Make a batch of these Air Fryer Carrot Fries, and you'll be shocked at how quickly your family gobbles up vegetables for dinner! These carrot fries are great for picky eater toddlers and make a great healthy after-school snack too! This recipe is naturally vegan and gluten-free.
These carrot fries are seasoned with just a few flavorful seasonings to give that an authentic seasoned French fries flavor, but are a much healthier side dish option!
Carrot fries for picky eaters
This blog is about helping parents overcome picky eating, and I am a big proponent of meeting kids where they are at and not forcing them to eat foods they are not comfortable eating. For example, I have a whole blog post about why I feed my picky eater French fries, and another article about how to get kids to eat veggies - by using a technique called food chaining and slowly introducing small changes to their foods until they are eating a new food.
Well, carrot fries are a GREAT idea for food chaining! If you've got a picky eater who only eats French fries, you can work on getting them to enjoy sweet potato fries. Once they like sweet potato fries, you can introduce them to these carrot fries, and from there you can work on your child eating carrots as a side dish! After that, throw in some peas and other mixed veggies... but we are getting ahead of ourselves here.
One step at a time.
Let's start by making these carrot fries and seeing how much your family enjoys them!!
Related: Air Fryer Recipes for Toddlers
Ingredients
For the carrot fries:
- 1 pound of carrots
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or use regular paprika or chili powder for a bit of spice!)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper, or to taste
For the aioli mayonnaise dip:
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise (use this amazing vegan mayo recipe, if you are vegan or have an egg allergy in the family!)
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped or minced (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (or more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
Related: Kid-Friendly Instant Pot Recipes
Ingredient notes:
→ Nutritional yeast is LOADED with nutrients and B vitamins, so I add it as a seasoning to lots of dishes! It is often used as a vegan substitute for Parmesan cheese, and it has a slight nutty cheesy flavor without actually containing any nuts, and without having any sodium or added sugars. We love this stuff, and I hope you give it a try! You can find it at most large grocery stores or online here. If you don't want to use nutritional yeast, feel free to sprinkle on some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on the fries after they are cooked.
→ Smoked paprika: I LOVE the smoky flavor of smoked sweet paprika. You can use regular paprika instead, if that's what you have on hand (maybe add a few drops of liquid smoke seasoning instead?), or use chili powder or even Cajun spice if you want spicy carrot fries.
→ Aioli mayo dip: Dips are a GREAT way to get picky eaters to try new foods. Of course, ketchup or the classic ketchup+mayo combo is a great option for these carrots. But if you want to spruce up mayo and get a little fancy, then this mayo takes just 2 minutes to blend together and is fantastic. See my tip below on how to prep the garlic for this garlic mayo.
→ Garlic: You can simply mix together the aioli ingredients in a bowl, so if you want to do that make sure you either finely grate or mince your garlic so there are no large chunks of garlic. I love using this microplane zester or this garlic press to grate and press garlic. However, if you want to take a few extra minutes to blend and whip all the aioli ingredients together in a small blender, you can just roughly chop the garlic and process it in a blender until smooth. Your choice!
Related: Hidden-Vegetable Recipes for Picky Eaters
How to air fry carrots:
Step 1: Peel the carrots, cut of the ends, and chop them into French fry shapes. The thinner the carrot fries, the faster they will cook.
Step 2: In a large bowl, combine the paprika, olive oil, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper and mix. Add the carrot fries, and use your hands to thoroughly mix everything and coat the carrots with seasonings. Add more oil, if needed, to more easily spread the seasonings.
Step 3: Cook the carrots in the air fryer at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, shaking or turning the carrots halfway through to prevent burning. Or follow your own air fryer instructions for cooking carrots.
Allow to cool for a few minute and serve warm with the aioli mayo dip.
Related: Hidden-Vegetable Breakfast Recipes
Make the mayo dip:
Combine all the ingredients in a small blender or personal blender, and process until smooth. Alternatively, you can mix all the ingredients in a bowl (just make sure to finely grate the garlic first! - see the ingredient notes above).
Other kid-friendly recipes to try:
- Mini chicken quesadillas
- Mini broccoli quesadillas
- Tuna nuggets
- Hawaiian chicken salad
- Kid-friendly chicken noodle soup
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Air Fryer Carrot Fries
Easy Air Fryer Carrot Fries with just a few ingredients - a great healthy vegetable side dish the whole family loves, even picky eater toddlers! Naturally gluten-free and vegan.
Ingredients
For the carrot fries:
- 1 pound of carrots
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (or use regular paprika or chili powder for a bit of spice!)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper, or to taste
For the aioli mayonnaise dip:
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise (see notes for vegan option)
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped or minced (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (or more to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
Instructions
- Peel the carrots, cut of the ends, and chop them into French fry shapes. The thinner the carrot fries, the faster they will cook.
- In a large bowl, combine the paprika, olive oil, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper and mix. Add the carrot fries, and use your hands to thoroughly mix everything and coat the carrots with seasonings. Add more oil, if needed, to more easily spread the seasonings.
- Cook the carrots in the air fryer at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes, or until cooked to your liking, shaking or turning the carrots halfway through to prevent burning. Or follow your own air fryer instructions for cooking carrots.
- Allow to cool for a few minute and serve warm with the aioli mayo dip.
- Make the aioli: Combine all the ingredients in a small blender or personal blender, and process until smooth. Alternatively, you can mix all the ingredients in a bowl (just make sure to finely grate the garlic first! - see notes below)
Notes
→ Nutritional yeast is LOADED with nutrients and B vitamins, so I add it as a seasoning to lots of dishes! It is often used as a vegan substitute for Parmesan cheese, and it has a slight nutty cheesy flavor without actually containing any nuts, and without having any sodium or added sugars. We love this stuff, and I hope you give it a try! You can find it at most large grocery stores or online here. If you don't want to use nutritional yeast, feel free to sprinkle on some freshly grated Parmesan cheese on the fries after they are cooked.
→ Vegan mayo option: Use this amazing recipe for vegan mayo if you want the tastiest vegan aioli.
→ Smoked paprika: I LOVE the smoky flavor of smoked sweet paprika. You can use regular paprika instead, if that's what you have on hand (maybe add a few drops of liquid smoke seasoning?), or use chili powder or even Cajun spice if you want spicy carrot fries.
→ Aioli mayo dip: Dips are a GREAT way to get picky eaters to try new foods. Of course, ketchup or the classic ketchup+mayo combo is a great option for these carrots. But if you want to spruce up mayo and get a little fancy, then this mayo takes just 2 minutes to blend together and is fantastic. See my tip below on how to prep the garlic for this garlic mayo.
→ Garlic: You can simply mix together the aioli ingredients in a bowl, so if you want to do that make sure you either finely grate or mince your garlic so there are no large chunks of garlic. I love using this microplane zester or this garlic press to grate and press garlic. However, if you want to take a few extra minutes to blend and whip all the aioli ingredients together in a small blender, you can just roughly chop the garlic and process it in a blender until smooth. Your choice!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 204Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 435mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 2g
The nutritional information provided is just an estimate and will vary based on the actual ingredients you use. If you are tracking nutrition for yourself or your child, check with a nutritionist, dietitian, or pediatrician about whether this recipe is right for you or your child.