These tasty, crispy sweet potato fries are baked in the oven with your favourite seasoning and served as a side dish. Oven baked sweet potato fries are just as crispy and delicious as the deep fried variety - and a whole lot healthier.
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If you like this recipe, you might also enjoy my air fryer rutabaga fries or air fryer potato wedges.
How to cut sweet potato fries
The secret to excellent fries is cutting them thin enough. Thick fries will have to cook for so long that they don't really crisp up all the way through. I like to peel my sweet potatoes, then cut them in half lengthways. Cut into sticks, and then split these sticks to make them thinner if necessary.
If you make fries often, you might want to consider purchasing a fry cutter, which chops any potato into perfect chip shape.
How to make sweet potato fries crispy
Sweet potato fries have a tendency to go really soft when baked in the oven. Now, they still taste really nice even if they are soft, but they are even better when they are really crispy and crunchy. Luckily, it's not very difficult to get it right, but there are certain things we need to do:
- Cut the fries thin. Thick sweet potato fries will never crisp up.
- High heat is important. I cook mine at 250 C / 480 F, which is also the highest temperature that my oven works at.
- Coat the fries in a thin layer of cornflour, then oil. Both of these are necessary to get that crisp, nice coating.
- Turn the fries halfway through baking. This evens the temperature on all sides of the fries.
- When removing the fries out of the oven, leave them for 10 minutes before serving.
Seasoning
Sweet potato fries can be made with all kinds of flavour profiles. Here are some of my favourite sweet potato fries seasonings:
Serving suggestions
- Sriracha aioli - Creamy mayonnaise sauce with a kick of spice.
- Bacon aioli - Aioli with chunks of crispy bacon.
- Healthy ranch dip - A light ranch dip with plenty of herbs.
- Fajita stuffed chicken - This amazing entree is easy to make, but impressive.
- Ground turkey enchiladas - The best enchiladas made with storebought sauce.
- Air fryer chicken breast - Easy, lean chicken breast are perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Frequently asked questions
Is yam a sweet potato? - Technically they are different, but both words are commonly used to describe sweet potatoes. For the sake of this recipe, it is perfectly safe to use a root vegetable labeled yam.
Can you eat sweet potato skin? Absolutely! Potato skin contains a lot of fiber and vitamins. Just make sure to wash and scrub the skin to get any dirt off before use. I often make sweet potato chips with the skin on, both because I like the taste and because it reduces food waste.
Are sweet potato fries healthy? The oven baked version is definitely better for you than deep fried sweet potato chips. These chips can definitely be part of a healthy, balanced diet.
Can you freeze sweet potato? Yes, you can. I would not recommend freezing the prepared fries, as they will go soggy and soft after thawing them. You can freeze sweet potatoes whole, or you can cut them into fry shapes, and freeze them until you're ready to make fries. This is a great way to save sweet potatoes for later, and to reduce food waste.
Do you have to soak sweet potato fries in water? No. This is a common trick with regular potatoes to make crispy fries. Soaking them in water for hours before cooking, removes the starch and helps them cook better in the oven. This is not really the case with sweet potato fries. I find that soaking them in water is unnecessary is you can get perfectly crisp sweet potato chips without it.
Recipe
Oven baked sweet potato fries
Ingredients
- 500 g sweet potatoes
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch / cornflour
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or olive oil
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 250 C / 40 F.
- Peel the sweet potatoes, and cut them into thin sticks.
- Add them to a bowl, along with the cornflour. Make sure to coat the sweet potato chips evenly, and avoid any lumps of flour. Drizzle over the oil, and stir to coat.
- Place the sweet potato fries on a greased baking tray, leaving some distance between each individual fry.
- Bake them in the oven until they fries start browning on the edges, about 15 minutes. Turn them over halfway through the cooking process.
- Remove them from the oven, then leave the fries on the baking tray for 5-10 minutes to allow them to crisp up even further.
- Coat the fries with seasoning* of your choice, and serve.
Notes
*Seasoning suggestions
Sweet potato fries can be made with all kinds of flavour profiles. Here are some of my favourite sweet potato fries seasonings:- Cajun seasoning
- Garlic, or garlic + parmesan
- Honey and thyme
- Lime + taco seasoning
- Salt
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