It’s like I won the chip lotto or something. How can something that looks like a carbuncle on Shrek’s backside be this amazing and fine for Atkins induction?
Want awesomeness? Celeriac root is an “other” vegetable on Atkins induction, so enjoy up to a cup of the yummy stuff daily for low carb success.
You can find this veggie in many grocery stores. It’s ugly and not cheap, but one root makes a decent, organic bag of chips. I use peanut oil for frying, but you can use coconut oil. I use a meat slicer to slice my vegetable, but you can use a sharp knife. Don’t let the celery smell get you; it dissipates.
I am normally chattier, but it’s the weekend of the Super Bowl, people. You need this information! Be sure to Tweet, +1 google and Facebook share this post and spread the word–celeriac root rocks as a Super Bowl chip. It holds dip, it’s crisp and it has a nice, mild flavor. Here is a wikipedia entry about celeriac for further reading.
Added notes: I love them!
- They have a nice taste (a light, almost apple flavor, there are no hints of celery), they stayed crisp the next day, and they even held a heavy, sour cream-based dip like a champ. A little salt is all they need and they’re terrific.
- They’re not fiddly. You just don’t want to over-fry them and you want to cook in small batches. When I tried larger batches, they tended to become overcooked, so the perfect batch was a smaller one, cooked and checked half way through cooking (stirred) and then drained right away.
- I say this is definitely worth the effort. If you’re someone who would go to the effort to make potato chips from scratch, you have to try this vegetable.
Crispy Celeriac Chips
Celeriac root
Water
Salt
Oil
1. Cut outer skin from celeriac.
2. Slice into 1/8″ slices.
3. Soak in cold, salted water for 20 minutes.
4. Cook in 350 degree oil in small batches for about five minutes, or until golden.
5. Drain on paper towels.
Nutritional information per 3.5 ounces raw celeriac: Calories: 42*, Carbohydrates: 9.2, Fiber: 1.8, Net Carbohydrates: 7.4, Protein: 1.5 , Fat: .3g
*Add 100 calories per serving for oil residual from frying.
wow, those look amazing! And they would go incredibly with this malted vinegar salt that I have. Now to find them here in Puerto Rico! Hopefully I’ll be lucky… 😀
Being from Germany, I grew up on this vegetable. My mother used to make celery salad out of it. One of my favorite dishes.
I wish we made better use of it here in the US; but then, there must be a need for it, or it wouldn’t be in stores. Thank goodness for friends like you who make sure the stores are keeping it stocked so we can find it, too!
that looks good, silly request but next time can you post a picture of the root before you cook it as i think we may call it something else over here. Happy SuperBowl.
That’s not silly at all. In fact, I wish I’d have snapped a picture prior. Here’s what it looks like: https://yalesustainablefoodproject.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/celeriac_main1.jpg
Lately, I’ve been having tummy issues with fried food. Do you think these would taste just as good if baked in the oven?
Hi, Tracy! You might be able to. I see you can make them into french fries in the oven, too: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1145/celeriac-oven-chips
Jamie- i see you’re working even more on your site- it’s the best and i appreciate you, thank you!!!
i got a challenge for you…..if you’ve got nothing else to do (ha ha)
https://whatsgabycooking.com/slutty-brownies/
oooh ee ooooh ahh ahh 🙂
Do you have to dry before you put them in the oil?
I drained them in a colander really well. I didn’t pat them dry.
Have you tried these baked?
I haven’t no!
These were great. Even the hubby loved them. We will be making these again.
I am so glad! I am looking forward to making these again soon, too.
Jamie! It turns out it’s readily available here in Puerto RIco as it is one of the root vegetables used in a famous stew that’s made here called sancocho prieto. Also, I heard they can be used to make Tostones, which are fritters usually made here as a side dish with plantains, which I will try with the celeriac root and get back to you so you can try them!
Thanks so much for this amazing discovery! I read the Atkins book front to back and never once noticed that this was on the list of acceptable veggies. BTW, my daughter loved these so much we now have a celeriac chip or “apio” chip addict in the house heheheh 😀
Ivonne– you are such a great mom! Mine couldn’t cook, but I loved her dearly. I don’t think it was a passion with her. Sancocho prieto sounds really good! I wish Dr. Atkins was still alive today. I’m positive he would have had so much more to say about the wonders of coconut, too.
