Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Lately, I have been using an air fryer much more than the oven. But when it comes to making fries, especially sweet potato fries, I find that baking them in the oven works much better. This is especially because I can make a lot of them in one batch. My boys love burger nights and we typically alternate between sweet potato fries and herbed potato fries. We do have several of the frozen fries nights as well. But when I have a planned burger night I am usually able to make them from scratch. Last week, I was planning to make sweet potatoes as our burger side and was almost going to make them into spicy roasted sweet potatoes. But that is when my younger one (who loves anything with the word potato in it), asked me to make it as fries. That also reminded me that I am doing a baking series all this month with a group of friends for our Bake-a-thon event. These fries were a true winner that night as my boys just loved the caramelized sweet potatoes and the spices were just spot on.

Why use sweet potatoes for fries?

The natural sweetness in the sweet potatoes is what makes them our favorite. When compared to white potatoes sweet potatoes have more fiber, more vitamin C, and fewer carbohydrates. Also, sweet potatoes provide 400% of the daily Vitamin A requirement. It does have higher sugar content than regular potatoes, so watch out if you are on a diabetic diet. It is much cheaper to make our own sweet potato fries than to buy them frozen. Vegan and gluten-free recipe. Just make sure to use certified gluten-free spices.

One downfall (not much for us), is that sweet potato fries do not get as crispy as regular potato fries. But that is what we like in them and we keep going back to it. They caramelize beautifully but are not very crunchy. A few recipes add some cornstarch to make it crispy, but I did not want to add any more calories than what it already has. So I don’t use any.

Ingredients needed

Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes.

Sweet potatoes - I used about 3 medium sweet potatoes. I use the orange variety that is easily available in grocery stores in the US.

Tip when choosing sweet potatoes - Make sure to buy similar-sized tubers as the fries will be uniform. Also, choose sweet potatoes that are smooth and even. This makes it easier to have straight-edged fries.

Spices - Using spices is totally based on personal preference. This spice combination works the best for me and is a good basic blend, to begin with. I have used roasted cumin powder, paprika (which can be subbed with red chili powder), garlic powder, black pepper, and salt.

Sugar - just a little sugar along with the spices helps in the caramelization of the sweet potatoes.

Oil - I have used olive oil to toss the sweet potatoes. We could also use vegetable oil.

Step by step process

Line two baking sheets with a silicon mat or grease them with oil. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Clean the sweet potatoes and peel the skin (1). Make uniform thin long cuts out of the potatoes (2). Make sure the potatoes are evenly cut since this ensures even baking in the oven. Wash the sweet potato slices a couple of times and then soak them in cold water for about 30 minutes (3). Tip - Soaking the sweet potatoes in cold water helps in removing the starch and that could help the fries become crispy. It is not a must to soak the sweet potatoes but I would highly recommend it. Drain the soaked sweet potatoes and spread them on a kitchen towel to dry (4). Place the dried sweet potato wedges in a wide bowl. To the prepared sweet potatoes, add all the spices, salt, sugar, and oil (5) and mix them well using your hands. Ensure that the spices coat the sweet potatoes evenly (6). Layer them in the prepared baking trays. Do not overcrowd them in the tray. Make sure the sweet potatoes are in a single layer and not one on top of another (7). Bake them in the preheated 450 F oven for about 30 mins, turning them once or twice in between (8). Depending on the size of your cuts, the timing may vary.

Serving suggestions

Sweet potato fries are a wonderful side for Burger night or with any sandwich. A couple of vegetarian burgers that I often make is Bulgur Black Bean Vegetable Burger White bean and Green Burger These are perfect with sandwiches as well. Try these delicious sandwiches along with the sweet potato fries to make it a meal. Zapiekanka | Polish Open-Faced Sandwich Simple Bread Sandwich

Expert tips

I add sugar to the fries because it helps in better caramelization of the sweet potatoes. This is optional. Also adding spices to the fries is totally your choice. Add what you like and omit the rest. When turning the fries in between baking, make sure that you turn all the fries. This way they cook uniformly, otherwise, you might end up burning a few in the bottom. It is very important to keep the sizes of the fries uniform to ensure even roasting.

Frequently asked questions

More sweet potato recipes

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