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Air Fried Sweet Potato Fries are so delicious and make a great healthy side dish for so many meals! Treat your family to these nutritious and easy fries that come out hot and crispy with less oil and just the right amount of seasoning!
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👩🏻🍳 Why Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries are the BEST!
Healthy AND easy side dish? Sign me up! Making these fries in the air fryer means you can enjoy perfectly crispy sweet potato French fries without all that extra oil.
(Pssst....even if you don't have an air fryer, you can make these in the oven - they just might not be quite as crispy!)
Plus, you don't even need to peel the sweet potatoes. The air fried skin is delicious and adds to the nutrition of the dish. Just wash and pat dry before cutting the potato into fries.
These are great as an appetizer as well - just serve them with a ranch or chipotle dip and watch everyone munch away!
Sweet potatoes are a nutritious food, as long as you don't load them up with too much oil or fat. They are rich in beta carotene, vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. So this is a side dish you can feel good about serving to your family!
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- sweet potatoes - medium sized potatoes are fine. I try to buy potatoes that are kind of uniformly shaped, but sometimes I have to get funky shaped ones (like in the photo!).
- spray oil - just a little goes a long way! You can also use regular poured oil if you don't have spray oil.
- garlic salt - perfect complement to the slightly sweet flavor of the potatoes.
- pepper - adds complexity and boldness to the fries.
🔪 Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees F. Cut the sweet potatoes into about 1/4 inch sticks, spray them lightly with the spray oil, then place them in the mixing bowl with the garlic salt and pepper.
- Toss the potato sticks to coat.
- Place the sweet potato sticks in the air fryer basket in a single layer. You may need to cook 2 or 3 batches if your air fryer basket is small. (I use a Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 Digital Air Fryer which has a HUGE basket!)
- Halfway through the cooking time, flip or agitate the fries in the basket to ensure maximum crispiness.
👪 FAQs
Yes, they are, mainly because they are not immersed in oil. The amount of oil used in air frying is minimal, so the resulting fries have much less fat and calories and therefore they are definitely a better option.
It's not absolutely necessary, but it does seem that soaking them before cooking results in a better texture and crispiness. For me personally, I don't do it because I am always looking for ways to minimize recipe steps. However, if you want to try this, soak them for 30 minutes or more and then pat them dry before tossing with the oil, garlic salt, and pepper.
You may be overcrowding the air fryer basket. Make sure there is enough room for the fries to have some space around them for the air flow. Or, possibly your air fryer runs a little cool and you need to bump up the heat setting a bit.
I recommend that you don't bother peeling the sweet potatoes! Not only is it an extra step, but you also lose nutrition and flavor by peeling them. Go ahead and leave the peels on!
I used a mandolin slicer with French fry attachment, which is the easiest and quickest way I have found. However if you don't have one, you can do it carefully with a sharp knife. First, cut a thin slice lengthwise from one side. Then flip the potato onto the sliced side for a stable base. Then you can cut about 1/4 inch slices lengthwise until the entire potato has been sliced. Next you can flip the slices onto their sides and cut them about 1/4 inch thick the other way to make sticks.
🧊 Storage
Leftover sweet potato fries actually don't store and reheat all that well, so I recommend trying to estimate how much you will need and making just that amount.
That being said, sometimes you just have leftovers, and you don't want to waste them!
STORAGE: Store leftover fries in a lay-flat zippered storage bag or other airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-6 days.
REHEATING: The best way to reheat the leftovers is to bake them in the oven or toaster oven. If you have time, let them come to room temperature first. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread out the leftover fries on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or so, checking to make sure they are not overcooking.
💭 Helpful Tips
- Prep the fries ahead of time. You can slice and season the sweet potato fries, and then place them in a lay-flat zippered freezer bag to freeze for 5-6 months. When ready to cook, you can place them directly in the air fryer basket (no thawing needed!). Increase the air frying time to 15-20 minutes, checking frequently.
- No avocado oil? You can use another cooking oil. I like to use the avocado oil because it has a higher smoking point than olive oil and some other common oils. That being said, if what you have on hand is olive oil, go ahead and use it. You likely won't have much of a problem because this recipe only requires a small amount of oil.
- No spray oil? That's OK, too. You can use oil that you pour from a bottle. I just like to use the spray can because it makes it easy to achieve a light coating on the fries.
- Tip for getting all the fries coated evenly. You might want to try spraying the fries, then placing them in a large ziplock bag with the seasonings so you can shake the bag to toss the fries.
- Want to cook your air fryer sweet potato fries ahead of time? Actually, I would try to avoid that if you can - these taste best freshly cooked and served immediately. However, if you need to cook them earlier in the day, place them in the refrigerator when they are done and then you can reheat in an oven or toaster oven prior to serving.
- Avoid using the microwave to reheat the leftovers. Using the microwave results in mushy fries. Use the oven instead.
- Make these fries in the oven. You can absolutely use the oven! Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 - 25 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
- Make your fries extra-crispy. Toss the sweet potato sticks in a little cornstarch before spraying with oil and tossing with the seasoning. However you might need to use a little extra oil with this trick, so just be aware of that.
Make air fried sweet potato fries on a moment's notice! Prep them ahead of time by slicing and seasoning the sweet potato sticks, and then placing them in a lay-flat zippered freezer bag to freeze for 5-6 months.
📖 Variations
- Change up the seasonings! There are so many different seasoning combos you can try. Onion powder, paprika (regular, smoked, or spicy!), cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, seasoned salt, thyme...the list is endless!
- Serve with different toppings or dips, like blue cheese crumbles, chopped parsley or cilantro, ketchup, barbecue sauce, lightened up queso dip, etc. (Or even that leftover Chick-fil-A sauce - YUM!). There are many dip recipes that are quick and easy. I really love my super-flavorful Cilantro Lime Dip. See below for more homemade dip ideas.
😋 Suggested Dip Recipes
Here are some great homemade dip suggestions for your air fried sweet potato fries.
🍠 More Sweet Potato Recipes
Love sweet potatoes? They are a great healthy food option. Here are a few more sweet potato recipe ideas for you!
Check out this story on how to make Air Fried Sweet Potato Fries!
Make your own easy air fryer sweet potato fries!
Love this recipe? Awesome! Please give it a 5 star ⭐ rating below! And if you make this, snap a photo and tag me on Instagram. You can find me at DizzyBusyandHungry or #dizzybusyandhungry!
📋 Recipe Card
Air Fried Sweet Potato Fries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3-4 medium sweet potatoes
- spray oil (avocado or other cooking oil)
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 375 degrees F. Wash the sweet potatoes, then slice into about 1/4 inch sticks, trying to keep them about the same size.
- Place the sweet potato sticks into a bowl and spray them lightly with the spray oil.
- Add the garlic salt and pepper and toss to coat.
- Place the fries in the air fryer basket in a single layer. You may need to cook in batches if your basket is small. Air fry for about 8 minutes, then toss the fries and cook for another 4 minutes
- Cook times may vary based on your air fryer, so the first time you make this watch carefully and take notes.
Notes
- Use another cooking oil if you don't have avocado oil on hand.
- Try to slice your sweet potato sticks to be about the same size.
- Make sure to not overcrowd your air fryer basket as that can cause the fries to end up soggy.
- For extra-crispy fries, toss them with a little cornstarch prior to spraying them with oil and tossing with the seasonings.
- Oven directions: Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 - 25 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
- Store leftovers in a lay-flat zippered storage bag or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the oven or toaster oven (using the microwave is not recommended as the fries will become mushy).
Nutrition
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