Baked 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.

These orange spuds are exploding with antioxidant-rich vitamin A and also contain equally hefty doses of fiber and potassium. Sweet potatoes contain about 15 grams more carbohydrates per serving, but that's no reason to pass on these tubers; they can also make super-tasty and healthy baked fries.

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.

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.

The cold water bath helps rinse the starch off the sweet potatoes so they're a bit more crispy. That said, if you do not have the time, you can still get crispy baked sweet potato fries by using high heat and a little drizzle of olive oil.

Additionally, restaurant fries are so crispy because, among other things, they use old oil continuously. As oil heats up it breaks down—cooking oils with a high smoke point will break down more slowly—and that creates crispier fries.

The Bottom Line. Sweet potato fries are slightly higher in calories and carbs than French fries but also high in vitamin A — giving them a nutritional edge. Still, deep-fried fries of any kind served in over-sized portions — as in many restaurants — may increase your risk of weight gain and related health problems.

So if you want a sweet, sweet potato, you have to cook it until it reaches 135–170°F (57–77°C). And you want to keep sweet potatoes in that range for as long as possible. That will maximize how sweet the potatoes taste.

My guess is you aren't blanching the sweet potato fries before you are frying them. In order to get crispy fries, of any type, you need to cook them twice. You begin by either boiling them in water, or frying them at 325, until they are just cooked through, but not so much that they lose their shape.

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.

Why are sweet potatoes so hard to get crispy? ›

Sweet potatoes have a higher sugar/starch content than regular potatoes, which causes the outside of the potato to brown or burn much more quickly, preventing the French fry from obtaining as crispy of a shell.

Notoriously difficult to cut, sweet potatoes are much denser than other vegetables, including white potatoes. This is because they have far less water. So, to make cutting easy, you want to go ahead and soften them first using one of the methods below.

You can peel the sweet potatoes if you like, but I prefer to leave the skin on. It's packed with fiber, and I think it makes the fries crispier! Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/4- to 1/2-inch planks. Then, cut those planks lengthwise into 1/4- to 1/2-inch matchsticks.

My guess is you aren't blanching the sweet potato fries before you are frying them. In order to get crispy fries, of any type, you need to cook them twice. You begin by either boiling them in water, or frying them at 325, until they are just cooked through, but not so much that they lose their shape.

If they are still not crispy you might have skipped a step or you might not have let them cool down sufficiently. Make sure to cool them in a single even layer and also make sure that the oil has the right temperature. Or maybe you've used the wrong potatoes to make them.