Crispy Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
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Looking for the perfect side dish for your favourite burgers, wraps, and sandwiches? If you know me, you know I love my French fries! I can’t get enough of them! If you follow me on Instagram, you see a side of fries in my stories - either homemade or eating out - at least once a week! Of course my favourite way to make fries is Restaurant-Style Deep Fried, but let’s be honest - it’s a lot of work and it’s not very good for your health to have too much of it! So, for a more frequent option, I love to have my Air Fryer French Fries. You can decide basically last minute to make some fries and you’re all set for a satisfying meal! The air fryer fries are almost as good as the deep fried ones!
I’ll be totally honest and admit that I’m not a huge sweet potato lover. I think I eat sweet potatoes twice a year or less. However, back in my days working at a restaurant, I was curious what the hype of sweet potato fries is all about, so I tried them. Actually, I was quite impressed! I’ve tried them deep fried once before at home, and while they were good, I believe I could have done better. I still need to work on that!
Air frying is all the rage these days, so for the sake of making sweet potato fries accessible to everyone, I thought I’d try my hand at air frying them! With this recipe, say hello to your new favourite side dish! If you’ve been in a funk with sides, then experimenting with something new will totally expand your horizons, and you’ll wanna try so many protein and dip combinations with your new sweet potato fries! I discuss more of this in my Make Cooking Fun!! guide - my top 5 tips to get creative and motivated to explore your full potential in the kitchen! You can get that for free and my one month Live to Cook challenge, and perhaps these fries with a protein will be one of your entries!
To follow along with this recipe, be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post! If you’re not already, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the bell button so you receive the notifications when my video recipes go live! I find sharing the recipe video complements the written recipe, so you get all the information packed in and you’re set up for success! Let’s get cooking!
How to Cut sweet potatoes for fries
Rinse and wash the potatoes well. You may peel the potato or keep the skin on.
Slice each potato into 1/2 inch thick slices.
Then, stack 2-3 slices at a time and cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch matchsticks. (For crispier fries, cut them 1/4 inch thick matchsticks)
Frequently asked questions!
Do you have to soak sweet potatoes before Air frying?
No, we won’t need to soak or boil our sweet potatoes before we air fry them. Unlike Yukon gold or russet potatoes when making classic French fries, sweet potatoes have less starch. Therefore, we don’t need to remove any excess before we fry!
Does this air fryer sweet potato Fries recipe need oil?
Yes, you will need oil for this Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries recipe. However, we only need just a little bit. The reason we’re using some oil here is to help the seasoning stick onto the sweet potato fries better, and this will help the fries get crispy with a perfect colour in the air fryer.
Are air fryer sweet potato fries healthy?
I don’t know how they’re not! Sweet potatoes on their own are extremely good for you! Sweet potatoes are high in fibre to keep you full, and they’re loaded with beta carotene and other vitamins and minerals, including:
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Potassium
Manganese
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B5
Vitamin E
Since we’re not deep frying our sweet potato fries, these health benefits shine without the interference of the added oils when you deep fry. As mentioned before, we will be adding some olive oil, but only a small amount. Olive oil consumed in small quantities is excellent for your health! It is a rich source of mono-unsaturated fats that help reduce the bad cholesterol in your body, and helps absorb the fat soluble vitamins that are in your sweet potatoes!
You’re really just going to enjoy the sweet potatoes cooked in a delicious way, so you could honestly make these every day of the week if you really wanted to as part of a healthy, balanced diet! For more information about the health benefits of sweet potatoes, check out this article by Healthline.
How Come My Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries Aren’t Crispy?
It really can be a lot of things, but the main factors are your air fryer and the thickness of your fries. Also, the way I enjoy my fries are soft inside with a crisp outside, instead of crisp throughout.
For the airfryer, you can preheat the airfryer at 390F for 3-4 minutes and then add the fries to start the cooking process.
For the fries, cut them thinner, about 1/4 of an inch thick. Check the fries often to ensure they don’t burn, and toss and turn them until they are evenly crispy on each side. Thinner fries will cook faster to so keep a close eye.
Ingredients for air fryer sweet potato fries
We only need a handful of ingredients for our perfectly crispy Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries! Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card for all ingredient quantities and the recipe instructions! This will also allow you to scale the recipe based on how many fries you want to make - everything is automatically adjusted for you so it’s easy peasy!
Sweet potatoes
How to Make Crispy Air Fryer Sweet Potato fries
Peel and wash the sweet potatoes. Then cut into 1/2 inch thick matchsticks. (For crispier fries, cut them 1/4 inch thick matchsticks).
Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and coat with olive oil. Add the garlic powder, onion powder and rosemary. Gently toss the potatoes in the oil and arrange fries in a single layer in the air fryer basket
Arrange fries in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
Set Air Fryer to Air Fry mode at 390F and cook for 13 minutes, turn them 1 once twice to ensure even cooking. If you cut the fries thinner, the fries will cook faster, keep a close eye to prevent it from burning.
If making multiple batches, transfer the fries from the air fryer basket to a bowl/baking sheet and repeat steps 2-4 for the remaining portion of fries.
Once all the fries are crispy, you can toss all the fries in a single basket to refresh the fries at 375F-390F for 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks for the best Crispy sweet potato fries
Be consistent with the thickness of the fries as you cut them. The more even the shape and size of the fries, the better consistency you will see with the doneness.
For crispier fries, cut them 1/4 inch thick and keep a close eye while cooking.
Preheat the air fryer for 3-4 minutes of you are looking for extra crisp.
If making multiple batches of fries, once the last batch is ready, you can toss all the fries in a single basket to refresh the fries at 375F-390F for 3-5 minutes.
Variatons
Honestly you can dress up your Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries in endless ways! Here are some fun ideas, and you’ll feel like you’re having an entirely new dish each time!
Garlic Parmesan: Add garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, and some parsley!
Cajun: For a Southern flair to your fries, sprinkle on some Cajun Spice!
Fall festive: You could add some cinnamon, or even pumpkin spice over your sweet potato fries! That adds a nice warmth and sweetness!
Indian-style: Going to my roots! For a bit of heat and the aroma of classic Indian spices, make your own curry powder!
Tex Mex: Make Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries as part of a Mexican fiesta by sprinkling on Taco Seasoning!
Mediterranean: Using 7-spice will add a wonderful sweet and spiciness from different Mediterranean elements!
Italian: Italian Seasoning with a great blend of herbs and spices is always a go-to!
Dishes to Serve with Air Fryer sweet potato Fries
Sweet potato fries are so versatile that they can really go with anything! Here are some of my serving suggestions, but the possibilities are endless! Let me know how you like your sweet potato fries in the comments!
Dips to serve with sweet potato fries
I love my sauce, and whenever I’ve got fries, I wanna dip them! Here are some options:
Ketchup (of course!)
Garlic Truffle Aioli (as shown here!)
Homemade Yogurt Caesar Dressing (no mayo!)
Your favourite hot sauce
Storing leftover Sweet potato Fries
I’m not sure why you’d have leftovers, but if for some reason you do have them or you want to make a big batch for meal prep, then that’s fine! You can store your leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days, or else they’ll get soggy.
Reheating Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
To reheat the Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries from the refrigerator, toss all the fries in the basket of your air fryer and Air Fry at 350 F for 5-10 minutes or until heated through! Serve hot and enjoy!
More Delicious Side Dishes
More Air Fryer Recipes!
Watch how to make crispy Air Fryer sweet potato fries here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!