Sweet Potato Fries Recipe (2024)

By Mark Bittman

Sweet Potato Fries Recipe (1)

Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(6,229)
Notes
Read community notes

These addictive seasoned "fries" from Mark Bittman are actually baked, but we promise you won't miss the grease. The spice mix – garlic powder, paprika, salt and black pepper – can be used on regular potatoes as well (you'll just need to increase the baking time a bit).

Featured in: Yes, Healthful Fast Food Is Possible. But Edible?

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

  • 2pounds sweet potatoes, peeled
  • 2tablespoons olive oil
  • 1teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1teaspoon paprika
  • 1teaspoon salt
  • ½teaspoon black pepper

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

173 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 365 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Sweet Potato Fries Recipe (2)

Preparation

Make the recipe with us

  1. Step

    1

    Heat the oven to 400.

  2. Step

    2

    Cut the sweet potatoes into sticks ¼ to ½ inch wide and 3 inches long, and toss them with the oil.

  3. Step

    3

    Mix the spices, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and toss them with the sweet potatoes. Spread them out on 2 rimmed baking sheets.

  4. Step

    4

    Bake until brown and crisp on the bottom, about 15 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is crisp, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

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6,229

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Patrick

I find using parchment paper helps with the crisping. And sliding parchment paper onto a pre-heated stone rather than a sheet pan yielded the crispiest (but keep an eye on them, they cooked a bit faster this way). Lastly, thinner cuts = crispier.

Rosemarywc

great seasoning! to make the fries crispier, I heated the baking sheets until a drop OF water bounced on them then tossed the fries on - cooked till crisp then turned. Preheating the sheets really helps the crisping.

Jen

Soaking them in water beforehand to reduce starchiness (a few to several hours is good), slicing them thinly, and lastly, using 1-2 teaspoons of corn starch (use tea towel to dry first, put in ziplock bag with the corn starch and shake, then add oil and seasonings) will increase the crispiness of your sweet potato fries. My two kids can polish off three sweet potatoes by themselves this way!

bluetomatoes

Placement in the oven matters a lot. Those in the pan on the top rack were much crisper than the ones in the middle rack.

Rotating front to back and switching shelves helped a lot.

Stephen Prescott

The ultimate crispy secret,... bake on a rack on top of a baking sheet. And the best part, you don't even have to turn because the heat circulates all around!!!!

Judith Rae

No need to peel the sweet potatoes.

Mary Ellen Cummings

After 3 tries, got it perfect. One pan, preheated in a 425 degree oven. Potatoes cut uniformly; a critical step. Used spice mix. Used parchment. Cooked for 12 minutes, tossed and cooked a further 12 minutes.

Thomas

I'm not sure if it would help with sweet potato fries, but when I make regular oven potato fries the trick to get them crispy is to wash them in a bowl, after cutting, to get some of the starch off and then to thoroughly dry them with paper towels before mixing with oil and seasoning. I only bake one sheet at a time and only as many as can loosely fit on the sheet in one layer.

Mike in Minneapolis

I set the oven at 450 and got some reasonable crispness on the fries. Next time I might either go to 475 or turn on the broiler for the last 1-2 minutes. But 400 is definitely not high enough.

Jon

Absolutely do not listen to the corn startch idea... the fries stuck to the tin foil and ruined them.

Roni Jordan

Found this recipe last night for my son, who wanted to make sweet potato fries that wouldn't get mushy. He made 1/2 batch, with two sweet potatoes that weighed about 1 lb, in our Breville countertop convection oven. He cut the potatoes and tossed them with 1 tbsp EVOO a couple of hours before dinner, tossed with the seasoning mix just before baking, and preheated the baking pan so they'd start to crisp up quickly. Worked like a charm His verdict - delicious!

Kate

Parchment paper helps. No peeling of course. I prefer to season them fresh from the oven. Not only tastes better, but I can toss a few to the dog. Sweet potato is very beneficial to dogs.

Sue C.

Answered my own question with internet search. Sweet potatoes come in several varieties. The darker variety (which I think of as "yams" are not really yams but "jewel" variety sweet potatoes), tend to be more moist (and I think, tastier) than the lighter variety. The variation in success in crispness is likely to be due to the variety of sweet potato, as well as cooking method.

Karen

I made the mistake of trying to cook two pans in the oven for a larger group. They came out soggy and inedible. I will try them again, but only ONE pan this time.

ER

I find using parchment paper helps with the crisping. And sliding parchment paper onto a pre-heated stone rather than a sheet pan yielded the crispiest (but keep an eye on them, they cooked a bit faster this way).
Preheating the sheets really helps the crisping.

BMW

What is the dipping sauce shown in the video? How to make?

Kathy Golden

So sad my fries were not crisp one bit. I followed the directions perfectly.

Disappointing And Soggy

Followed the directions exactly and they were soggy. Yuck

Sophie

These were so good but they weren't crispy enough! I would say they're more like roasted sweet potato than sweet potato fries but the seasoning was amazing.

Mary

This was the best sweet potato recipe ever. I could not stop eating it. Actually, I didn't. I just ate those without the chicken I had prepared. They really need NO sauce - the seasonings were the bomb!!!!

Mel

I find that cubing sweet potatoes is way easier than making fries so I use the seasoning for the fries and use the cooking directions of the smoked paprika recipe

Donaldo

One pan, preheated in a 425 degree oven. Potatoes cut uniformly; a critical step. Used spice mix. Used parchment. Cooked for 12 minutes, tossed and cooked a further 12 minutes.

heather

I did this but did at 450 and added Honey and Rosemary

Dml

Next time will try parchment paper as others suggested. I peeled and cut thick wedges but my fries were very soft and not at all crispy, despite turning oven up to 425 and adding another 10 minutes to cooking time. Disappointing.

