Treat yourself to the deliciousness of these oven-baked Sweet Potato Fries. They're perfectly seasoned, baked until they're wonderfully golden crispy, and finished off with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese – a truly delightful snack! Plus baking fries in the oven is a healthier alternative to regular French fries.
Serve with ketchup-mayo, ranch dressing or healthy green goddess dip.
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Sweet Potato Recipes
Sweet potatoes are a nutritional powerhouse, offering a wealth of benefits as an excellent source of fiber, beta carotene, magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, B6 and more.
If you love them, be sure to try my other reader's favorite sweet potato recipes!
Why It's Yummy
- Healthier than french fries - These fries make for the ideal guilt-free snack! Despite their indulgent flavor, these fries are a healthier option since they require only a small amount of oil instead and no deep-frying.
- Easy and quick - Preparation is a breeze, taking just 15 minutes from start to finish. All you have to do is slice your sweet potatoes, season them, and cook – it's as straightforward as it is delectable.
- Perfectly seasoned - These fries are seasoned simple, with salt, black pepper and a subtle hint of smokiness from paprika. Feel free to infuse these fries with spicy seasonings like cayenne, cajun or chili powder for a kick of heat.
Ingredients
My few comments on the ingredients + don't forget to read the Tips section!
The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.
- Sweet Potatoes - Although there are several sweet potato varieties, the standard orange sweet potatoes (Garnet, Jewel) are the most commonly found in grocery stores. In the United States, they are sometimes labeled as "yams". I like to peel the potatoes but you can leave the skins on too.
- Seasoning - Achieving an incredibly flavorful kick, these fries are seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and paprika. Feel free to use smoked paprika instead or add a touch of heat with chili or cayenne.
- Oil - I suggest using either olive oil or avocado oil, though any neutral oil will suffice. Olive oil imparts a slight nutty flavor to the fries, while neutral oil maintains a neutral taste. Both options taste fantastic, so the choice is yours!
- Parmesan - Grate it from a block so it can melt beautifully on top of the fries.
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rinse and scrub the potatoes, drying them thoroughly. You can choose to peel them or leave the skins on as you prefer.
Stand the potatoes upright and with a sharp knife slice them into ½-inch wide strips.
Then, cut each strip into ¼-inch wide pieces. I usually trim off the top ends to avoid very thin potato fries, as these parts tend to brown and burn quickly.
I will use the leftovers for the next day's breakfast hash.
In a large bowl, coat the potato strips with oil and spice mix. Make sure the potatoes are thoroughly coated.
You can also adjust the salt after the fries are cooked.
Once the oven has reached the desired temperature, place the fries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 25 minutes, then flip the fries and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes, or until the fries have turned golden brown and with crisp edges.
The exact baking time will depend on the thickness of your fries, but I find that long strips cut to about ¼ to ½ inch wide deliver the best results.
📋 JULIA'S TIP - The fries should be slightly crispy and cooked through. If by this time the fries are not crispy, cook for more minutes.
If fries are cut too thin or the ends are too narrow they will get charred rather quickly.
Transfer the hot fries into a shallow bowl, add more salt, parmesan, and more seasoning (if needed, make a taste test!), and toss/shake well. Enjoy with dipping sauces.
📋 FLAVOR & TEXTURE - The exterior of the fries are slightly browned and crispy, softer potato texture on the inside. If you want super crispy fries, try my air fryer recipe instead.
How to Keep Sweet Potato Fries from Getting Soggy
Some tips to prevent your homemade sweet potato fries from becoming soggy:
- Avoid overcrowding the basket; cook the fries in a single layer for the crispiest results, allowing proper air circulation.
- If necessary, you can cook up to two layers of fries, but make sure they're not tightly packed. Remember to flip them once or twice during baking.
- Some recipes suggest giving your fries a cold water bath. Soaking sweet potatoes in water prior to cooking may help to reduce starch for added crispiness. However, in my experience, this step doesn't significantly improve sweet potato fries' texture. Save soaking for regular potatoes, where it can make a more noticeable difference due to their higher starch content.
Tips
- Spice it up with seasonings! Stick with the classic combo of salt and pepper or get creative with your preferred seasoning blends. We personally love garlic and paprika.
- To enhance the flavor, simply sprinkle a pinch of extra kosher salt or sea salt flakes over the fries right after taking them out of the oven.
- Finding it hard to cut potatoes for fries? Learn everything you need to know on how to cut sweet potatoes like a pro.
- You can opt for as little as 1 tablespoon of oil, or if you prefer, a bit more. Personally, I find that using a touch more oil results in slightly crisper and more flavorful fries, but you can certainly go with less.
- It's worth noting that these fries don't reheat well and tend to become soggy. Therefore, I recommend enjoying them promptly once they're baked or keeping them warm in the oven at the lowest temperature for up to an hour.
- If you have plans to freeze these fries, it's best to freeze the raw potato strips.
- Uniform size - Ensure all the fries are cut to the same size to guarantee even cooking without any burning, overcooking, or undercooking.
