Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Learn how to make oven baked sweet potato fries at home! Sweet, salty, and totally delicious, they'll vanish in no time.

If you ask me, sweet potato fries are the best of all worlds in terms of crave-ability. They’re a little sweet, a little salty, lightly crispy, and so darn good. Plus, they’re healthy, especially when they’re baked in the oven vs. fried. 🙂

Because we love sweet potato fries so much, we recently went back to the drawing board to find a perfect method for making homemade crispy baked sweet potato fries. It was a rigorous and delicious job… suffice it to say that I’m not going to be vitamin A deficient anytime soon. Here are our findings!

How to Make the BEST Baked Sweet Potato Fries

When I set out to make sweet potato fries in the oven, I tried every tip and trick in the book (soaking, tossing them with cornstarch, seasoning them after baking, and more!). After ample testing, here’s my advice on making perfectly crispy fries at home:

• Soak your sweet potato matchsticks in cold water. I soaked mine for 30 minutes, but you can soak them longer if you have the time. Once soaked, make sure you dry your fries thoroughly before tossing them with oil.
  
• Bake your fries on a metal rack on a baking sheet. This allows the oven’s hot air to reach all sides of the fries, meaning that you don’t need to flip them! (If you don’t have a metal rack, flip each fry halfway through the baking time.)
  
• Leave the skin on. The crispiest homemade sweet potato fries are the ones with a bit of skin on them. They’re more nutritious, too!
  
• If you have a convection setting on your oven, now’s the time to use it. Convection ovens circulate air constantly, promoting quick, even baking that will get your fries lightly browned & crisp.
  

Together, these tips will get you delicious homemade sweet potato fries, but if you don’t have time to soak your potatoes, or if you don’t have a metal rack, don’t worry. I found that each of these changes yielded only small differences, and I devoured all the variations I tested. No matter what, they’re going to taste good. And, full disclosure, I still make mine the simplest way – the one that appears in this video:

Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe Tips

1. Cut them as evenly as you can. I recommend cutting the potatoes into 1/4-inch matchsticks. The more evenly you cut them, the more evenly they’ll cook, so aim for the size to be as uniform as possible.
2. They need their space. When you’re ready to bake, spread the matchsticks into a single layer on 2 sheet pans topped with wire racks, making sure to leave a little space between each one. If they’re too crowded, the potatoes will steam in the oven, and they won’t become crispy.
3. Eat them right away. Sweet potato fries have the best texture right after they’re baked, but if you have leftovers, they’d be great stuffed into tacos or chopped up and topped onto on avocado toast.

Find the full recipe below!

Serving Suggestions

Serve these homemade sweet potato fries on their own as a snack or appetizer or as a side dish with any of these recipes:

• The Best Darn Vegan Veggie Burgers
• Black Bean Burgers
• Crispy Cauliflower Po’ Boy
• BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches
• Portobello Mushroom Burger
• Falafel Burgers with Yogurt Dill Sauce

Whether you eat your homemade sweet potato fries on their own or as part of a larger meal, dress them up! Here are a few of my favorite ways to serve them:

• Sprinkle them with fresh herbs like finely chopped cilantro and/or parsley.
  
• Toss them with spices after baking. Chili powder, shawarma spice, smoked paprika, or a sweet/spicy combo of cinnamon & cayenne would all be delicious.
  
• Dress your fries in a cozy combination of minced rosemary and a little garlic powder.
  
• Don’t forget to dip! Chipotle sauce is my dip of choice here, but I love sriracha mayo, ketchup, and mustard, too. For a totally different twist, try dipping them in chimichurri or tzatziki!

For more snacks and appetizer ideas, check out this post!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

rate this recipe:

5 from 2 votes

Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Serves 2

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Follow these easy steps to make delicious baked sweet potato fries at home! They're nutritious, vegan, and gluten-free - perfect for enjoying with whatever you're having for dinner.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds sweet potatoes, about 2 large, sliced into 1/4-inch sticks
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• Sea salt, for sprinkling

options for serving

• fresh herbs, such as chopped parsley and/or cilantro
• pinches of red pepper flakes
• Chipotle Sauce for dipping

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 450°F and place metal racks inside 2 rimmed baking sheets. This allows the oven's hot air to reach all sides of the fries so that you don't have to flip them halfway through baking. If you don't have metal racks, you can use parchment-lined baking sheets.
• Soak the sweet potatoes in a large bowl of cold water 30 minutes. Drain, then pat dry.
• Drizzle with olive oil (enough to lightly coat) and toss to coat.
• Spread the potatoes in an even layer on the baking racks/sheets so that there's room between each fry. Bake for 30 to 38 minutes or until browned and crisp but not burnt. The timing may vary depending on your oven. If you aren't using the metal racks, flip the potatoes halfway through.
• Remove from the oven and season generously with sea salt.
• Toss with fresh herbs, red pepper flakes, and serve with ketchup, mustard, or chipotle sauce, as desired.

Notes

While these fries become lightly crisp in the oven, they're not as crispy as they would be if they were fried in oil. Still, they're fun and delicious (and way healthier). We love them, and I hope you do too!

Video Production by: Christian Remde of Palate Films.