Perfect Oven Sweet Potato Fries

I have perfected the art of the sweet potato fry. I've made them so many times that I have a very set formula for making them. I don't enjoy frying things, so I do mine in the oven. They're easy and tasty and go well with Cuban, Mexican and Indian food. :D

They're also good for holiday dinners. I just can't get on the "let's dump half a bag of brown sugar and some marshmallows into a pan with some sweet potatoes and maple syrup!" bandwagon. Sweet potatoes are sweet enough as is!

Step 1 Supplies!

You will need:

• one large sweet potato
• sea salt (coarse)
• freshly ground black pepper, chunky
• good quality olive oil (not pictured)
• a peeler
• a sharp chef's knife
• a cutting board
• a large baking sheet (not pictured)

This recipe takes about a half hour to make, and one large sweet potato can serve 2-3 people if it's a side. Or sometimes I'll eat a whole one by myself if I've had nothing else to eat that day.

Comments

[Julesizn]

Thank you, Jessyratfink, for this excellent recipe!! I made the fries for my husband on Super Bowl Sunday and we both loved them! This was my first time to bake them successfully. I SO appreciate your detailed instructions. My failed attempts included soggy, burnt, and odd-shaped fries...all of which you addressed and explained why it was important to follow your advice. I will make them more often now. They were sweet, crispy, and soooo yummy! I love serving a dish that everyone says "mmm" when I set it on the table. Thanks again.

[madamcharlene]

And BTW...I never put anything on them either. Why mess with success...and added unnecessary calories. These are exceptional, just "as is." And, Jessy, do you think they are able to get "browned" because you're not using aluminum foil (which I usually do).

[madamcharlene]

Just polished off batch of sweet potato "fries" (one potato). Used chili powder and a little brown sugar, too. I've tried to make these with various recipes and none of them came out brown - and "kinda" crispy, like these. I'm only glad I didn't make 2 potatoes...I'd be in trouble. :) !! Thanks for the recipe.

[unlearny]

I made this tonight. Fabuloso cruise to the YUMZONE. Thanks.

[jessyratfink]

Best review ever! Happy you liked them. :D

[josie2]

Wow, what great ideas for sweet potatoes. I'm new to the site, but impressed with comments and instructions. Sweet potatoes for New Years along w/a side of football. Loved comments about Seva....I am very close to Ann Arbor, go Blue. Happy new year to all and cook on. :-)

[bmummery]

I love this recipe! But I am just concerned about you leaving the peels on! Sweet potato peels are actually toxic and you are not supposed to eat them!

[ngoodman3]

The skins are poisonous to dogs. As long as they are scrubbed and mold free they are perfectly healthy to eat.

[ericCycles]

Can you provide references to this? Thank you.

[sanderson14]

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64 says: "If you purchase organically grown sweet potatoes, you can eat the entire tuber, flesh and skin. Yet, if you buy conventionally grown ones, you should peel them before eating since sometimes the skin is treated with dye or wax; if preparing the sweet potato whole, just peel it after cooking"

[redriot7]

You weren't kidding... This smell is unbearable... in a good way!

[annamaria1231]

This is excellent! As a bonus I like to add Lawry's salt to them before baking. If I don't, I'll add it to the sour cream for dip. Anyone here by any chance ever eat in Seva in Ann Arbor, Michigan? I haven't been there in years. I remember getting yam fries everytime I went and they had the best sour cream dip. Anyone else remember or decipher the recipe to the dip?

[kara.mo]

This is too funny! Here I am 8 years later living a totally different life in California and I find this thread trying to figure out how to make a healthy version of the old Seva recipe for my toddler. Ha ha!

I worked at Seva for 4 years as a waitress. The recipe is simple, but a little Ann Arbor local dependent. Its mayo with Clancy's Fancy, an Ann Arbor made hot sauce (.  Yum. I have to remember to stock up on that stuff next time I'm in town.  
And now to figure out what's in the Clancy's. They have a website...:) Happy fry eating.

[annamaria1231]

Thank you Thank you! I try my best to stock my fridge with Michigan groceries, more money in the state is helpful. Buy Michigan! Buy USA! I hope your toddler likes the fries better than mine. I've got a picky one.

[mbessey]

Did you ever find out how to make the sauce from Seva?

[annamaria1231]

No :-( Good thing these fries are delicious by themselves.

[slgabe]

Seva had the best (and my first ever) sweet potato fries, haven't found any to compare in Seattle. We make fries at home but I didn't know their sauce had a sour cream base. We've tried to replicate with mayo, spicy mustard, worchestershire, and a few drops of hot sauce. I like Dave's Insanity, but my son uses Gunslinger. We don't really have measurements, it's sort of just to our taste. Start out with about 1/2 C. mayo, 2-3 TBSP. mustard, 1 TBSP. Worchestershire and a couple drops of hot sauce. I'm going to make some fries now and maybe I'll try a sour cream base! Yum!

[annamaria1231]

mmm, I could drink Worchestershire by itself. I'll try that out. Your recipe for the dip, I mean. I've already had my Worchestershire sip for the day =P

[80$man]

Excellent work Jesse!
I have been looking for this recipe ever since I had the best Sweet Potato Fries at Royale Eatery in Long Street, Cape Town (South Africa, Hola at ur Boy!)

