How to Make Sweet Potato Fries | Step-by-Step Recipe
Homemade sweet potato fries are baked wedges of sweet potato tossed with olive oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, then roasted until the edges crisp and the centers turn soft and sweet. They come together with just five ingredients and one oven tray, and they make a fantastic side dish or snack to serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Here is exactly how to make them at home.
I wasn’t a huge fan of sweet potatoes, but that changed once I discovered how to turn them into sweet potato fries and pair them with delicious sauces. At first, I was a bit skeptical about them. I don’t like savory recipes that have a sweet aftertaste, but with sweet potatoes, things are different. I love that they’re so versatile: you can use them in savory dishes like this one, in soups and stews, in burgers, and even in desserts.
What You Need To Make Them
The ingredient list is short on purpose. You need 2 sweet potatoes, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, plus salt and ground black pepper to taste. That’s it. The olive oil is what helps the surface crisp up and carries the spices onto every piece, so don’t skip it. The smoked paprika is the ingredient that does the heavy lifting here: it adds a warm, gently smoky depth that balances the natural sweetness of the potato, while the garlic powder rounds everything out. There are plenty of spice mixes you can try, but my favorite is garlic powder plus smoked paprika plus salt and pepper.
As for the sweet potatoes themselves, look for firm ones without soft spots or sprouting. You don’t even have to peel them, though in the recipe below I did, because my boyfriend prefers them this way. Leaving the skin on saves time and keeps a little extra texture, so go with whatever you like better.
How To Cut And Bake Them
Start by preheating your oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes to get rid of any dirt, then cut each one in half lengthways and slice into wedges or fries. Place them in a large bowl, sprinkle over the salt, pepper, smoked paprika and garlic powder, drizzle with the olive oil, and toss until every piece is coated. Spread them out on an oven tray in a single layer and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until crispy.
The most important part is that single layer. If the fries overlap or crowd the tray, they steam instead of roast and turn soft rather than crisp, so use a second tray if you need to. Try to cut the pieces to a similar thickness as well, since evenly sized fries bake at the same rate and come out uniformly crispy. Sweet potatoes have more natural sugars than white potatoes, which is why the edges caramelize beautifully but can catch quickly, so keep an eye on them toward the end of baking.
The Best Dipping Sauces
These fries really shine with a good dip alongside. My top picks are vegan aioli sauce, tahini mixed with lemon juice and a crushed garlic clove, vegan mayo, a quick garlic sauce made with minced garlic, water, a little olive oil, salt and 1 teaspoon of tomato paste, and last but not least, guacamole. If you want more ideas, this collection of vegan sauces has plenty to choose from. Serve the fries as a side to a veggie main, next to a burger, or just pile them on a plate as a snack with a couple of dips to share.
Storing And Reheating Leftovers
Sweet potato fries are at their crispiest fresh out of the oven, but leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To bring back the crunch, reheat them in a hot oven or air fryer rather than the microwave, which tends to leave them soft. If you find yourself with sweet potatoes on hand often, they’re worth keeping around for more than fries: they turn up beautifully in a creamy sweet potato soup, in a hearty cauliflower and sweet potato stew, or folded into lentil and sweet potato burgers. There are so many creative sweet potato recipes you can try, and I’m looking forward to trying sweet potato toast and sweet potato desserts next.
If you give these sweet potato fries a go, I’d love to know how they turned out. Rate the recipe below and drop a comment telling me which spice mix and dipping sauce you paired them with. It will become one of your favorites, I’m sure of it.
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How to Make Sweet Potato Fries | Step-by-Step Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- salt and ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.
- Wash and scrub the sweet potatoes to remove any dirt. You don’t have to peel them, but I prefer to.
- Cut each sweet potato in half lengthways, then into wedges or fries.
- Place them in a large bowl.
- Sprinkle over some salt, ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and toss together until evenly coated.
- Spread the sweet potato fries or wedges evenly in a single layer on an oven tray.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, until crispy.
- Serve with a dipping sauce of choice.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
The key is to spread the fries in a single layer on the tray so they roast instead of steam, and to toss them with a tablespoon of olive oil first. Cut the pieces to a similar thickness so they cook evenly, and bake at 200 C / 400 F for 30 to 40 minutes until the edges crisp up. If your tray is crowded, use a second one rather than piling them on top of each other.
No, peeling is optional. The skin is perfectly edible and leaving it on saves time and adds a little extra texture. In this recipe I did peel them, only because my boyfriend prefers them that way, so go with whatever you like better.
Preheat the oven to 200 C / 400 F and bake the fries for 30 to 40 minutes, until they are crispy. Because sweet potatoes have more natural sugar than white potatoes, the edges caramelize and can catch quickly, so keep an eye on them toward the end of baking.
This recipe uses garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, which is my favorite combination. The smoked paprika adds a warm, gently smoky depth that balances the natural sweetness of the potato. There are plenty of other spice mixes you can try, but this one is hard to beat.
My top picks are vegan aioli, tahini mixed with lemon juice and a crushed garlic clove, vegan mayo, a quick garlic sauce made with minced garlic, water, olive oil, salt and a teaspoon of tomato paste, and guacamole. Any of these pair really well with the smoky-sweet flavor of the fries.
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To bring back the crispness, reheat them in a hot oven or air fryer rather than the microwave, which tends to leave them soft.
I actually prefer roasted sweet potatoes instead of fries 🙂 And it goes perfect with your black bean burger!!! Tried that combo yesterday and it was amazing. Thanks!
You’re welcome! 😀