Thin, crispy, and addicting, air fryer sweet potato fries are so good! Easy to make and nutritious, too.
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Making your own sweet potato fries is much more economical and healthy. Air fryers do a great job of crisping them up.
How long it takes: 20 minutes to soak, 20 minutes to fry
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, bowl, air fryer
Servings: 3
If you love sweet potatoes, you’ll love these crispy sweet potato fries. In fact, even if you don’t love sweet potatoes, I bet you’ll love air fryer sweet potato fries. They’re veggie candy! Orange, sweet, crunchy bits of deliciousness — how can you resist them?
Sweet potato fries are great just plain but why not make them really special? Offer a couple of your favorite dips: French fry sauce, BBQ sauce, cherry chipotle BBQ sauce, jalapeño ranch dip, or be a little daring, and dip them in healthy Green Goddess dressing. Wow!
About these air fryer Fries
A plain sweet potato is inexpensive. Why buy expensive frozen sweet potato fries when you can easily make them from scratch in your air fryer? All you need are just a few ingredients and an air fryer.
Homemade sweet potato fries are healthier. A bag of a popular brand of sweet potato fries has stuff in it that will have you scratching your head in puzzlement. Why all the additives? Sweet Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Contains One or More of the Following: High Oleic Canola, Canola, Sunflower), Rice Flour, Cane Sugar, Tapioca Starch, Corn Starch, Dextrin, Sea Salt, Spice, Salad Mustard Powder (Distilled Vinegar, Mustard Seed, Salt, Turmeric, Paprika), Gluconic Acid, Xanthan Gum.
I’ll choose wholesome (and cheap!) sweet potatoes, healthy olive oil, salt and pepper any day!
Ingredient Notes
The ingredient list is very simple. You’ll also need an air fryer.
- Sweet Potatoes: You can peel them, or just give them a good scrub. Cut into quarter-inch strips (like French fries). A sharp knife is helpful for cutting the fries because the thinner you cut them, the more surface area there is for maximum crispiness. A mandolin works great, too. Just watch the fingers!
- Olive Oil: You only need half tablespoon! You can also use avocado oil, melted coconut oil, or cooking spray.
- Salt and Pepper: For the basic fries, just grab salt and pepper. Check out the “make it your own” section for other seasoning tips.
Tips for the best sweet potato fries
- Soak the cut sweet potatoes in a bowl of cold water for twenty minutes to remove excess starch. This step increases the crispiness of the fries.
- Dry the potatoes thoroughly. Dry equals crispy! Use a clean linen (lin-free) kitchen towel or paper towels to get the cut potatoes good and dry before frying.
- Don’t overcrowd the fries in the air fryer basket. Allow room for the air to freely circulate. It’s much better to do the fries in batches so they have plenty of room to get crispy. Keep in mind that sweet potato fries won’t get as crispy as French fries unless they’re breaded or battered.
- Watch closely towards the end of the cooking time. The fries tend to brown quickly once they get going.
- Keep fries warm in the oven while you make multiple batches. Spread cooked fries on a wire baking rack placed in a sheet pan in a warm oven (175-200ºF). This will keep the cooked fries warm and crispy while you finish cooking the rest.
One serving of these goodies (about a third of a sweet potato) is only 70 calories with 11 grams of carbs. They are good for you with lots of vitamin A and fiber.
Ways to Change Up Sweet Potato Fries
- Make sweet potato chips, chunks, or wedges. Keep in mind that thinner cuts will cook more quickly, and thicker cuts will take longer.
- Prefer no oil? Just omit the olive oil and spray the air fryer rack lightly with cooking spray so the fries don’t stick.
- Season the fries: Add garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, or smoked paprika, to taste. Grated Parmesan cheese is good, too. Try Cajun seasoning or southwest spice blend.
- Looking for a different way to cook sweet potatoes? Air fryer sweet potato hash with candied bacon is super tasty. We love oven roasted sweet potatoes, too. If you like sweet potatoes, be sure to take a look at my list of 25 easy sweet potato recipes.
- Rather have regular potatoes? Try air fryer French Fries or air fryer potatoes. You can also make “fries” with carrots. Try air fryer carrots cut into thin sticks.
To get a head start on things, cut sweet potatoes ahead of time and soak in water overnight. Drain and dry well before air frying.
Or prepare sweet potato fries completely and freeze in storage containers or freezer bags until ready to use. Reheat as directed.
Refrigerate/Freeze: Air fryer sweet potato fries can be stored in the fridge, wrapped well, for three to four days. You can also freeze fries for up to one month.
Reheating: For best results, reheat sweet potato fries, whether frozen or refrigerated, in your air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 350°F, and place the fries on the rack in a single layer. Reheat three to six minutes until hot and crispy. The cooking time will vary depending on whether the fries are frozen, and how thick the fries are.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
- 1 (6 oz.) medium sweet potato, scrubbed (and peeled if you prefer)
- ½ tablespoon olive oil (or another oil with a high smoke point)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon coarse black pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Slice the sweet potatoes into french fry shape, about ¼ -inch thick (if you have a mandolin, you may wish to use that). Submerge cut potatoes in a bowl of cold water and let soak for 20 minutes.
- When the fries are almost done soaking, preheat air fryer to 375ºF.
- Drain potatoes and pat dry with a paper towel or a lint-free tea/dish towel. Dry bowl and place fries back in bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
- Place a single layer of fries in the basket of the air fryer and cook for 10 minutes, shaking basket once, or until crispy and golden brown. Keep an eye on them towards the end.
- Serve immediately, or keep warm while air frying additional batches (see notes).
Notes
- Keep fries warm in the oven while you make multiple batches. Spread cooked fries on a wire baking rack placed in a sheet pan in a warm oven (175-200ºF).
- Make sweet potato chips, chunks, or wedges. Keep in mind that thinner cuts will cook more quickly, and thicker cuts will take longer.
- Prefer no oil? Just omit the olive oil and spray the air fryer rack lightly with cooking spray so the fries don’t stick.
- Storage: Air fryer sweet potato fries can be stored in the fridge, wrapped well, for three to four days. You can also freeze fries for up to one month.
- Reheating Suggestions: For best results, reheat sweet potato fries, whether frozen (no need to thaw) or refrigerated, in your air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 350°F, and place the fries on the rack in a single layer. Reheat three to six minutes until hot and crispy. The cooking time will vary depending on whether the fries are frozen, and how thick the fries are.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I can taste them now. yum.
So yummy!