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This Baked Sweet Potato Fries recipe is legit-crispy, easy to make, perfectly seasoned, and guaranteed to disappear pretty much…immediately. :)
Craving some ultra-crispy baked sweet potato fries to go with those ultra-crispy chicken nuggets we talked about on Monday?
I’ve been experimenting with a variety of different methods for making homemade sweet potato fries all month, and I now feel like I can confidently stand by my title here — guys, this baked sweet potato fries recipe really is the best!
First off, they are legit crispy. As in, there’s not a soggy fry in sight here even though they’re baked instead of fried, thanks to a few easy tricks. Second, they have a light garlicky seasoning, which achieves that irresistible salty-sweet-salty-sweet balance that’ll keep you reaching back for more. Third, they’re naturally gluten-free and vegetarian and vegan, yay. But mainly?! They are totally do-able in your very own kitchen, which is great news for sweet potato fry lovers everywhere.
Let’s make a batch!
THE BEST BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES | 1-MINUTE VIDEO
10 Essentials for ActuallyCrispy Fries:
Ok, let’s talk about technique here for a minute. Because there are a few things you need to know to make your sweet potato fries actually crispy. (And thus avoid the saddest thing in the world — soggy fries. Always a tragedy.)
The good news here? Crispy fries are easy to make. The honest news? They are going to take a little extra time to make, versus just chopping and tossing some potatoes in the oven. But trust me, these few extra steps are totally worth it. Here are the essentials:
1. Cut evenly-sized fries: Your first step here is one that will make the biggest difference — take the time to evenly cut your fries. About 1/4-inch thick, to be exact. This will help avoid having fries that are over- or under-cooked, and will help them be the proper size to get nice and crispy.
2. Give them a cold water bath: Once your fries are chopped, toss them into a large bowl. Then cover the fries completely with cold water and let them soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight). This will help to rinse off the excess starch and help the potatoes crisp up beautifully in the oven. Once the potatoes have soaked, rinse and drain them. Then — also very important — use a towel to pat them down until they are nice and dry before moving onto the next step.
3. Coat with cornstarch: The next key to crispy fries? Cornstarch. Yep, it’s the secret ingredient that helps achieve that perfectly crispy exterior on a variety of baked recipes, and it’s essential with baked fries. Whisk together the cornstarch and dry seasonings (garlic powder, smoked paprika and black pepper) and toss them with the fries, after they have been coated in oil. But be sure to…
4. Wait on the salt: We’ll add it on at the very end, which will also help reduce the soggy factor and allow you to salt to taste. Win-win.
5: Use parchment paper: This will help prevent the fries from sticking and help them crisp up nicely. Just be sure, though, that you use a brand of parchment paper that can withstand 425°F cooking temperatures. If not, you can also just bake these on a greased cooking sheet.
6. Don’t crowd the pan: Once you add your fries to the baking sheet — very important — be sure that they are laying in an even, single layer. If they are overlapping on top of each other, the fries on the bottom won’t have the chance to get as crispy. So go for an even layer and try not to completely crowd the pan. (If the fries are overlapping, use a larger pan or two smaller pans.)
7. Bake at high heat: This will help the fries to get nice and crispy.
8. Take the time to flip all of the fries: Once the fries have baked halfway through, you need to give them a good flip. Which — I will be the first to admit — isn’t the most graceful or speedy of processes. But it’s worth it. So grab a spatula, and even if it takes an extra few minutes, be sure that each of those fries has made a 180° flip.
9. Wait just 5 more minutes: Once the fries are nice and crispy and ready to go, remove the pan from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Season the fries with lots of salt. Then resist the urge to take a bite and let the fries rest on the baking sheet for 5 more minutes. It will help them crisp up a bit more and be ready to serve.
10: Then dig in! Then once your french fries are ready to go…enjoy immediately! Fries are definitely best fresh outta the oven, and they will start to get soggy (as any fries will) once they sit out for too long. So go for it!
Baked Sweet Potato Fries Ingredients:
Alright, let’s talk ingredients! To make these homemade sweet potato fries, you will need:
Sweet potatoes: Organic, if possible. I also like to peel my sweet potatoes, but you’re welcome to leave the skins on if you prefer. Just be sure to give them a nice good scrub beforehand.
Olive oil: Or any cooking oil that you prefer.
Cornstarch: As mentioned above, to help the potatoes crisp up
Seasonings: I like a simple mixture of garlic powder, smoked paprika and black pepper. But feel free to use whatever seasonings you love.
Sea salt: Nice and fine, which we will sprinkle on at the very end.
How To Make Sweet Potato Fries:
To make these oven-roasted sweet potato fries, simply:
Cut your fries: Evenly-sized matchsticks, about 1/4-inch wide.
Soak in cold water: Soak the fries in cold water for at least 30 minutes. Then rinse, drain and pat dry.
Toss with oil: Transfer fries to a dry bowl or ziplock bag, and toss evenly with oil.
