries with unsweetened ketchup. My Dutch dad likes to dip them in mayonnaise. They are also delicious with guacamole or salsa, as shown in the photos below.

Recipe Card

5 from 35 votes

Save this Recipe Print Recipe

Baked Jicama Fries

These flavorful jicama fries make a great alternative to French fries. Making them is easy!

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 165kcal

Author: Vered DeLeeuw

Video

Ingredients

▢ 1 raw jicama - about 1 pound
▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
▢ ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper - freshly ground
▢ ½ teaspoon garlic powder
▢ ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a ceramic or glass baking dish (such as a 9 X 13-inch baking dish). Alternatively, use a rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.
Peel the jicama and cut it into ¼-inch-thick fries, or use pre-sliced jicama strips.
Place the jicama strips in a microwave-safe bowl. Add ¼ cup of water. Cover and microwave for 8 minutes, stopping once to gently stir. If I use a large jicama, I sometimes microwave it for up to 10 minutes, but 8 minutes is usually enough.
Using oven mittens, remove the bowl from the microwave. Be careful when removing the cover - hot steam will escape. Remove the jicama strips to paper towels to dry.
In a large bowl, toss the partially cooked jicama fries with olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Arrange them in a single layer in the prepared baking dish.
Bake until browned and tender-crisp, about 40 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes

The packaged jicama sticks are sometimes fairly wide, so it's best to cut them thinner to better resemble the shape of French fries.
You can use melted butter as an alternative to olive oil.
Microwaving the jicama fries before baking them is optional. But if you don't microwave them first, the fries retain some of their crunch even when baked for a long time. I tried both versions, and my family preferred the microwaved version.
I usually serve these fries with unsweetened ketchup. My Dutch dad likes to dip them in mayonnaise. They are also delicious with guacamole or salsa.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave, covered, at 50% power. Better yet, re-crisp them uncovered in a 350°F oven for about ten minutes or until heated through.

Nutrition per Serving

Save this Recipe!

We'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!

We will also add you to our weekly newsletter. Unsubscribe anytime. See healthyrecipesblogs.com/privacy/ to learn how we use your email.

Disclaimers

Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.

Jicama Fries

Ingredients

Variations

Instructions

Recipe Tips

Recipe FAQs