I made them again and brought them to a party. What a success! Thank you again for all your hard work. You have made low carb easy for me and my family
Then we have something else in common other than the low carbing. my mom (RIP) was a wonderful mom but cooking was definitely not her forte! Sancocho is awesome unfortunately it has many other root vegetables that are pretty carby but once a year it’s ok I guess. I haven’t had it in ages, the apio tostones though I have to try and will share with you so you can share with all your followers. They are good!
cheers,
Ivo
my mom introduced me to celery root and it is wonderful. She sliced them up as she does a potato and cooked it up greek style so i got to have my greek style chicken and potatoes without the potatoes!!!
That sounds so nice! I know at first I was a little put off at how much the root smelled like celery, but it really stops there. It is really a fun root!
Ok…..I must have done something wrong with these. I did fry them in coconut oil until they were browned, and set them out to drain. They were crunchy when I took them out, still glistening with oil, and still warm…but as they cooled they became soft, and not like ‘chips’. What did I do wrong?!?!!?!?
Hi, LeeAnn! Sometimes that happens, even when people make standard potato chips. You could try double frying (fry for about half of the time, let them cool and fry again) and see if that helps? I am also thinking maybe of trying the vinegar boiled. Although this recipe/method in the link is for potatoes, it might extend to our other, less starchy roots. https://www.seriouseats.com/2010/09/the-food-lab-extra-crunchy-homemade-potato-ch.html
I saw this today and looked it up in my garden book. I have seeds for it and just may try to grow it. It also had a recipe saying you can make “Frys” with it. Boil a whole, peeled root in salted water until just tender, then cut into sticks and fry in a mixture of butter and oil until lightly browned. Credit goes to the book “Vegetables, Herbs and fruit An Illustrated Encyclopedia”
I’m hungry just reading your description! Those sound like they might make really nice french fries. I am also going to try dehydrating and see what happens.
I have made mashed potatoes with the celery root, that my grandkids loved. I peeled, cut into pieces, added to salted water and boiled till tender. Then drain, add butter salt/pepper and cream. Mashed and it was so good. It’s a change from cauliflower or be daring and go half/half. Really yummy and satisfying.
Celery root is so versatile. You kine of have to love it…or at least offer to help carry its books to school.
These are amazing! Just tried them and I’m so impressed I’m baking chips in the oven for tea (fries sorry I’m English lol) in fact my hubby said he prefers them to potato ones 🙂 thank you xx
Hi, Emma! thanks so much for taking the time to let me know! I, too, really like the semi-sweetness of the celeriac root. You are the best. Thanks again.
Jamie, I gotta say, when I saw this one I was a bit skeptical…and my husband who hates celery root told me “do not even try to feed me that stuff.” I peeled the skin, and smelled a slight celery smell and thought “uh oh…this can’t be good”. cut them soaked them…and then fried them. Now the smell of them frying is kinda sweet…made me think of dessert…then when browned salted them a bit (not much) and then let the first batch cool. Took a bite…WHAT THE HAY!!!! Potato chips!!!!! I brought some to my husband the same one who told me feeding him this stuff was a no-go…he tried one. And barely stayed out of the kitchen while I finished the other batches!!!! hahaha What a wonderful alternative to potato chips…going to make movie night a pleasure. Thank you!!!!
Isn’t that a beast-to-beauty transformation? Celeriac has got to be one of the ugliest roots I have ever seen. I am so glad you were also swayed by the result!
Thank you thank you thank you! I have been dying for some ways to trick hubby into going low carb with me! Your website is my new cookbook! I lost 30 lbs last year but got so frustated with just breadless sandwiches and scraping off pizza toppings! I have 25 lbs left to lose and now I can enjoy cooking again!
Thank you for this recipe. I grabbed my paring knife and went after that ugly root until all the peel was gone… not an easy task 🙂 . They were wonderful. So, I bought two more celery roots and had my daughter over and we cook another batch. However, this time they were very ‘woody.’ We were unable to eat them as we were all picking ‘stuff’ out that we couldn’t chew. Do you know what we did wrong? Is there a trick for picking the right root? Thanks for any additional info. BTW, my first batch kept for over a week after putting in a food saver canister and vacuuming out all the air.