Toss with cornstarch and seasonings: Then toss the fries with your cornstarch/seasoning mixture.
Transfer to parchment-covered baking sheet: And spread out the fries in a nice even layer.
Bake until crispy: Being sure to remove the pan and flip the fries halfway through.
Let cool: Remove the baking sheet from the oven, season the fries generously with salt, and rest for 3-5 more minutes.
ENJOY! Then serve and enjoy immediately!
How To Customize Your Sweet Potato Fries:
Enjoy customizing your fries? Feel free to:
Add cheese: I’m a big fan of sprinkling on some fresh Parmesan right outta the oven, or any other kind of shredded cheese that you might enjoy. (Feel free to add it in the last few minutes of baking, if you would prefer it to be melted.)
Add some heat: Cayenne is a great addition to your seasoning mix, if you would like these to have a bit of heat.
Add other dry seasonings: In place of the garlic-paprika-black-pepper mix, feel free to sub in any of your favorite dry seasoning mixes, such as:
This Baked Sweet Potato Fries recipe is legit-crispy, easy to make, perfectly seasoned, and guaranteed to disappear pretty much…immediately.
Ingredients
Scale
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
fine sea salt, to taste
Instructions
Slice your sweet potatoes into long, thin strips, about 1/4-inch wide. It’s important that the fries are uniformly sized for even cooking. Add the fries to a large bowl of cold water and soak for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight).
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet (or two medium baking sheets*) with parchment paper, or mist with cooking spray. Set aside.
Drain the fries, rinse out and dry your bowl of water, then blot dry the fries with a clean towel.
Add the fries back to the clean bowl.* Then drizzle evenly with the olive oil, and toss until they are evenly coated.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, garlic powder, smoked paprika and black pepper until combined. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the bowl of fries, then toss until the fries are evenly coated and the cornstarch has soaked into the oil.
Spread the fries out in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Be sure that the fries aren’t overlapping, or else they will not cook evenly.
Bake for 15 minutes. Then remove pan from oven, and take the time to flip each fry with a spatula. Rearrange so that the fries are evenly spaced and not overlapping again. Then bake for 10-15 more minutes, or until the fries are crispy and have begun to brown a bit on the tips.
Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack, sprinkle with your desired amount of salt, then let the fries rest for 5 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
Baking sheets: If you need to spread the fries out between two baking sheets, be sure to switch their positions on the top and bottom oven shelves at the halfway point when you flip the fries.
Mixing the fries: Or you can do this step in a large ziplock bag, if you prefer, which makes the fries a bit easier to toss with the cornstarch mixture.
Recipe edit: I edited this recipe in September 2020 to reduce the amount of cornstarch, per feedback from our readers.
Made these with avocado oil instead of olive oil (due to higher smoke point) and ended up with soggy fries. Soaked in cold water for 3 hours. Still tasty but still on the hunt for crispy baked fries!
Followed the recipe to the T and they turned out amazing!!!
Restaurant-standard, crispy, satisfying, moreish sweet potato fries!
Delicious – 100% recommend!
Found this works best with Rapeseed oil which crisps much better. Also found the soaking part unnecessary – why remove starch (which crisps things up) and then toss it in starch? Didn’t need to turn them half way either just give them a bit of a stir. Came out perfect. Top recipe and even sized is crucial – I found you could simplify and still get excellent results.
I made these last night, following your recipe down to each precise detail (weighing, measuring, timing etc) and the results were totally delicious!
No more soggy sweet potato chips for us – thank you so much for this great recipe!
I’ve never been able to crack the code on crispy sweet potato fries at home, but these are it! These are so, so good. Made them twice in one week and I foresee these being in regular rotation. In a rare move, I made no changes to the recipe, and it was delish as is.
Love your site and have used many recipes. My fries still came out limp and soggy. Followed directions to a “T”. Help? Should I try cooking longer? New to sweet potatoes
Made this recipe for dinner tonight-BIG hit. I am not much of a sweet potato eater but I enjoyed these too. Everyone devoured these and was wanting more. Easy to make and having ingredients on hand made this something I will definitely fix again. Thank you!
Crispy and flavorful.! Turned out great! A huge success with my picky eater. Made from homegrown sweet potatoes so eyeballed the spices but added extra paprika.
I absolutely hate sweet potatoes but these were so delicious I couldn’t stop eating them! They were a huge hit with my 2-year-old and husband. I’ll definitely be saving this recipe to make them again. Thank you so much!
ScubaSteve —
I wonder if, adding a tiny little touch of baking powder, would make it a lot more crispy. I do it for crispy wings in the oven. I know it’s meat and this is a vegetable but same principal. We’re talking a small little pinch.
