This roast celeriac recipe is quick and easy and absolutely delicious! Roast chunks of celeriac in the oven or quickly in the air fryer to transform this under-appreciated root vegetable into a light lemony veggie side dish. This is a low carb, vegan, keto-friendly alternative to roast potatoes. Or, cut the celeriac into long wedges and serve them as celeriac chips to dip into spicy vegan mayonnaise.
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Those who know me know that I’m a massive fan of Ottolenghi. The whole-roasted celeriac recipe in his “Simple” book is absolutely sublime. Unfortunately it requires about 3 hours of cooking and I often don’t start cooking until it is too late to make that recipe. So… this is my mid-week quick version of that amazing slow-roast celeriac recipe.
Why You Will Love This Roast Celeriac Recipe
- It’s quick and easy to make in the air fryer or in the oven.
- You can use it as a low carb vegetable side dish or as a snack with a dipping sauce for entertaining.
- Celeriac is a delicious alternative to potatoes with half the carbs so it’s suitable for keto and low carb fans too!
- The lemon juice perfectly balances the soft celeriac flavour to make a truly tasty side dish.
What Is Celeriac?
You might get this odd looking vegetable in your veg box and wonder what on earth it is! Let’s face it, celeriac (also known as celery root) is one of the less appealing looking root vegetables!
Celeriacs are round and large (like a small pumpkin size) with a rough yellowy-green-brown skin, rougher than a potato but with similar colouring. The most peculiar thing about it though, is that it has these funny looking roots coming out of the bottom that make it look quite alien! They are kind of like bumpy turnips!
Once you get past its unsightly exterior by cutting off the roots and slicing off the skin, you find this pale creamy coloured flesh that you can chop and use just like you would a potato. In fact, you can substitute it for potato in most recipes!
There is a mild celery flavour, but don’t let that put you off! That slightly floral, celery flavour works absolutely brilliantly with the sharpness of lemon! It’s a match made in heaven!
Nutrition
Celeriac is packed with nutrients and is particularly rich in vitamin K. Those following low carb or keto diets tend to like celeriac as it is much lower in carbs than some of the other root vegetables. Given its versatility and mild flavour, it makes a great low carb alternative to potatoes. See this healthline article for more information on celeriac.
Ingredients
This roast celeriac recipe is so simple to make, it hardly deserves a list of ingredients!
- Celeriac - celery roots come in all shapes and sizes. They keep really well in the fridge so if you have a particularly large celeriac and don't think you need to use the whole thing for this recipe, just cut off what you need (before peeling) and keep the rest in the fridge.
- Olive oil - there is no need for extra virgin olive oil here because you're cooking it at a high temperature, so just regular olive oil is fine.
- Lemon juice - fresh lemon juice squeezed from a lemon is far better than the bottled lemon juice.
- Salt and pepper - I like Himalayan salt or unrefined sea salt (for the extra minerals) and freshly ground black pepper.
Please see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for amounts.
Basic Instructions
You can choose whether to roast or air fry this celeriac. Both methods work well but the air fryer is a little bit quicker.
First, peel and cut the celeriac into chunks (see my tips below for the best way to prep a celeriac). The cooking time depends on how big or small you chop your celeriac. The smaller the chunks, the less time it takes to cook.
In a small bowl, mix the celeriac chunks with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.
Either:
- Air Fryer Method - place the celeriac pieces in a single layer in the air fryer basket and air fry at 180°C for 15-20 minutes (depending on how large the pieces); or
- Oven Method - lay in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment paper) or in a non-stick roasting tin and roast at 190°C for 25 minutes, turning half way through cooking time.
When cooked, they should be a lovely golden brown colour and soft in the middle.
Serve with more lemon juice squeezed over the roasted celeriac and some sprigs of thyme or oregano and a little extra salt sprinkled on top. You could also add some grated lemon zest for extra lemon zing!
Please see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for full details.
How To Prep & Peel Celeriac
It can be hard to prep celeriac root because they are knobbly and unwieldy. I find the easiest way to prep it is:
- First of all, give the celeriac a wash to get rid of any excess dirt.
