Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Annie's Eats

My hope is to inspire you to be fearless in the kitchen, to try new things, to take the time to make things the homemade way and most importantly, to have fun doing it!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

33 comments

posted in: Side Dish

03.13

2009

One of my most favorite dinners to add to my weekly menu is grilled veggie paninis. They are fast, easy, healthy, and DELICIOUS! I also love that they go so well with a variety of side dishes. This week I decided to try a new side dish with them, these sweet potato fries. I did not expect to like these myself, as I am traditionally not a fan of sweet potatoes. However, I found myself going back for more…and more of these. Ben loved them of course, since he does like sweet potatoes, and they were strangely addictive. My only issue with these is that they were a bit soft. Next time I make them I will try a little trick I learned recently – soaking the potato wedges in cold water before baking. I tried this last time I made regular oven fries and it made a huge difference in the texture. They were crispy outside, but soft inside, just as they should be. I think that will make these go from good to great!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil greased with cooking spray.

Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into long spears. (Soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes before continuing for crispy texture outside. Drain well and pat dry.) Place the potato spears on the sheet pan and toss with olive oil. Spread them in a single layer. Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula or tongs. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.

Source: adapted from Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics by Ina Garten

http://veggiegirlvegan.blogspot.com VeggieGirl
SWEET POTATOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.browneyedbaker.com Chelle
These look good! I’ve made sweet potato fries before but, like you, have found them to be soft. I’ll have to try the cold water trick!
Becky
I love your website and have already passed it on once! I actually have sweet potato fries on my menu plan for tomorrow night. However, I put them on rather reluctantly because I’ve never had true success with them before. I’m going to try your soaking tip and see if I achieve perfection for once!!
Amanda
This may have to be on the dinner menu. Sweet potato fries are one of Travis’ favorite foods! =)
http://erinsfoodfiles.blogspot.com Erin
These are a favorite of mine! I eat them at least once a week. For a change of pace, (and to make them crisper) try slicing them like potato chips. Sometimes I use my mandoline to get them uniform. But be careful, you have to really keep an eye on them not to burn when done that way.
Your picture of the fries is gorgeous!
http://lacucinadilauren.blogspot.com Lauren
Oh, they look good! Mine always come out too… soggy too, so I thank you for the tip! :)
http://bakeitafterall.blogspot.com/ Meghan
These look really good and I’ve never heard of the water trick before – that’s a great tip!
Susan
Dipping in egg whites makes them crispy as well.
http://www.wheresmydamnanswer.com Cathy – wheresmydamnanswer
This is a new staple in my house – We love these so much more than the std fries!!
http://bluedance.wordpress.com Monica
I recently discovered these in frozen form and I’ve been searching for a recipe. This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it :D
Frank
I frequently make these! Excellent post!
A Great Raspberry Dip for the Fries:
1. Take a few spoonfuls of raspberry preserves (regular or sugarless), place in a bowl
2. Take some hot sauce like Louisiana or Tobasco and place a few drops in the raspberry preserves
3. Microwave the combination for 20-30 seconds or until melted, stir, and then dip your delicious sweet potato fries and eat!
http://mytastytreasures.blogspot.com Donna
These sound outrageously delicious! I have to give them a try. They look wonderful and those banana muffins right below! SOOO good. I love this blog!
K
Oooo …. Same issue here with crunchiness…. And loving all the ideas this post has generated for me to try! Gracias!
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Faye
I made these tonight but with regular potatoes., (excluding the brown sugar also) They turned out very well!
Trish
I’ve been using the frozen variety for a while now and love them. Any thoughts on how well these might freeze?
Annie
Hi Trish,
I really don’t know how these would freeze. You can give it a try, but I don’t have much insight into that!
:) Annie
Jill
I love sweet potato fries and have made them once before but the seasonings weren’t quite right but this sounds perfect. I am also going to try your water trick to see if it helps them to be less mushy, thanks!! :)
Colleen
These sound very good…I also will try the soaking method to see if I can get them a little less “limp”! A dip I make for them that really goes well is:
A blob of Miracle Whip (probably 1/2 cup depending on how many fries)
A bunch of chile powder (a healthy tablespoon…)
Nicolette
I just love your website!! Sweet potatoe fries are my absolute favorite also :) Sometimes a dash or two of cayenne pepper with the brown sugar makes for a great sweet/hot/salty combo! I’m excited to try the water soak to see if that makes them crispier. Thanks!!
Ross
If the spices aren’t working quite right – I suggest tossing them in a very small amount of balsamic vinegar for the last 3 or 4 minutes of baking.
http://www.sproutedkitchen.com Sara
Great feature on the kitchn! I am always looking for ways to keep the outsides crispy, I will try your soaking suggestion! thanks ~
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http://deirdrereid.wordpress.com deirdrereid
I made these last night and they were fantastic. At last, baked sweet potato fries that don’t get mooshy. I added cayenne pepper to the sugar mixture and that added some nice heat. I’m thinking smoked paprika would also be good.
April
I tried the soaking trick, but they still came out gooey soft. :/
http://www.aforementionedthoughts.com Meredith
Tried these tonight and I LOVED them! Thanks for the recipe. :-)
http://asplashofhappy.wordpress.com asplashofhappy
so glad you had a recipe for these! we went to make them at my house today and your site was the first place i look! my fries are soaking in water right now!
Claudia
I made these last night, and was reluctant because I have had the same issues with sweet potatoes – they are always so mushy! I have adored the method of soaking regular potatoes in water as well, so took your advice. It still didn’t really work! However, my husband, who is a huge sweet potato fan, absolutely loved them.
I even tried putting them under the broiler for a few minutes, which seemed to help, but not really solve the problem.
As another poster mentioned, I have made circle shape chips before and they were crispy. But her advice is correct, if you don’t be careful they can burn quite easily.
And the search continues for the perfect, fool proof method!
marissa
I m not normally not a fan of sweet potatos, but have been searching for a way to incorporate them into my diet, as they are very nutritious.I tried these tonight and they were delicious! I followed the recipe exactly except i altered my seasoning a bit to eliminate the sugar. I mixed garlic powder, s&p, stevia, and cinnamon. A helpful hint I discovered (which someone could have already very well mentioned) was that I spaced the wedges far apart making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Apparently overcrowding can cause the fries to steam instead of bake, thus causing then to become soggy and not crunchy. Thanks so much for this recipe, I am officially a fan of sweet popatoes!
Chris
We grew a yellow variety of sweet potatoes this year. They are called Jersey. They have a dry flesh and make excellent fries. Not mushy at all like our orange variety, centennial, we also grew. I mix onion salt, garlic powder, cracked pepper and olive oil in a bag. drop in fry sized slices to coat and bake for 20 min at 400. I will try 375 degrees next time because the tips burned. Great flavor, bit sweet and salty.
http://www.christopherandanne.blogspot.com Anne
hi – and thanks for the tip about soaking them in cold water – it made such a difference!
Catherine Crandall
Catherine
I search for restaurants that serve sweet potato fries! The search is over! Thanks
for the fantastic recipe.
Mandy
Tried these for lunch today and they are super yummy – thank you for the recipe! I live all the way over in the Caribbean (Barbados) and sweet potato is a big thing here. Dying to try your sweet potato cupcakes too – I think they will be a big hit! Thanks again! :)