I like how you didn’t add any extra sweet stuff, sweet potato (‘Patat’ in Afrikaans sound better :P ) is sweet enough! The salt, pepper and olive oil work wonders together!

I have made my own and I left most of the skins on. I scrubbed my Patats to get most of the dirt off and rolled the skin side olive oil and slided it nice and chucky. The sweet moist center with the crispy skin… o lawds… is I in heaven?! Thank you for the recipe!

[Eirinn]

I used the hot air function in the oven and they turned out mushy. Tasted delicious though, i'm just giving out a little friendly warning :)

[j1shalack]

Instead of zip-lock bags, I use two plastic shopping bags, one inside the other.
They're free and much larger.
After adding the seasonings, I close it to create a "bubble" and shake to mix well.
Re-open, add the oil-coated fries, and repeat as above.
They come out evenly coated and I just discard the bags.
I do the same for breading fish, chicken, pork chops, etc.
Note that, to oil the fries,etc. I use the same technique.

[Eirinn]

As jcantonis says shopping bags are filled to the brim with hormone disturbing plastic softeners.

[jcantonis]

While is a very resourceful idea to use plastic shopping bags, they are contaminated with all types of chemicals and pesticides that you may not want on your food. It's best to use a ziplock bag which is already sterilized for use with food or toss in a tupperware bowl with lid.

[j1shalack]

I have been using this technique for more years than I can remember.
I haven't started twitching or drooling yet.

[cogni]

MorganCrane, a kumara IS a sweet potato! Kumara is the Maori word for the exact same veggie. The Oceanic peoples have been growing sweet potatoes for centuries, if not millennia--it is a staple food in much of the Pacific region and no doubt the Maoris brought them to NZ. I am in New Zealand right now and can find red, orange and white kumaras, all tasty.

Another terminological note: In the U.S., where I live most of the year, groceries often call sweet potatoes, particularly the orange ones, 'yams'. But the yam is a different root vegetable, native to Africa. It's starchier, less sweet, and (usually) larger. I see them in the U.S. only in African markets--yams are a staple food of sub-saharan Africa. In my opinion they're not as tasty as sweet potatoes--or at least, you need to do more to them to make them appetizing.

The sweet potato fries recipe is great!! Or rather, baked kumara chips as I believe they would be called here.

[radmate]

Yeh, great recipe and almost as good as kumara chips in NZ (unsurpassable). My kiwi spouse has heard they're a perfect accompaniment to "pakeha" (white man)-- and with 2 veg you have a complete meal--ha!--but generally kiwis prefer lamb to pakeha.

[stpetecindy]

This recipe was so easy and so good-no more frozen sweet potato for me!!!

[urbanalbino]

These are in the process of baking right now. I'm so excited! I took them out to flip them and I think I may have put in a tad too much oilive oil, but I'll think they'll be okay. I had to sneak a bite of one of the small pieces and it was already deliciious! Thanks for posting this. =)

[Nelyan]

Oh, I just made these after finding the recipe a week ago. I ate them all and now I'm full and overly happy.

My old friend used to teach me how to do them a few years ago, but I had completely forgotten about them until I found this out.

Good recipe!

[sunshiine]

My son recently encouraged me to try sweet potato fries so I went to instructables to find out how. Thanks for sharing! A lot of great comments here also. I have already learned a lot.

[doggmopp]

I make a dip from sour cream with a little horseradish for a kick. It's great. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

[jessyratfink]

I do the same thing, but with sriracha instead of horseradish... though that does sound good! :D

[timbit1985]

You could also try making my amazing One Minute Mayonaise with horseradish or wasabi. Chipolte and Garlic or a straight up chilli mayo would be epic with these as well.

http://www.instructables.com/id/One-Minute-Mayonnaise/

[suayres]

Or you can put 'em in a big mixing bowl & toss everything together. I'd think you can vary the seasonings with everything from cinnamon to curry powder to chili powder. Sweet potatoes are a perfect blank canvas!

[PGraking]

Sounds tasty i cant wait to try it

[Ezara]

Thanks for the instructable.. very easy to follow.
I made them and the whole family enjoyed them!

[etanner]

I made these a few weeks ago using a similar recipe. I LOVE sweet potatoes. They have been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl. However, I NEVER use a microwave for my potatoes. I have tried potatoes in the past that were cooked in the microwave and some that were just precooked and it changes the flavor for me. It may not be that noticeable for most but I am one of those that can tell if something is fresh or frozen and oven baked or nuked just by taste.

[ronneygirl]

I LOVE sweet potato fries! I can't wait to give these a try. Thanks so much!

[felawyn]

These sound delicious! I never liked sweet potatoes until I discovered cooking them without any extra sweetner. I think I'll try them with a little cayenne added for extra kick.

[rangerjim]

These sound awesome and I plan to make them tonight. However, I am also roasting a glazed pork tenderloin @ 350 and don't want the meat to get cold by the time the fries are done. I think I am going to try "pre-cooking" the potatoes for a few minutes in the microwave and then put in them in at 450 and turn on the speed bake feature (cooks 30% faster by circulating the air in the oven) unless you have a btter suggestion.