Perfect Baked Sweet Potato Fries
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. 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. 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.
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
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.
Makes 4 Servings
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
Heat 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.)
Place baking sheets into the oven so that they preheat.
Scrub, then slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch sticks. Add to a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Remove 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.
Bake 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.
Serve 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
Nutrition Per Serving: Calories 201 / Protein 2 g / Carbohydrate 26 g / Dietary Fiber 4 g / Total Sugars 5 g / Total Fat 10 g / Saturated Fat 1 g / Cholesterol 0 mg
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Hello, I’m a little confused, you say baking sheets but in the picture you have used foil, which one works better?
Hi Frances, Sorry for the confusion. You can do either. The fries do get a little more browned and crispy without the foil. Then again, foil helps with clean-up. It’s totally up to you.
I made these for dinner today. We had baked talapia and boiled cabbage with onion.Oh,so easy and so o o enjoyable! I also added a couple shakes of cummin and garlic powder to the ingredients. This will be my go to for french fries though they are roasted sweet potatoes.YUM!Thank You!
I just made these. They came out very black. I cut very thick fries so they weren’t too thin but they’re pretty much burnt 🙁 I tried taking them out after 25 minutes and I did turn in between but they weren’t done. They were already black after 15 mins. Maybe the oven temp is too high
Oh, no! Sometimes ovens can run too hot (ours does). You might want to consider buying an oven thermometer to check that what your oven says the temperature is matches the actual temperature. We have one in our oven and it has been so helpful! If you don’t want to invest in that, try reducing the temperature by 25 – 50 degrees next time and see if that helps.
Yummy these are so good.
I live out of town and hubby felt like hot chips, I didn’t have any white potatoes only sweet potatoes so gave your recipe a go. I’ve never tried sweet potatoe fries . Can I say they were bloody delicious.thanks
do they have to be served immediately, or they can wait a while and reheated right before the meal?
Thanks
Used coconut oil instead of the olive oil and it turned out great, sweet and savory! I cook it for thirty minutes instead of twenty five, and they’re very crispy and delicious.
Sounds great! Glad it worked well for you.
I use to make this with regular potatoes and they were great. I am trying to lose weight, so I am wondering about the calories. Does someone know?
At the moment we do not provide nutrition facts for our recipes. It is something we are considering, though. For now, a great resource is CalorieCount.com
It allows you to copy the ingredient list of our recipe and paste it into the form. Then it outputs nutritional facts. Hope that helps.
This is very similar to the recipe from Weight Watchers. If you are counting points, check out their website. Very FEW points.
Are low points good or bad ? Ty
Scrumpdeli ishus! Making these for the second time! I throw some fresh garlic in as well!
Yum … great idea!
Could you use veg oil I dont have olive oil
Yep, that will work fine.
I love baking sweet potato fries! I love using cayenne and cinnamon together. I’m going to try the two-baking sheet trick next time. I must be steaming mine, because they don’t get very crispy. Thanks!!
I just made something similar to this!!! I can not wait to try yours!
This recipe is so badly needed in my household. My husband and I are always trying to make baked SP fries, but we ALWAYS burn them. Well not always. When we don’t burn them, they’re mushy. haha. Thanks for this!
35 minutes or less?! I am in! Great side to lunch or dinner!
I’m terrified of frying but love a good sweet potato fry! Will have to attempt this!