Crispy Air fryer sweet potato fries are a perfect way to enjoy your favorite deep fried side dish guilt free. Making sweet potatoes in the air fryer is a healthy alternative without skimping on flavor. You are less than 15 mins away from enjoying this baked root vegetable with your favorite dipping sauce.
Why make sweet potato fries in the Air fryer?
I literally make almost everything in my air fryer these days because of the sheer convenience of cooking in it. I make everything from cookies to toast to chicken breasts you name it.
Even leftover pizza, chicken and fries aren’t left out of the fun. My air fryer is that important to me.
I have made delicious frozen French fries and sweet potato fries in my air fryer, however I knew making crispy sweet potato fries in there might be a bit tricky, believe no me when I say it turned out better than I expected and it even bested my oven.
If you are holding back on making fries from scratch in your air fryer here are a few reasons you should be making some air fried potatoes.
- Baked Sweet potato fries cook faster in the air fryer than in the oven.
- They crisp up the same weather made in the oven or in the air fryer.
- Compared to deep frying, you need less oil and as surprising as it may be even less oil is needed to make these chips in the air fryer than in the oven.
- Less oil equals less fat, more calories and healthier a alternative
- The only draw back is you’d need to make multiple batches to feed a family of 4
What you need (ingredients and tools)
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Paprika (optional)
- Cornstarch: This is optional and I’d be honest with you, I don’t think I noticed much of a difference with or without it. Feel free to skip it.
Tools
- Air fryer
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Mixing bowl
How to cut sweet potato fries
Select sweet Potato, peel, wash thoroughly and pat dry with paper towel. Cut off the tips, depending on the length of the potatoes, cut across into 2 or three pieces. It would be shaped like cylinders.
Next cut into half lengthwise then cut that halves into smaller disks about half an inch in thickness.
Cut the disks length wise into fries. Your sweet potato fries are ready to be seasoned and cooked.
How to make Air fryer sweet potato fries
Add the oil to the fries, toss to coat the fries before adding the cornstarch, salt, pepper and garlic blend.
Mix in with your hands till the fries are well coated. lightly spray air fryer basket. Air fry the fries at 400°F / 204°C for 12 -15 mins shaking the basket every 5 mins.
Should I Preheat my air fryer?
I use the Gourmia Air fryer and the Cosori 5.8 for my recipes, The Gourmia doesn’t require preheating, though the Cosori recommends it, I hardly preheat my air fryer before cooking except maybe for cakes.
I have found that most air fryers unlike oven heat up pretty quickly and my recipes always come out perfectly done. Feel free to preheat your air fryer if that’s your preference.
An important thing to note is that even if you do not preheat your air fryer for the first batch of a recipe, subsequent batches tend to cook faster because the air fryer has been preheated while cooking the first batch so you need to keep a close eye on it.
Don’t have an Air fryer yet? Make it in the oven!
Yes you can bake these in the oven. Preheat your oven to 425°F / 220°C, Follow all the steps above till you get to where you need to bake it.
Place the fries on a baking sheet, bake for 15 mins then bring it out and gently flip fries. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 -15 mins.
Best dip for sweet potato fries
Now that your sweet potatoes are ready, it’s time to pick a dip for your meal. My kids love to use Ketchup however these are a few other dips we’ve used for our fries.
- Fry sauce
- Barbecue sauce
- Yum yum sauce
Air fryer sweet potato fries flavor variations
Cajun fries: Season your fries with Cajun seasoning and delight your taste buds with it.
Cinnamon sugar sweet potatoes fries: sweet potatoes can be made even sweeter and enjoyed as a dessert. Simply skip every other seasoning except the salt when air frying the fries. Toss fries in cinnamon sugar and enjoy, that’s it. Easy right?
Helpful tips for success
- Keep the fries dry: I washed and dried my potatoes before cutting. If you wash the potatoes after cutting then into fries, be sure to drain and pay dry.
- Cut the potatoes evenly: Try to cut the fries evenly. This will ensure all the fries gets cooked at the same time.
- Preheating the air fryer: This is optional. I didn’t preheat my air fryer and my first batch got ready at 15 mins. If you preheat yours, start checking your fries at 12 mins.
- Don’t overcrowd the basket: The air fryer depends on heat and air flow within the chamber to cook foods evenly. Crowding the basket will defeat that purpose and produce unevenly cooked and soggy fries.
- Don’t forget to flip the fries: I shake the basket every 5 mins to ensure even cooking. You can either shake the basket or flip the fries with a pair of kitchen tongs.
Your Frequently Asked Questions answered.
Are Air fryer sweet potato fries healthy?
Air fryer Baked sweet potato fries are rich in fiber and healthier than deep fried sweet potatoes because of the minimal use of oil.
Do you cook sweet potatoes with or without the skin?
This more of a matter of preference. You can choose to peel the skin or not too it doesn’t really matter. However if you prefer fries with the skin on, I would recommend washing them very well and buying only organic potatoes
How long to cook sweet potato fries in the air fryer.
I cook mine anywhere between 12 and 15 mins. You can start checking yours around 12 mins till you get to your desired level of crispy.
Are these very crispy?
These crisp up but don’t become as crispy as the store bought version which are precooked (pre-fried) before freezing. If you like it crispy, eat the fries as soon as possible.
We see you love fries! We’ve got more!
A little birdie told us we’ve got some serious fries loving fella in here. Guess what? You are not alone, we love our fries too. Check out some of the ones we’ve been whipping up in our air fryer below and let us know what you think.
- Frozen French fries
- Crinkle cut fries
- Frozen sweet potato fries
- Cubed potatoes
- Waffle fries
- We also reheat fries right in our air fryer
- Air fryer breakfast recipes: We know these are not fries but we wouldn’t want you to miss out on these amazing breakfast recipes that you can make in your kitchen gadget. Be sure to check them out and start with the air fried PB&J sandwich or this yummy air fryer French toast recipe. I can’t wait to hear what you think!
Check out all our >>>Air fryer Recipes!
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Happy Air frying!
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Crispy Air fryer sweet potatoes from scratch
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1.5 lbs)
- 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ Tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon paprika (optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Mix salt, garlic, black pepper cornstarch and paprika (if using) set mix aside.
- Peel sweet potatoes, wash thoroughly and pat dry with paper towel. Next cut into fries into ¼ inch thick sticks (see details of how to cut sweet potato fries in the body of blog post)
- Toss potatoes in the olive oil using your hands, add the spice mix and gently mix in till well blended and there are no visible streaks of cornstarch.
- Spray air fryer basket with oil spray, place sweet potato fries in basket in a single layer.
- Push basket back into the air fryer, set temperature to 400°F / 204°C and bake potatoes for 12- 15 mins shaking basket at 5 minute intervals to ensure even cooking.
- Repeat process for subsequent batches. Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce when all the fries are cooked.
Notes
- Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook in 2- 3 batches depending on the size of your air fryer basket.
Thank you for this recipe. I am new to air frying and your website makes it easy for me.
You are welcome Sandy, happy to help. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.