These Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Spicy Mayo are the perfect fall appetizer, side dish, game-day snack, it all works. The cool thing is that they’re healthier than if fried, super easy to make and are actually crispy!
I absolutely love making these. They allow me to travel back to the UK, where delicious sweet potato fries could be found in almost any pub (here in Spain they are not so common). My favourite places in Oxford to enjoy them were The Rickety Press, The Rusty Bicycle and The Cowley Retreat. How many memories OMG!!
The good thing about these baked sweet potato fries is that they are homemade and since they are also baked they are actually healthier. I love to serve them with mayo and in this case I am sharing a spicy one with you – with options in case you don’t like spicy.
Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need.
- Sweet potatoes: medium-sized, if possible. Too large and you’ll get long sticks that you’d probably like to cut in half and then they’ll be too short. Too small, and then you’ll have very short fries. If you want to leave the skin on your sweet potatoes, you can. Be sure to give them a nice good scrub beforehan though.
- Olive oil: I use a mild-favloured extra virgin olive oil, as a Mediterranean person but also because I love the flavour.
- Cornstarch: to help the potatoes crisp up
- Seasonings: this time I have used Italian seasoning, but I would often use only paprika or black pepper or a mix of garlic powder and paprika or oregano or… Feel free to use whatever seasonings you love!
- Sea salt: I love flaky sea salt for this recipe. Although when not using seasonings, I sometimes use flavoured salt (like truffle salt, lemon salt or thyme salt).
- Fresh herbs: totally optional, but they give a nice green colour touch that contrasts beautifully with the orange. Chop chives or parsley very finely for instance and sprinkle it all over.
Variations at Home
This is a very versatile recipe that accepts a lot of variations. Some ideas to inspire you are:
- Cheese: Feel free to add cheese! From grated Parmesan once you remove them from the oven, to emmental 5 minutes before removing them so it melts or even with crumbled feta.
- Seasonings: as mentioned above the options are endless, you can be as creative as you want and travel around the world with them. Some of my favourite are: Cajun Seasoning, Jerk Seasoning, Za’atar, Sumac or Garam Masala.
- Potatoes: you can use regular potatoes if you want. This recipe also works with them!
Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
There are a few essential steps that must be followed to ensure that the sweet potatoes are actually crisp. If you don’t mind soggy you can skip these, but… isn’t a crispy exterior and soft interior the best part of a fry?
1. Thin fries: cut the sweet potatoes into sticks of 5 mm thick. If they are thicker, I find that they don’t end up as crunchy. Also, try to ensure they are as evenly sized as possible so they need the same time in the oven (thinner ones may burn and thicker ones may end up soggy).
2. Cold water bath: soaking the sweet potatoes in cold water helps with removing some of the natural starch. In turn, this helps later with crispiness. Soak them for at least 30 minutes (I have also done it overnight – all the prep the previous night and then I have sweet potato fries almost ready for a brunch or lunch). Then, it’s very important to drain them, rinse them and dry them very well with a kitchen towel or kitchen paper.
3. Cornstarch: the cornstarch helps with creating a crispy exterior layer on the sweet potatoes.
4. Wait on the salt: salt makes the veggies release its water. If we added the salt to the sweet potatoes before baking them, this could make them soggy (a lot of steam which would prevent them from crisping up). Thus, we’ll add the salt on at the very end.
5. Crowding the tray is forbidden: the closer the sweet potatoes are, the less the steam generated can escape. Consequently, your sweet potatoes would be steamed rather than roasted. So, it’s very important that when you add the sweet potatoes to the baking sheet they do not overlap: they should be in a single layer with a bit of space in between.
6. Do not crowd the oven: In relation to the point above, if you have a small oven (like I do) I find it’s best to bake one baking sheet at a time. When I’ve put 2 baking sheets (the two with sweet potatoes or one with sweet potatoes and the other one with some other food) in the oven at the same time, they didn’t crisp up as much. There was more steam generated too.
7. Bake at high heat: we need to roast the sweet potatoes to make them crispy. Low heat would cook them but not roast them, thus no crispiness.
8. Flipping all of the fries: I know this step is a bit time-consuming but it’s worth it in order to have a crispy sweet potato on all the fry sides.
9. Let them rest 2 minutes: before jumping on them after having removed the trays from the oven, wait for a couple of minutes. They set and crisp up a bit more.
10. Eat them immediately! As they cool down, they get softer, as any fries will!
Can I Store Baked Sweet Potato Fries?
Yes you can, but they will obviously lose its crispiness.
Place the cooled fries in an airtight container and store them for up to a week in the fridge. To eat them later, heat a bit of olive oil in a pan. Once hot, add the sweet potatoes in one layer. Flip them every now and cook until warm.
I am positive though that there won’t be leftovers ;).
Dips to Serve the Sweet Potato Fries with
This time I’ve made a dip with homemade mayo, a bit of Dijon mustard and cayenne pepper for a slight heat kick. The combo with the herby fries is delicious! You can also enjoy them with
- Ketchup (of course)
- Avocado Cream
- Mayo or Sour cream
- Cream cheese sauce
- Feta sauce
Some Ideas and Inspiration to Serve the Sweet Potato Fries with
If you want to serve these crispy baked sweet potatoes as a side, here you have some main ideas.
If you make this Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries recipe, be sure to leave a comment and rate it. Hearing from you is everything! Oh, and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram, I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Fries
- 500 g sweet potatoes - peeled and cut into 5mm sticks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp herbs or spices - Italian seasoning, spices mix, just paprika…
- Cold water
- Flaky sea salt
- Fresh Herbs such as chives or parsley - optional, to garnish
Spicy Mayo
- 4 tbsp mayo
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- ¼-½ tsp cayenne pepper - or paprika
Instructions
- Add the sweet potatoes to a large bowl. Cover with cold water and soak for at least 30 min (or overnight).
- Preheat the oven to 220ºC. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Remove your sweet potatoes from the water, drain them and dry well with paper or kitchen towels.
- Toss with the oil. Then add the cornstarch and all your spices or herbs (do NOT add salt). Toss well until the cornstarch has soaked into the oil, you should no longer see it.
- Spread the fries out in an even layer on the baking sheet. Be sure that the fries aren’t overlapping and that they have a gap in between each other. Bake for 30 min, flipping halfway. The fries should be crispy and have begun to brown a bit on the tips. Cook in batches if needed.
- In the meantime prepare the spicy mayo dip. Mix the mayo, mustard and cayenne pepper (or paprika) in a bowl and set aside.
- Transfer the baking sheet with the sweet potatoes to a cooling rack, sprinkle with flaky salt, then let the fries rest for 2 min. Serve with the mayo, chopped chives if using for instance, and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @paulasapron on Instagram and hashtag it #paulasapron.