These sweet potato fries are perfectly crispy and crunchy, just like you’d get at a restaurant! Sweet potato fries can be deep fried, or oven baked to golden brown perfection. Serve your fries alongside grilled meats or sandwiches and watch the rave reviews come in.
You can never go wrong with french fries, whether they’re baked potato wedges, bacon wrapped potatoes, or waffle fry nachos. This sweet potato version is sweet, savory and totally irresistible!
When I go out to eat, I always have to order the sweet potato fries. I can’t get enough of that sweet and savory flavor! Homemade sweet potato fries are quite simple to make, and I think they taste even better than what you’d get at a restaurant.
How do you make sweet potato fries?
To make these fries, first wash and peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into sticks. Rinse them twice in cold water. Boil the fries to get them a little tender and then dip them in a batter made of cornstarch, water, salt and pepper. Now they are ready to be fried until golden. Once they are done frying, dry them on paper towels and sprinkle on a little salt and pepper. Serve them hot and crispy!
Tips for sweet potato fries
- To cut the sweet potato fries use a fry cutter (if available) or use a sharp knife to cut as evenly as possible.
- When selecting sweet potatoes, look for ones that have a more uniform width and do not taper to points. This will help you cut more fries that are the same length.
- Choose red sweet potatoes (labeled as yams in some markets) for the classic sweet potato fry look and taste.
- When frying, stir the fries to make sure they don’t clump together or stick to the side of the pot.
Baked sweet potato fries
To make baked sweet potato fries, wash and peel the sweet potatoes then cut them into sticks. Coat the fries in a mixture of salt, pepper and cornstarch. Toss the fries in olive oil and they are ready for the oven. Bake them in a single layer on a sheet pan and remember to flip the fries so that every side is crispy. When they are done, serve them hot with a little sprinkled salt and pepper.
Flavor variations
I love the classic sweet and savory flavor of these fries, but you can punch up the flavor with these variations.
- Try serving the fries with a little garlic butter on top. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 1/2 teaspoon fresh minced garlic, salt, pepper and 2 teaspoons chopped parsley.
- Sprinkle a store bought Mexican spice blend, or make your own with one teaspoon each of chili powder, paprika, salt and cumin and a half a teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder and oregano.
- You can season the fries with a Cajun spice blend, or make your own mix with one teaspoon each of garlic powder, paprika and salt and a half a teaspoon each of black pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, oregano and thyme.
- For a Caribbean flavor, pour on some pre-made jerk spice, or prepare your own with 1 teaspoon each of thyme, salt, pepper and sugar with 1/2 teaspoon each of allspice, paprika and cayenne pepper and a 1/8 teaspoon each of cumin, cinnamon and garlic powder.
How to make your fries crispy
The keys to crispy fries are temperature and cornstarch. If frying the sweet potatoes, keep the oil as close to 350 degrees F as possible. The oil will likely cool when you place the fries in the oil. When baking fries, the 400 degree F heat will help dry and crisp the outside of the fries. The cornstarch used in the recipes also crisps up the fries.
Are sweet potato fries bad for you?
Aside from being delicious, sweet potatoes are brimming with vitamin A and manganese. They also have some vitamin C, E and B6. Sweet potato french fries have a few more calories than regular potato fries. The healthiest way to prepare these fries is to bake them. However, frying them can be a wonderful occasional crispy treat!
I love crispy, hot sweet potato fries with a sprinkling of just the right amount of salt. This recipe is a great way to make crispy, savory french fries with that wonderful flavor of sweet potato.
More delicious sweet potato recipes
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Hash
- Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Buddha Bowls with Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato Fries (Baked or Fried)
Ingredients
Fried Sweet Potato Fries
- 4 sweet potatoes medium size, orange or red color
- 2/3 cup cornstarch
- 6 cups vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons salt additional salt for seasoning the cooked fries
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper additional pepper for seasoning the cooked fries
- chopped parsley for garnish optional
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- 4 sweet potatoes medium size, orange or red color
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 1/2 teaspoon salt additional salt for seasoning the cooked fries
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper additional pepper for seasoning the cooked fries
- cooking spray
- chopped parsley for garnish optional
Instructions
Fried Sweet Potato Fries
- Wash and peel 4 medium sized sweet potatoes
- Cut the sweet potatoes into 3/8 inch wide sticks.
- Rinse the sweet potatoes in cold water twice. Discard the water between each rinse.
- Boil the fries in water for 4 minutes until slightly tender. Remove fries and place them in an ice bath.
- Prepare a batter for the fries by stirring together 2/3 cups of cornstarch with an equal amount of water in a bowl.
- Season the batter with 2 teaspoons of salt and 3/4 teaspoons of pepper.
- Dip the fries in the batter and let them rest for 2 minutes on paper towels.
- Heat a pot of vegetable oil to 350 degrees F.
- Deep fry the sweet potato fries in batches of 7-15 depending on the size of your pot. Make sure to break up clusters of fries and prevent fries from sticking to the pan as they cook.
- Cook the fries for 5-7 minutes or until golden.
- When the fries are done cooking, set them in a single layer on paper towels to drain.
- Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and serve them hot and crispy. Top with parsley if desired.
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Wash and peel 4 medium sized sweet potatoes.
- Cut the sweet potatoes into 3/8 inch wide sticks.
- Stir together the salt, pepper and cornstarch.
- Dredge the fries in the salt, pepper and cornstarch until coated.
- Toss the fries with olive oil until coated.
- Place the fries in a single layer on a sheet pan lined with foil and coated with cooking spray.
- Bake the fries for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F or until golden.
- Turn over the fries with tongs or a spatula and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until golden.
- Season with any additional salt and pepper to taste and serve the fries hot and crispy. Top with parsley if desired.
This is such a great snack for my family! Love the baked option as it’s simple clean up and just as tasty as the fried version!
Your recipe is amazing! I have just made sweet potato fries following your instructions, and they turned out delicious! I will be making it again soon. 🙂
I love sweet potato fries but your variation using a Caribbean seasoning sound amazing!! Printing this recipe off now!
Delicious! I made the fried version–my kids and I gobbled them up!
Best oven fired sweet potato recipe I’ve tried! I served it with ranch sauce and it was delicious!
thank you.
thank you so much for this recipe. Have you tried using the microwave to par-boil the potatoes instead?
I think that would work fine!
Sweet potato fries are my favorite. I do make these in the oven as I’m always watching my calories
Can I use flour?
I haven’t tried it this way, I think it wouldn’t be as crispy as with the corn starch!
Has anyone cooked the in the air fryer? I’m guessing you go off of the “fried” recipe?
I have always loved these fries, but this recipe is hands-down better than any restaurant version I have tasted! Looking forward to making these all season long!
did you bake or fry these ? just wondering.
Yes, please!! My hubby’s favorite!! He has converted me! Thanks for the different options to fry or bake.
These sweet potato fries turn out so crisp and flavorful! I don’t think I can go back to plain fries again!
I actually tried winging a recipe on my own and it didn’t turn out right and now with your recipe, I’m realizing the secret is cornstarch! Thanks for sharing!
My kids went crazy for these fries! They are so crispy!
This is the only way I like sweet potatoes!! Crispy perfection.
These sweet potato fries look so fun and tasty!
Sweet potato fries are the best!! LOVE this!!
These Sweet Potato Fries look mouth-watering!
I love sweet potato fries, and I usually try to order them when they’re on the menu. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen too often, but I always figured they couldn’t be too hard to make. This looks like a great recipe. Thanks for sharing it with us! I can’t wait to try it out.