This Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries recipe is an easy and healthy alternative for traditional deep-fried, greasy fries. This perfectly seasoned snack, side dish, or party food requires only a few simple ingredients and 30 minutes in the oven or 12 minutes in the air fryer. You can pair this guilt-free and nutritious treat with guacamole, hummus, ketchup, vegan mayo, or any dip you fancy.
The Best Oven or Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries Recipe
I’ve had this recipe posted for years now and decided to revamp it with more information, pictures, and a video because I know a lot of people are looking for healthy alternatives to their favorite comfort snacks. My Polenta Fries recipe was quite a hit!
This recipe uses sweet potatoes, which are high in Vitamin A, rich in fiber, and contains less sugar compared to regular potatoes. Plus the fact that this recipe uses less oil as they are baked rather than deep-fried. So when you encounter those days when you crave some fast food fries, make this gluten-free and naturally vegan dish instead.
Perfectly Seasoned Sweet Potato Fries with Dips
Sweet potatoes have a mildly sweet and nutty taste that intensifies as they cook. However, the key to making them shine is with the seasoning used. I opted to keep it simple by using both paprika and sea salt to add a savory and peppery taste without overpowering the natural flavors of the root vegetable.
However, feel free to use other herbs and spices to liven up your sweet potatoes. You can try using garlic powder, black pepper, and Italian herbs like basil, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and marjoram. Pairing them with your fave dips also adds up to their appeal. Try using Guacamole, Hummus, Vegan Tzatziki, Sweet Chili Sauce, or Vegan Cheese Sauce.
Ingredients for this recipe
- Sweet Potatoes: there are several variations of sweet potatoes. The ones with orange or cream flesh are ideal for baking as they tend to crisp up more in the oven. In addition, they have a more consistent shape and are easier to cut.
- Cornstarch: the paprika-infused cornstarch makes the outer layer of the fries super crunchy!
- Olive Oil: A good splash of olive oil helps ingredients like cornstarch and other seasonings cling to our sweet potato sticks. Olive oil has good thermal resistance and protects the sweet potatoes from breaking down under heat which makes them crispier.
- Paprika Powder: It gives that smoky, peppery flavor and vibrant color.
- Sea Salt: gives the fries some tiny salty bits and crunch.
How to make Sweet Potato Fries
As always, I recommend checking out this step-by-step instruction first. Then you can find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Prepare Sweet Potatoes
- Peel and cut the sweet potatoes. Cut the fries into uniform sizes. Width should be around ¼ inch wide to achieve even cooking. If the fries are different sizes, they’ll cook unevenly; resulting in either burnt or undercooked fries.
- Give them a bath. Toss the potato sticks in a bowl of cold water once they’ve been cut. Allowing them to soak for up to 30 minutes or overnight will help them become crispier in the oven by removing any remaining starch. After soaking, properly rinse and dry them.
Step 2: Season and bake!
- Coat fries with seasonings. Place the sweet potato sticks in a bowl or Ziploc bag. Add cornstarch, oil, and paprika powder and give them a shake. This will guarantee that every inch of the sliced fries is coated and seasoned evenly.
- Lay Them Flat. Before baking, lay the fries flat and evenly spaced on a lined baking sheet or in the air fryer basket. The fries on the bottom won’t be able to fry properly if they’re heaped on top of each other.
- Time to bake. In a preheated oven of 425 °F, bake for about 25-30 minutes or until crispy. Or in a preheated air fryer of 380 °F, bake for about 12-14 minutes. Flipping them halfway through will give you evenly cooked fries.
Make-Ahead and Storing Tips
Sweet potato fries are an excellent snack to prepare in advance. Cut up the sweet potatoes and keep them in a Ziploc bag in the fridge until you are ready to use them. This should last for up to 4-5 days in the fridge in an airtight bag or container. All you have to do is to season, bake, and serve the fries for an after-school snack with your kids or a fun late-night treat with friends!
If you plan to make a double batch of this recipe, flash freezing is highly recommended. To do so, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until they begin to harden for about an hour or two. Then remove and place the frozen fries in a Ziploc and store them for up to 6 months in the freezer.
Always cook frozen sweet potato fries as instructed in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or depending on the size of the potato sticks. To reheat leftover baked fries, 5-8 minutes of cooking time should suffice.
These Crispy Baked Sweet Potatoes Fries are:
- Naturally vegan
- Gluten-free
- Healthier than classic fries
- Easy to make
- Customizable
- Perfect for snacking
- Ideal as sides for vegan meats and burgers
- Great for making ahead
- Deliciously crunchy!
More recipes for crispy fries to try
If you like fries or baked potatoes as much as I do, feel free to try the following recipes:
If you try this recipe for crispy oven-baked sweet potato fries, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you take a photo of your yummy snack and share it on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your remakes! Have fun trying! 🙂
The BEST Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Author:Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes 1 lbs peeled
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- paprika powder
- sea salt to taste
Optional seasonings
- garlic powder, black pepper, Italian herbs
Instructions
*Note: check out the recipe video + step-by-step photos above!
- Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Then cut them into evenly-sized matchsticks, about ¼-inch wide.
- Place the sticks in a bowl, cover with cold water and allow to soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight).
- After that, preheat your oven to 425°F / 220°C (or air fryer to 380°F / 190°C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Rinse the soaked sweet potato sticks with fresh water, drain well and pat them very dry using a clean kitchen towel.
- Place the sticks in a bowl or ziplock bag. Add cornstarch, oil and paprika powder and mix (or shake) until they’re evenly coated.
- Arrange them on the prepared baking sheet (or air fryer basket), making sure they aren‘t touching or overlapping each other. Bake for about 25-30 minutes (or 12-14 minutes in the air fryer), until crispy, flipping halfway through.
- Sprinkle with sea salt to taste and serve with guacamole, hummus, ketchup, vegan mayo, aioli, or any dips you like.
- Enjoy! 🙂
Notes
- More helpful tips and information on the recipe are mentioned in the blog post above!
- This recipe was first published on Oct. 8, 2017.
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Is it 200 Celsius or Fahrenheit?
It’s Celcius 🙂
I dont get it. Do you mix the Oil, Starch and paprika into a mix first and then mix with sweet potatoes??? I need step by step pictures for this one 😶
Hi Sofie, first you need to soak them in cold water for 1 hour. Then, dry them very well. Then mix with the oil, starch, paprika mixture. Then bake 😀
Ich habe das Rezept gestern zusammen mit meinem Papa ausprobiert und ich war echt begeistert? ich freue mich auf jeden Fall darauf noch andere Rezepte von dir zu testen??
Hey Pernilla,
Danke! Das freut mich sehr zu hören ?
Viel Spaß beim ausprobieren!
Liebe Grüße,
Bianca ❤️
Will this recipe work without starch? I’ve never seen this in a supermarket. Also, I wonder why you soak the sweet potato’s first??
Hi Lena,
The soaking step is very important as it draws the excess starch from the potatoes and helps them cook through.
And the quick shake in starch afterwards makes them crispy on the outside.
You should find starch in every supermarket.
I prefer cornstarch but you can also use potato starch or normal starch. Rice flour should work, too.
Have fun trying!?
Much love,
Bianca ❤️
What kind of starch did you use? Are there several that you recommend?
Hi Niki,
I mostly use potato starch but you can also use one starch oder normal starch…
It all works very good ?
Have fun trying!
Much love,
Bianca
I have no nutritional yeast is there anything i can replace it with? Thank you!!
You don’t need nutritional yeast for this recipe… It’s not mentioned here 🙂