Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe. Perfectly seasoned and easy to make, these delicious sweet potato fries are baked, not fried, and my go-to recipe anytime I’m craving restaurant-quality fries from the comfort of my own home.
Learn how to make these perfectly crispy sweet potato fries and enjoy dipped into homemade ranch dressing, fried egg, or served alongside your favorite sandwich or burger.
Perfect Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe
You guys, I just love sweet potatoes. Super versatile and incredibly healthy, my favorite way to enjoy these bright orange tubers is in crispy fry form.
Extra crispy, sweet, salty, savory, and perfect for dipping, these sweet potato fries are the best.
Incredibly easy to make right at home, all you need are a handful of ingredients like sweet potatoes, cornstarch, olive oil, and simple seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, sea salt, and pepper.
Keep reading to learn all about how to make this super easy recipe or jump to the bottom of the page to be taken to the full list of ingredients and instructions.
How to Make Sweet Potato Fries
For the full list and amounts of ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Step 1. Preheat oven and prepare sweet potatoes
Preheat oven to 425 degrees f and place racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven (careful that the upper rack is at least 6-inches from the heat source). Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Thoroughly wash and scrub your sweet potatoes using a vegetable brush and dry completely. Cut into thin fry-shaped pieces, about 1/4″ wide and 1/4″ inch thick. Transfer half of the fries to one sheet pan and the rest of the fries to the other sheet pan. You can doo this using a fry cutter or a sharp knife – for best results, cut your fries so that they are approximately equal in size and shape.
Step 2. Coat in cornstarch and seasoning
Sprinkle the sweet potatoes with cornstarch (2 teaspoons per pan), salt (1 teaspoon per pan), onion powder, garlic powder, and sweet paprika (1/2 teaspoon per pan each). Toss to coat. Drizzle the fries with olive oil and continue to toss until all fries are evenly coated in spices and oil.
Arrange your fries in a single layer on your prepared baking sheets. Leave space between each fry otherwise, they will not crisp.
Step 3. Bake
Transfer baking sheets to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the fries using a metal spatula, rearrange back in a single layer and return the baking sheets back to the oven, swapping their positions. Continue to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until fries are golden, crispy, and just starting to brown around the edges.
Flipping the fries may feel tedious, but it’s highly recommended in order to get extra crisp fries on all sides.
Finally, season with additional salt and lots of freshly cracked pepper, if desired. Serve with your favorite dips and sauces like creamy ranch dressing.
Customize your Fries
While I love to enjoy these sweet potato fries with simple seasonings like salt, black pepper, garlic and onion powder with a dipping sauce like ranch dressing, ketchup or spicy Sriracha ranch, sometimes it’s fun to mix things up and customize using different seasonings.
Favorites include:
- Cajun Seasoning
- Taco Seasoning
- Italian Seasoning
- Cayenne or Chili powder
- Parmesan
- Cumin or Curry powder
How to Make Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
- Always dry your sweet potatoes completely after washing. If you choose to leave the skin on your sweet potatoes (like I did), you’ll need to wash and scrub your potatoes before slicing. The problem is this – if you don’t dry your potatoes thoroughly, that leftover moisture will cause your fries to steam, not crisp. So, long story short? Dry your sweet potatoes for the best results.
- Coat with cornstarch. Just as important as drying your potatoes, coating your sweet potato fries with cornstarch is the secret to crispy fries.
- No crowding. In order to crisp, you will (likely) need two baking sheets in order to have enough room to leave space between each fry.
- Flip your fries. Flipping your sweet potato fries mid-way through baking ensures that they crisp on all sides. It’s an annoying step, but worth the effort.
Tips and Tricks
- Can you peel your sweet potatoes? I prefer not to peel my sweet potatoes. This is a personal preference. If you prefer to peel yours, go for it. Simply peel your potatoes and follow the instructions as written.
- To ensure that your fires cook evenly, cut them into similarly sized pieces and bake them in an even layer (no overlapping).
- Toss your sweet potatoes in a large bowl or directly on the baking sheet.
- You know your fries are nearly done when they start to change from shiny to matte, spotted with brown spots with a puffed-up texture. Be careful, though, as they can quickly change from perfectly crispy to burnt and charred quite quickly.
How to Store Leftover Sweet Potato Fries
Total truth? Baked fries are best served right out of the oven. I mean, I’m pretty sure all fries – baked and fried – are best right away. Leftovers, however, store well in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. For best results, reheat your sweet potato fries in the microwave at 30-second intervals or re-crisp by toasting in the oven or toaster oven.
Are Sweet Potato Fries Healthy?
