Love sweet potato fries but not all that extra oil? Try this easy sweet potato fries (baked or air fried) recipe. Very little oil/butter is needed, making them better for you and your family.
Have an Abundance of Sweet Potatoes?
Have you ever had more sweet potatoes than you knew what to do with? I sure have. When you get tired of microwaving them whole, chunking them up and baking them with marshmallows like you do for Thanksgiving, or turning them into a sweet potato pie, you start trying to come up with other options. Especially since my husband’s not the biggest fan of sweet potatoes.
Except for sweet potato fries. Light bulb moment.
We’re not big on deep frying, so I went searching for an oven-baked sweet potato fries recipe. I found one on simplyrecipes.com, which of course I had to play with a little. 🙂
What Do You Need to Make Sweet Potato Fries?
The ingredients list is simple:
- Sweet potatoes
- Salt
- Olive oil
You can go crazy with other seasonings like:
- Chipotle powder
- Chili powder
- Smoked paprika
- Chinese five-spice
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Black pepper
- Garam masala
- Cajun seasoning
- Cinnamon sugar.
But in our family, we like it simple. You’ll also need a large knife (or mandolin slicer), cutting board, large bowl with lid, baking sheet, and oven-safe mesh rack. (I use a metal cooling rack.)
A full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is included at the end of this post.
How to Make Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries?
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. (For extra crispiness, you can up it to 500 degrees.)
Nestle your metal rack on your baking sheet. Sometimes I’ll cheat and put aluminum foil on the sheet pans to simplify clean up.
Prep Your Sweet Potatoes
Next, wash and peel your sweet potatoes.
On a cutting board, cut your sweet potatoes in half and then into strips or wedges. I find using a large knife works best. A sharp mandoline slicer would work too.
- Tip 1: If you like the ends of your fries to be straight/thicker, cut off the narrow end of the sweet potato before slicing. Otherwise, you’ll end up with crisp edges
- Tip 2: The thicker your fries/wedges the longer the cook time. I normally like mine about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
- Tip 3: Try to cut your fries the same width so they’ll cook at about the same speed.
Season Your Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
In a sealable large container, add your fries, drizzle them with oil, and sprinkle with seasoning(s). Close the lid, then shake until all sweet potato wedges are coated.
Alternately, you can stir them by hand in a large bowl, if you prefer.
Place Fries on Prepped Pan
Next, spread your fries out in an even layer on the mesh rack nestled in your baking pan. You want a single layer so the fries will cook evenly.
Note: If you don’t have a metal rack, that’s okay. You’ll just need to flip your sweet potato fries about halfway through the cook time. I use the rack as a little trick to skip that step.
Baking Time
Bake your sweet potato fries for about 15-25 minutes. Remember, the thickness of the fries/wedges will affect the cooking time and so will the desired crispiness. Thin fries will take less time than thicker ones to cook, and the longer you cook either the crispier they’ll become. Just remember there’s a fine line between golden brown and burnt.
How Do You Air Fry Sweet Potato Fries?
Preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. Follow the previous prep steps, only instead of baking the fries, place them in the air fryer and cook for approximately 10 minutes, stirring/flipping them halfway through to ensure even cooking.
Serve ’em Up!
Once you pull your crispy sweet potato fries from the oven, allow them to cool to the desired temperature. Serve them up as a side dish with your favorite dipping sauce or a la carte.
Sweet Potato Fries (Baked or Air Fried) FAQs
What do you serve with crispy baked sweet potato fries?
Sweet potato fries go great with hamburgers or even steaks. Chicken nuggets or tenders would work with these crispy fries too or even sloppy joes.
Does this easy recipe work to make regular french fries too?
Absolutely, just use regular potatoes instead. You can use russet potatoes, red potatoes, golden potatoes… you get the picture.
Do I need to use large sweet potatoes for this sweet potato fry recipe?
I’ve used different sizes. It mostly depends on how big/small you want your fries.
How do you reheat baked sweat potato fries?
Just pop any leftover sweet potato fries into a 400-degree oven or air fryer for a few minutes, and they’ll crisp right back up. Personally, we don’t mind soft fries, and we’ll reheat them in the microwave.
