A fast and easy recipe for making crunchy and delicious sweet potato chips as snack or scrumptious side.

Filled with vitamin A, vitamin C, beta-carotene, iron, potassium, and fiber--just to name a few--it makes sense why sweet potatoes have been and are becoming increasingly popular alongside their natural taste. Growing up, I knew sweet potatoes as the Thanksgiving tuber, cousin to the potatoes I was more accustomed to seeing at meals throughout the rest of the year. Since my childhood, sweet potatoes have been increasingly popular as a side dish and especially with sweet potato fries making an appearance on most menus and chips filing grocery store isles. With this Instructable, you can make them at home and impress all of your friends tastebuds. :)

Step 1: Materials

You'll need the following:

Sweet Potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Paprika*
Cookie Sheet
Vegetable Peeler (optional)
Mandolin and/or Kitchen Knife
Bowl

*NOTE: Paprika is just an optional flavoring that I chose for my chips. You can omit it, or substitute it with another flavor that you prefer.

Step 2: Wash & Peel

Wash your sweet potatoes under cold water. Make sure you dry them thoroughly as you'll be tossing them will oil later and water and oil do not mix.

If you'd like you can remove the skins of your sweet potatoes with a vegetable peeler. If you like skins on your chips, go ahead and leave them on, but be sure to wash them carefully.

Step 3: Slice Away

Slice your sweet potatoes into thin (1/8") rounds. The thinner they are, they crispier they'll get. I prefer using a mandolin to complete this step, but a kitchen knife with some patience and precision will also work well.

Once you are done slicing, place your sweet potato rounds into a bowl.

Step 4: Oil & Flavor

Drizzle enough olive oil on your sweet potatoes to coat them evenly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add any additional spices or flavors you would like to have on your chips. I like to add paprika, but other variations I can think of would include, garlic, maple syrup, or curry. Get creative!

Toss until al of your rounds are evenly coated.

Step 5: Spread 'Em and Bake 'Em

Set your oven to 400F.

While it heats up, spread your newly coated and spiced sweet potato rounds on to a baking sheet. Make sure that they are all spread out and not overlapping too much. You may have to bake in rounds.

Bake your chips for 17-20 minutes. I like to bake them until they are pretty crispy and usually pull them after the edges of the rounds start to curl up. If you prefer to have them retain some of their softer sweet potato centers, pull them out earlier. Remember also that like most things, your chips will continue to cook as they cool off once they are removed from the oven, plan accordingly or be okay with extra crispy chips--they're still delicious. If you're worried, just check them every couple of minutes until they are done to your liking.

Step 6: Cool and Transfer

Let your chips cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a bowl lined with paper towels. The paper towels will soak up any additional olive oil you may have on your chips and prevent soggy chips later.

Step 7: Enjoy

Eat up! Since they don't have any preservatives, they won't last for a long time so eat them quickly. Make them in batches you can eat and enjoy.

I've found that they are good along side sandwiches, by themselves, or once dipped in yogurt dip. Mmmm mmmm.