Serving Suggestions
These fries are the perfect side dish for hearty burgers or chicken wings. Feel free to make the whole meal even healthier by serving it with lots of vegetables and a leafy salad.
What to serve with sweet potato fries:
- Salad - cabbage salad, taco salad, chickpea feta salad or this halloumi and beet salad.
- Burgers - veggie loaded chickpea burgers, or these salmon burgers or patties.
- Sandwiches - breakfast sandwiches or crispy chicken sandwiches and wraps.
- Lettuce wraps - for a lighter meal try lettuce wraps with beef, chicken, shrimp or these spicy buffalo lettuce wraps.
- Sauces - keep it simple and serve the fries with favorite dipping sauce. We love green goddess dip, avocado crema, garlic mayo, mayo-ketchup, honey mustard, cold spinach dip, garlic aioli (or make it spicy similar to my Brussels Sprouts recipe) or ranch dressing.
- Or for a more fulfilling meal top these fries with hearty Chili - creamy chicken chili, pumpkin chili, vegan chili.
Freezing And Storing Instructions
- To Store. Refrigerate any leftover baked sweet potato fries in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. However, for best flavor and texture consume right away.
- To Freeze. I don’t recommend freezing already baked fries as they will lose their texture after thawing. If you want, you can freeze raw sweet potato fries in an airtight freezer bag for months ahead.
- To Reheat. For optimal results when reheating leftovers, I like to use an air fryer: Heat at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for best crispiness. Place the fries in a single layer on a preheated pan in the oven to re-crisp. Air fryer fries reheat exceptionally well due to their lower oil content, which prevents sogginess.
Variations
- Sweet Potato Truffle Fries - after baking, add a drizzle of truffle oil + grated parmesan into a bowl with fries and toss until fully coated.
- Lemon Pepper - add to taste.
- Spicy Sweet Potato Fries - Spice things up with a ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
- Garlic and Herb - Combine a pinch of garlic powder, rosemary, thyme, and parsley and season the potatoes.
- Cajun Sweet Potato Fries - Coat the fries with your preferred Cajun seasoning. Wait to add salt until the end, as Cajun blends usually have salt included.
- Sweet Flavor - Toss the sweet potatoes with salt, a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg and a touch of brown sugar for a delightful sweet twist. Pumpkin spice is delicious with these fries too.
- Cumin + Coriander - a pinch of both.
- Curry Sweet Potato Fries - add a pinch of ground curry.
FAQs
Regular fries that use the deep frying method often counteract the health benefits of sweet potatoes due to excessive oil and salt. Homemade and baked sweet potato fries, on the other hand, use minimal oil for fewer calories, and you have the flexibility to manage the sodium content. In short, they can indeed be a healthier choice.
Regrettably, once your fries have turned mushy, there's little you can do to restore their crispiness. When the fries are cut too thick/thin and placed too close to each other on the baking sheet, they tend to steam and lose their firm texture.
Absolutely! The skin of a sweet potato is entirely edible, but it's essential to ensure it has been cleaned thoroughly.
Dipping sauces like ketchup-mayo, ketchup, buffalo sauce, tzatziki sauce, garlic aioli, honey mustard, ranch dressing; Burgers, sandwiches, tacos; salads; grilled meats and fish.
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Recipe
Homemade Baked Sweet Potato Fries With Parmesan
INGREDIENTS
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, washed and peeled
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, good quality virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- Parmesan cheese, grated, optional for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse and scrub the potatoes, drying them thoroughly. You can choose to peel them or leave the skins on as you prefer.
- Stand the potatoes upright and with a sharp knife slice them into ½-inch wide strips.
- Then, cut each strip into ¼-inch wide pieces. I usually trim off the top ends to avoid very thin potato fries, as these parts tend to brown and burn quickly. I will use the leftovers for next day's breakfast hash.
- In a large bowl, coat the potato strips with oil and spice mix. Make sure the potatoes are thoroughly coated.
- You can also adjust the salt after the fries are cooked.
- Once the oven has reached the desired temperature, place the fries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then flip the fries and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes, or until the fries have turned golden brown and with crisp edges.
- The exact baking time will depend on the thickness of your fries, but I find that long strips cut to about ¼ to ½ inch wide deliver the best results.
- Tip: The fries should be slightly crispy and cooked through. If by this time fries are not crispy, cook for more minutes. If fries are cut too thin or the ends are too narrow they will get charred rather quickly.
- Transfer the hot fries into a shallow bowl, add more salt, parmesan and more seasoning (if needed, make a taste test!) and toss/shake well. Enjoy with dipping sauces.
NOTES
- It's worth noting that these fries don't reheat well and tend to become soggy. Therefore, I recommend enjoying them promptly once they're baked or keeping them warm in the oven at the lowest temperature for up to an hour.
- Uniform size - Ensure all the fries are cut to the same size to guarantee even cooking without any burning, overcooking, or undercooking.
- Flavor - The exterior of fries are slightly browned and crispy, softer potato texture on the inside. If you want super crispy fries, try my air fryer recipe instead.
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
NUTRITION
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
Enjoy delicious and easy sweet potato fries in the oven.