{"id":17427,"date":"2024-09-20T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/?p=17427"},"modified":"2025-09-01T11:27:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T18:27:15","slug":"jicama-health-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/jicama-health-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Jicama \u2014 and Is It Good for You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

An underrated but long-revered staple in Mexican cuisine might be hiding in plain sight in your supermarket produce aisle. Jicama \u2014 pronounced hic-kah-muh<\/em> in English and hee-kah-muh<\/em> in Spanish<\/strong> is the odd-looking love child of a giant water chestnut and a potato \u2014 with the crispness of an apple.<\/p>\n

Jicama has a mild, slightly sweet, and refreshing taste. Its crisp, juicy texture pairs well with savory and sweet dishes, making it a versatile ingredient in salads, slaws, and snacks.<\/p>\n

Though unremarkable in appearance, this vegetable offers a unique taste, a stellar nutritional profile, and several potential health benefits that make it worth trying. Although it’s still relatively new to many people outside Mexico, Latin America, and the Southwestern US, jicama has grown in popularity due to its raw or cooked culinary versatility.<\/p>\n

So what are the health benefits of jicama? Are there any downsides to eating it? And how do you store and eat jicama?<\/p>\n

What Is Jicama?<\/h2>\n
\"Jicama
iStock.com\/Rachmattt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is jicama a fruit? A vegetable? A root? Something else altogether? Although you can treat it as all of these things, jicama is technically a root vegetable (more specifically, a tuber) in the pea family. The edible taproots of the bean-producing Pachyrhizus erosus plant form underground, while the above-ground plant grows as a vine along the surface. However, the roots are the only parts of this plant you can eat.<\/p>\n

The jicama plant’s leaves, seeds, and flowers are toxic<\/a> and are not edible. Only the roots of the plant are sold in grocery stores and markets.<\/strong> Keep this in mind if you ever grow or harvest jicama in your garden.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in growing jicama, it does well in USDA zones 7 through 10<\/a>. Jicama thrives in hot climates and is native to Mexico, although it\u2019s also grown abundantly in parts of Asia and the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Jicama might not be as common as other root vegetables outside of Mexico and Central America. But if you do spot it, it might also be called Mexican potato, sweet turnip, Mexican turnip, Mexican yam bean, or Chinese potato.<\/p>\n

Jicama Nutrition Facts<\/h2>\n

Jicama is a solid source of important macro- and micronutrients. The calories in jicama are mostly carbohydrates. But they are complex carbs<\/a>, meaning they\u2019re largely made up of fiber (in this case, both soluble and insoluble fiber). Jicama also contains the prebiotic fiber inulin<\/a>, which has several proven health benefits (which I\u2019ll discuss below).<\/p>\n

A one-cup serving of jicama<\/a> contains 46 calories<\/strong> along with the following notable nutrients:<\/p>\n