Patricia

I've made these several times and am still hunting for a non-mushy solution... However, the spice combo is great and sweet potatoes are great, so all in all this is not a bad recipe. Will keep trying to achieve peak crispiness!

Barbara

This is a keeper, I used convection for the last few minutes which helped to crisp the potatoes.

natasha

Made these with sweet potatoes. Would add more oil I think or try the advice of having a very hot pan before I added the Fries to it.

Mel

I love the spicing of this recipe but the cutting of the fries is a pain.i would use the spicing of these fries but cubing the potatoes like in the roasted sweet potatoes with smoked paprika

oct 2023

Use 1T of seasoning mix for 2 large-ish SPs (full big pan)Cook at 425 instead of 400.Broil for a few minutes at the end to crisp-ify.

Angelina

Does anyone know what was the dipping sauce?

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Sweet Potato Fries Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my sweet potato fries get crispy? ›

The secret to crispy (instead of soggy) sweet potato fries is to spread them out in an even layer with enough room so that they don't touch. This is especially important if you're making a big batch of fries. Instead of just piling more onto one baking pan, spread them out over two baking pans or cook them in batches.

What makes sweet potato fries better? ›

Sweet potato fries are slightly higher in calories and carbs but also more nutrient dense than French fries. The greatest nutrient difference is that French fries have no vitamin A, while sweet potato fries are high in this nutrient. Vitamin A is important for your vision and immune system ( 2 ).

How do you make sweet potatoes easier to cut for fries? ›

NOTE: Sweet potato is a lot more tough to cut than regular russet potatoes. To make it easier to cut, just slice a small piece off the long side of the potato to create a flat surface. This way, the potato won't wobble when slicing it.

Should you soak sweet potatoes in water before baking? ›

TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: The main secrets to achieving that incredible crispy texture, is to soak the cut sweet potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes. This helps remove the starch from the sweet potatoes so they´re not limp & soggy.

How to prevent soggy sweet potato fries? ›

Give them a cold water bath: Once your fries are chopped, toss them into a large bowl. Then cover the fries completely with cold water and let them soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight). This will help to rinse off the excess starch and help the potatoes crisp up beautifully in the oven.

Why do you put sugar on French fries? ›

This reaction causes food to brown when sugar reacts with amino acids under heat. So adding that sugar ensures that browning will occur, leading to that golden crisp exterior you want from a good french fry.

What makes sweet potatoes taste better? ›

Dice the sweet potato, and leave the skins on. Then toss the chunks in a splash of tamari, oil, and maple syrup, and then dust heavily with chili powder, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Roast at 400 Fahrenheit for about 30-50 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to crisp up.

What type of sweet potato is best for fries? ›

Hannahs are dense, firm, and creamy, and much less prone to becoming waterlogged than orange sweet potatoes. Their firmness and dense texture makes Hannah sweet potatoes ideal for roasting in chunks, turning into fries, or mashing as a side dish.

What are the white sweet potatoes called? ›

The term white sweet potato is used to describe any variety of sweet potato that has white flesh. The two most common white-fleshed sweet potatoes are Boniato, also called batata, or Cuban sweet potato, and the Japanese sweet potato, also called the satsuma-imo.

Do you boil sweet potatoes before cutting them? ›

So, to make cutting easy, you want to go ahead and soften them first using one of the methods below. Parboiling – Cut off both ends of the sweet potato, and place it in a large pot of water. Bring the liquid to a boil. Then, reduce the heat slightly, and let the potato simmer for about eight minutes.

Why don't sweet potatoes get crispy? ›

If you don't evenly space your sweet potatoes so they aren't touching, they will not turn out as well. They need the air flow between them to maximize crisp, and any surfaces that are touching won't get the air they need. Halfway through the cook time, take a minute or two and flip them all with tongs.

Why are my sweet potatoes still hard after baking? ›

If the potato is still firm when squeezed, that means it needs to cook more. It is best to keep the sweet potatoes as dry as possible while baking, air frying, or microwaving for the crispiest skin and fluffiest inside. Any moisture will steam the potatoes, instead of baking them.

Can you pre-cut sweet potatoes for fries? ›

Prepare in advance: You can peel and slice the sweet potatoes up to 2 days in advance. To prevent them from browning, place the fries in a bowl large enough to contain them and fill the bowl with water.

Why are my fries not crisping? ›

Simmering the fries in water washes away the excess sugars that can cause the fries to brown too much before they have a chance to properly crisp up when frying. The water also activates the starches in the potato. Starch, when fried, is what creates that crispy surface we want!

Why are my sweet potato fries soggy in the air fryer? ›

Banish Soggy Sweet Potato Fries.

If your air fryer fries are soggy, it is likely because you over-crowded them in the basket.

Why are my oven fries not crispy? ›

Turn up the Heat

Try not to overlap the fries so they brown equally, and don't crowd them too tightly in the pan as you'll need to flip the fries halfway through the baking time. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Why aren't my potatoes getting crispy? ›

If roasted potatoes lack their crunchy sheen, overcrowding is usually the culprit. Just as overcrowding bacon or mushrooms in a saucepan causes disappointingly mushy results, placing potatoes too close to each other on a baking sheet will prevent them from crisping while they roast.

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