How do you store baked sweet potato fries?
Store leftover fries in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.
How long will sweet potato fries keep in the fridge?
Baked sweet potato fries will keep about 4 days in the refrigerator. They’ll keep about 3-4 months in the freezer, if not longer.
Are sweet potato fries healthy?
Since these are baked and not deep fried in oil, these fries are a very good source of vitamin C, beta carotene (vitamin A), potassium, and dietary fiber. (healthline.com/nutrition/foods/sweet-potatoes)
I don’t have any olive oil. What other kind of oil can I use for this easy recipe?
You can use vegetable oil or melted butter. The oil merely helps prevent the sweet potato pieces from sticking together or sticking to the pan/rack. It also helps with the crispiness. 🙂
I hope you enjoy this yummy treat. Leave us a comment and let us know what you like with your sweet potatoe fries.
Happy Trails and Happy Cooking!
Sweet Potato Fries (Baked or Fried)
Love sweet potato fries but not the extra oil? Our easy sweet potato fries (baked or air fried) need little oil, making them better for you and your family.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Sweet potatoes (approximately 3 large)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
- 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Optional Seasonings (1 to 2 tbsp spice/spice combo)
- Chipotle powder
- chili powder
- Smoked paprika
- Chinese five-spice
- Pumpkin pie spice
- black pepper
- Garam masala
- Cajun seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. (For extra crispiness, you can up it to 500 degrees.)
- Place your metal rack on your baking sheet. Sometimes I’ll cheat and put aluminum foil on the sheet pans to simplify clean up.
Prep Your Sweet Potatoes
- Next, wash and peel your sweet potatoes.
- On a cutting board, use a large knife or mandoline slicer to cut your sweet potatoes in half and then into strips or wedges.
- Tip 1: If you like the ends of your fries to be straight/thicker, cut off the narrow end of the sweet potato before slicing. Otherwise, you'll end up with crisp edges
- Tip 2: The thicker your fries/wedges the longer the cook time. I normally like mine about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
- Tip 3: Try to cut your fries the same width so they’ll cook at about the same speed.
Season Your Homemade Sweet Potato Fries
- In a sealable large container, add your fries, oil, seasoning(s). Shake until all sweet potato wedges are coated.
- Alternately, you can stir them by hand in a large bowl, if you prefer.
Place Fries on Prepped Pan
- Next, spread your fries out in an even layer on the mesh rack nestled in your baking pan. You want a single layer so the fries will cook evenly.
- Note: If you don’t have a metal rack, that’s okay. You’ll just need to flip your sweet potato fries about halfway through the cook time. I use the rack as a little trick to skip that step.
Bake
- Bake your sweet potato fries for about 15-25 minutes.
- Remember, the thickness of the fries/wedges will affect the cooking time and so will the desired crispiness. Thin fries will take less time than thicker ones to cook, and the longer you cook either the crispier they’ll become. Just remember there’s a fine line between golden brown and burnt.
Or Air Fry
- Preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Follow the previous prep steps
- Place fries in air fryer.
- Cook for approximately 10 minutes, stirring/flipping them halfway through to ensure even cooking.
Serve 'em Up!
- Allow fries to cool to desired temperature. Serve up as a side dish with your favorite dipping sauce or a la carte.
Notes
How do you reheat sweat potato fries?
- Pop leftover sweet potato fries into a 400-degree oven or air fryer for a few minutes and they'll crisp right back up. Personally, we don't mind soft fries, and we'll reheat them in the microwave.
How do you store sweet potato fries?
- Store leftover fries in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.
How long will sweet potato fries keep in the fridge?
- Sweet potato fries will keep about 4 days in the refrigerator. They'll keep about 3-4 months in the freezer, if not longer.
Are sweet potato fries healthy?
- Since these are baked and not deep fried in oil, these fries are a very good source of vitamin C, beta carotene (vitamin A), potassium, and dietary fiber. (healthline.com/nutrition/foods/sweet-potatoes)
I don't have any olive oil. What other kind of can I use for this easy recipe?
- You can use vegetable oil or melted butter. The oil merely helps prevent the sweet potato pieces from sticking together or sticking to the pan/rack.