In my opinion, yes, baked sweet potato fries are a healthy and delicious side dish or snack. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for deep-fried sweet potato fries. Anything that is fried in oil should always be eaten in moderation.
Cooking method aside, sweet potatoes themselves are quite good for you.
- One cup provides half of your daily vitamin C and 400% of recommended daily intake of vitamin A. Each supports a healthy immune system, while vitamin A also helps support healthy skin, vision, and organ function.
- Vitamin A and C are antioxidant powerhouses, helping protect cells against aging and disease.
- Manganese, and lots of it! Manganese is a mineral that produces collagen.
- They are a natural anti-inflammatory food.
- High in fiber. Yes, sweet potatoes are a starchy vegetable, BUT, they are also loaded with fiber. This makes them a slow-burning starch will not spike blood sugar levels.
- They help regulate blood pressure. One cup of sweet potatoes (with skin) provides 950 mg of potassium. Potassium helps eliminate excess sodium and fluid from our body, which, as a result, lowers blood pressure and reduces strain on the heart.
Now, will eating a whole bunch of baked sweet potato fries make you super skinny? Probably not. But, it’s a much healthier alternative to regular French fries any day of the week.
How Many Carbs in Sweet Potato Fries?
The total carbohydrates in sweet potato fries vary from one recipe to another.
According to myfitnesspal.com, 1 large sweet potato (180 grams) contains 37 grams of carbohydrates. We’re also adding cornstarch at 10 grams of carbohydrates for 4 teaspoons. Assuming that you’ve used three sweet potatoes and 4 teaspoons of cornstarch:
- 3 x 37 = 111 grams carbs (from sweet potatoes)
- 10 grams (from cornstarch)
Added together and divided by 6 servings this baked sweet potato recipe contains a total of 20 grams carbohydrates per serving.
Shop This Recipe
- French Fry Cutter (optional) or a good quality sharp knife. Admittedly, I do not own a french fry cutter. However, I think I would make homemade baked sweet potato (or regular potato) fries much more often if I did. Slicing the sweet potatoes into thin and evenly sized pieces is the most labor-intensive part of this whole recipe.
- Baking Sheets. Unless you cut this recipe in half, you will need two large baking sheets.
- Parchment Paper. To prevent this sweet little fries from sticking to your baking sheet and messing with their chance to get crispy.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Easy Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes with Tahini Sauce
- Easy Herb and Brown Sugar Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Vegetarian Beet Burgers with Avocado and Sweet Potato Fries
- Sweet Pepper and Sausage Breakfast Hash
- Cranberry Wild Rice Pilaf with Sweet Potatoes
If you try making these crispy, delicious sweet potato fries, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
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Perfect Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 medium-large sweet potatoes - (approximately 2.5 pounds)
- 4 tsp cornstarch - divided
- 2 tsp salt - divided
- 1 tsp onion powder - divided
- 1 tsp garlic powder - divided
- 1 tsp sweet paprika - divided
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and place racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven (careful that the upper rack is at least 6-inches from the heat source). Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Thoroughly wash and scrub your sweet potatoes using a vegetable brush in cold water and dry completely. Cut into thin fry-shaped pieces, about 1/4" wide and 1/4" thick. Transfer half of the fries to one baking sheet and the rest of the fries to the other baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the sweet potatoes with cornstarch (2 teaspoons per pan), salt (1 teaspoon per pan), onion powder, garlic powder, and sweet paprika (1/2 teaspoon per pan each). Toss to coat. Drizzle the fries with olive oil and continue to toss until all fries are evenly coated in spices and oil.
- Arrange the sweet potato fries in a single layer on your prepared baking sheets. Leave space between each fry otherwise, they will not crisp.
- Transfer baking sheets to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the fries using a metal spatula, rearrange back in a single layer and return the baking sheets back to the oven, swapping their positions. Continue to bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until fries are golden, crispy, and just starting to brown around the edges.
- Season with additional salt and lots of freshly cracked pepper, if desired. Serve with your favorite dips and sauces like creamy ranch dressing.
Notes
- I prefer not to peel my sweet potatoes. This is a personal preference. If you prefer to peel yours, go for it! Simply follow the instructions as written.
- To ensure that your fires cook evenly, cut them into similarly sized pices and bake in an even layer (no overlapping).
- Toss your sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl or directly on the baking sheet.
- You know your fries are nearly done when they start to change from shiny to a matte puffed up texture. Be careful, though, as they can quickly change from perfectly crispy to burnt and charred quite quickly.
- Storage: These fries are best served right out of the oven. Leftovers store well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. To reheat, heat in the microwave at 30-second intervals or re-crisp by toasting in the oven or toaster oven.
