How to make oven-baked sweet potato fries that are caramelized on the outside and tender on the inside. No fryer is needed here. Consider making a double batch. These crispy sweet potato fries are addictive. Jump to the Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe
How to Make the Best Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet potato fries can be made in two ways: you can fry them, or you can bake them. We prefer to make healthier baked sweet potato fries. Make this oven-baked sweet potato fries recipe and be rewarded with crispy, caramelized fries with tender middles.
You may also enjoy these recipes: Try our homemade tater tots that are baked, not fried. We also have this baked French fries recipe with the best seasoning. Or, make Joanne’s favorite crispy roasted potatoes.
The full recipe is below, but here’s a brief overview of how to make sweet potato fries:
Step one, Scrub sweet potatoes clean and cut into fries. It is up to you how chunky you want the fries to be. I like sweet potato fries to be thin and crispy, so as you can see from our photos, we cut them pretty thin. In our recipe video shared below, you can also see me cutting sweet potatoes into fries.
Step two, Season the fries and toss with oil. Season them with a generous amount of salt and pepper for the best-tasting sweet potato fries (or use seasoned salt). So that they brown and get crisp in the oven, toss them with a bit of oil. I like using olive oil, but you can use what you have on hand. Coconut oil adds a nice flavor. We actually use coconut oil in this recipe for roasted sweet potatoes.
You can keep the seasoning simple or add even more flavor with spices. For example, a pinch of cayenne, cumin, coriander, chili powder, or your favorite savory seasoning blend would be a nice touch. You can even use cinnamon sugar.
Step three, add the fries to baking sheets. We scatter the fries over two hot baking sheets — we use two, so the fries aren’t too close to each other. If they were, they would steam instead of baking and crisping up. I like preheating my baking sheet, too. This way, they start cooking when the fries hit the sheet pan.
Step four, Bake the sweet potato fries until browned and crisp. The fries will take between 15 and 25 minutes to bake, depending on how large you cut them. Keep an eye on them while they bake so they don’t over-brown.
You May Also Like: Serve these with our homemade ketchup, creamy honey mustard sauce, or our easy fry sauce!
The Best Temperature for Baking Sweet Potato Fries
I like to use a hot oven when baking fries. I go for 450° Fahrenheit. If your fries are browning too quickly, reduce the temperature to 425° Fahrenheit and add a few more minutes of baking time.
Do you eat sweet potato skins?
I leave the skins of sweet potatoes on. I love the extra texture (and nutrition) it provides. Leaving the sweet potato skin on also makes prep time go quicker.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
- Have you ever tried Mashed Sweet Potatoes? It’s easy to fall in love with our easy, ultra-creamy sweet potato mash made with butter and a hint of cinnamon.
- I love these Healthy Baked Sweet Potatoes stuffed with roasted garlic, avocado, and tomato salsa (delicious, vegetarian, and vegan).
- Our Coconut Oil Roasted Sweet Potatoes are made with maple syrup, cinnamon, and toasted pecans.
- Make noodles out of sweet potatoes. Try our 25 Minute Sweet Potato Noodles with a creamy, dairy-free avocado sauce.
- These Vegetarian Tacos with Sweet Potatoes and Black Beans are one of our favorite easy meals.
Recipe updated, originally posted January 2014. Since posting this in 2014, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear and added a quick recipe video. – Adam and Joanne
Perfect Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
These sweet potato fries have caramelized edges and tender middles. Watch our recipe video to see how we cut sweet potatoes into fries.
Remember that baking time may vary depending on how large you cut your sweet potatoes and how accurate your oven is. (Ovens often run a little cold or hot, so we keep an oven thermometer inside to keep it in check). If you find that the fries are browning too quickly, reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees.
We keep the skins on for sweet potato fries, but if you prefer them without, go ahead and peel them.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
4 medium sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Homemade ketchup, optional
Directions
1Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two baking sheets. The fries bake better when placed directly onto the baking sheet. (Optional: Line the baking sheets with aluminum foil or a silicone baking mat for easier cleanup.)
2Place baking sheets into the oven so that they preheat.
3Scrub, then slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch sticks. Add to a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
4Remove the preheated baking sheets from the oven, and then dived the sweet potatoes between them. Spread the fries out. Try not to crowd them, or else they will not brown.
5Bake the fries, turning once and rotating pans once, until the edges are lightly browned, and centers are tender; 15 to 25 minutes. Sweet potato fries are done when the surface looks dry and puffed up a little. Don’t fret if the edges turn brown. They will taste more caramelized than burnt.
6Serve fries with your favorite dipping sauce and an extra sprinkle of salt.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Cornstarch — Some swear by adding a generous pinch of cornstarch to the fries before tossing and baking to make the fries extra crispy. This does work so give it a try if you feel like it. We usually skip it, but that’s only because we’re very happy with the fries as-is.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Enjoy reading & getting ideas
Sounds lovely. Trying them today.
My children demand finger chips most of the days. But baked potato chips look tasty too and can save my time. Even my children can make them in the oven.
Hello there, I just found the website and made the Hummus. It turned out great. Thank you and you made it very easy.I tried Humus recipe from other websites too but this one was the “Best”! Thank you.
Dear Adam / Joanne, I am new to your web-site but have to say I am very impressed with the recipes you have posted. I like the fact that you do not go into ingredients that are not in a normal pantry (ref BBC Food as and example). Already baked your great apple pie and the sweet potato fries (baked) are fantastic. Keep up the great work and remember a lot of us are normal people with simple pantries. Inspired Taste is now my “go-to” site, love it. Jim from Cyprus
The fries were a hit! I will definitely be making these again. I sprinkled the brown sugar, cinnamon, garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper mixture on the fries at the halfway mark. Then we dipped them in caramel syrup! Delicious!
These were quite tasty and didn’t have any of the sweet potato taste that typically turns off the kiddo. Two potatoes easily served 4. I made a tasty mustard/honey combo dip that set these apart. I’ll save this recipe as a good base for making more in the future.
Thanks for all the recipes you’ve featured, they’re so helpful to me inspire me to cook. God bless you.
Can I use coconut oil instead of olive oil?
Yes, definitely.
What could you do if you don’t have aluminum foil?
Baking them right on the baking sheet is fine or baking parchment paper works, too.
A bit of work this one–sweet taters being thicker and harder to cut than regular ones, especially if all you have available are dull knives! The pans should be put on same rack so the fries bake at same time and temp- I had a few burned ones in pan on the the lower rack. Overall it was tasty and healthy alternative to the bagged frozen fries I left in the freezer for this meal.
I made these, and I’m a good cook. This recipe did not work for me. Fries were tasteless and although not mushy, they were hardly crisp. Don’t bother.
Hi Bud, Sorry they did not work well for you. Regarding the taste, we stick to simple salt and pepper for the recipe, but you can always add your favorite spice blend. To get them extra crisp, try the method using cornstarch we mention in the notes section.
They turned out to be delicious! Everyone at home loved it!
Just finsh making this i added brown sugar cumin paprika cayenne and galic powder with a dash of cinnamon. It came out perfect and very crispy thank you
Temperature was far too hot. Burned black in 15 minutes. Won’t do that again!!
It is possible your oven runs a little hot (many ovens do). Next time, try reducing the temperature by 25 degrees. Hopefully that helps!