- Use a large sharp knife to chop the bottom off (where all the roots are).
- If the skin is not too tough, you can use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin off the rest of the celeriac.
- Or, if it is a little older and the skin is thick and tough, use the same sharp knife to carefully slice the skin off. Do this by resting the celeriac on the flat cut bottom so that it is stable. Then slice the skin off in strips from top to bottom along the curved sides. Keep doing this turning the celeriac slightly after each strip is peeled so that you get around the whole celeriac.
Serving Suggestions
Think of this air fried or roast celeriac as an alternative to potatoes. So, wherever you might serve roast potatoes, you can use this roast celery root instead!
- For cosy comfort food, pair this easy side dish with a full roast dinner or as a side to creamy pot pie.
- If you want something lighter, it also goes brilliantly with salads and buddha bowls.
- But, in my opinion, the best way to serve them is to just make a big bowl of them and eat them like chips with vegan mayonnaise spiked with spicy sriracha sauce. Yum!
Making Ahead
This roast celeriac recipe can be prepared in advance if you roast for 5 minutes less time, then when ready to serve, throw them back in the air fryer for 5 minutes (or in the oven for 10 minutes) to finish off roasting and crisp them up.
Leftovers
If you have any leftover roast celeriac, keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can re-heat them by popping them back in the air fryer or oven for a few minutes.
Or, you can make a delicious celeriac soup with any leftovers. Heat them up in some vegetable stock and whizz it up. If you want to go to a tiny bit more effort, some roasted red onion would be a great addition to the soup and perhaps a handful of nuts or chickpeas added into the blender to give the soup some protein as well.
Roast Celeriac FAQs
No. If you cut it into wedges or chunks, then you can just roast it straight from raw.
It takes 25 minutes in the oven or 15-20 minutes in the air fryer (depending on how large your chunks are).
There are lots of good celery root recipes you can make. Here I've shown you how to make roast celeriac and also how to make a quick celeriac soup (see leftovers section). You could also use raw celeriac to make the classic french salad, celeriac remoulade (basically raw celeriac shredded and mixed with crème fraîche, mustard, lemon juice and parsley).
📖 Recipe 📖
Quick Roast Celeriac with Lemon (Oven or Air Fryer)
Ingredients
- 1 celeriac
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
- handful of fresh herbs
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 190°C and line a baking tray with baking paper OR set the air fryer to 180°C.
- Cut the root end off the celeriac then lay the flat end on the chopping board and, using a sharp knife, carefully slice off the skin in downward strips. Once peeled, cut the celeriac into slices and then again into chunks.1 celeriac
- Put the celeriac pieces into a bowl and drizzle with the olive oil, some salt and pepper and the juice of half the lemon. Mix together well.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 lemon, salt and pepper
- For oven-roasting: lay the celeriac pieces on the lined baking tray and place in the oven. Roast for 20-25 minutes, turning the celeriac pieces over half way through cooking.
- For air-frying: lay the celeriac pieces in the air fryer basket, trying to keep them in a single layer. Air fry for 15-20 minutes, shaking the basket half way through cooking.
- The cooking time depends on the size of the celeriac pieces. Check whether the celeriac is cooked through by piercing with a knife. It should feel soft and easy to slide the knife in. If there is resistance, just pop it back in the oven or air fryer for a few more minutes until soft. If it starts to brown too much, turn the oven temperature down a little.
- Serve with another generous squeeze of lemon and some fresh herbs scattered over the top.handful of fresh herbs
Notes
- The cooking time will depend on the size of the celeriac pieces. The larger they are, the longer they will take to cook through.
- Serve roast celeriac wedges as a substitute for roast potatoes or serve celeriac chips with vegan mayonnaise mixed with spice sriracha sauce.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a ⭐ star rating ⭐ on the recipe card!
More Vegan Side Dish Recipes
If you like this air fried roast celeriac recipe, you may like these other delicious vegan and gluten-free side dishes too:
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