I just made these tonight and they turned out wonderfully. Unfortunately I didn’t have smoked paprika but subbed for regular paprika and a bit of curry powder. Just lovely! I also made curry mayo for dipping and it was heaven. This was my first time ever making sweet potato fries and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result. Thank you :)
I want to make these for Thanksgiving and would like to prep as much as possible the night before. So can I cut them & soak overnight & just throw them in the oven right before I’m ready to serve dinner?
Thanks Ali
We did these in the Airfryer, full blast, for 20 minutes and they were excellent.
Longer soak next time, but the spicing in the rub worked really well.
Thanks for posting this and for all your hard work
We made these tonight and they were excellent. Two modifications we made for maximum crispyness: we put the pan into the oven (without the fries) when we turned it on – by the time the oven got to 425, the pan was nice and hot and the fries sizzled when they hit it. (We’ve used the ‘super hot pan’ technique with broccoli and brussels sprouts as well – anything that’s small and roasted benefits from a hot pan) We also omitted the parchment paper – we have aluminum pans, and parchment paper just slows down the heat transfer. It’s fine for large items that stick to aluminum, but for thin, oily fries, we went for direct contact.
These sadly did not turn out as well as I’d hoped. The outside of the fries had a bit of a powdery texture from the cornstarch and didn’t get as crispy as when I make them without cornstarch. Maybe the amount of oil needs to be increased?
Thank you so much for this recipe! We tried it tonight after trying several other recipes over the years that just didn’t hit the mark. This is the one to keep!!
A few modifications we made: 10 mins of additional cooking time (might have been our oven) and I was a bit nervous about the smoked paprika as it seemed overpowering when I first mixed the spices together, so I added a bit more garlic powder, but when the fries came out of the oven they were just delicious!
Thanks again :)
Thank you so much for this recipe! We tried it tonight after trying several other recipes over the years that just didn’t hit the mark. This is the one to keep!!
A few modifications we made: 10 mins of additional cooking time (might have been our oven) and I was a bit nervous about the smoked paprika as it seemed overpowering when I first mixed the spices together, so I added a bit more garlic powder, but when the fries came out of the oven they were just delicious!
Thanks again :)
DELICIOUS! Have made twice. Didn’t do cold bath & turned out great! Uniform is the ticket. Fries not uniform on 2nd batch. Some soggy & a few burned. Dipped w Honey Mustard & #2 Sirachia ( spelling) Mayo. Added a kick. Both were great bc the SP fries were so good. No longer make french fries. Sweet Potatoe fries r easy, no greasy clean up, better 4 u & TASTY! Could baking powder b used instead of Corn starch?
These were really tasty, but not very crispy for me. I couldn’t really flip them though becuase they were so stuck to the baking sheet after 15 min. I’ll try again with parchment paper and hopefully they crisp up better. Still happily ate them as the favor was great!
I could taste the cornstarch texture on these and thought it was really gross. I’m not sure if I did something wrong but mine turned out mostly soft with this gritty texture. Not my favorite technique!
Followed the recipe precisely, and it didn’t work. However, I think this recipe will work if you turn the temp down. Mine start burning on the tips before the insides were able to cook. I think if you cook these lower and slower..for longer.. these will come out great.
These aren’t crunchy , but they still are tasty. If you cook it for 40-50min until it’s a bit black…then it is crunchy a bit. But ouvbiously it won’t be crunchy as frying in the oil.
I had to increase the temperature to 450 and cook for 20 minutes each side to get them crispy . They had good flavor, will make again but start at higher temperature.
The spice combo was good but they weren’t crispy. Followed recipe and I had it on convect on sheet pan with rack. They taste yummy but they weren’t crispy. : (
These tasted GREAT but were definitely not crispy at all. I’ll try again, because of the successful comments. I feel like it would take 60 minutes of baking. The seasoning was perfect.
Unfortunately I ended up with 2 trays of sweet potato mush, despite following the recipe faithfully. I also cannot understand how these ever cook for anyone in such a short time – almost an hour later I gave up and threw them away. Sure there are better recipes out there so will keep hunting
Tasty indeed but not crispy at all. Soaked for several hours, dried them well., turned each “fry” over at 15 minutes. Used convection function set at 430 degrees. Continued to pre-heat the oven for 15 minutes after it reached 430. I’ve also tried Mark Bittman’s recipe and his “fries” aren’t crispy either.
These were delish! They didn’t crisp up but I may try them in the air fryer next time. However, my family and I thought that they tasted delicious and we’ll definitely make them again!
Made these with avocado oil instead of olive oil (due to higher smoke point) and ended up with soggy fries. Soaked in cold water for 3 hours. Still tasty but still on the hunt for crispy baked fries!
Do you know if you can substitute Arrowroot Powder instead of Cornstarch?
Yes, I did and it worked great
Stat tuned… this was not ok followed the directions perfectly. I will post when I get this right.
Followed the recipe to the T and they turned out amazing!!!
Restaurant-standard, crispy, satisfying, moreish sweet potato fries!
Delicious – 100% recommend!
Errr they were okay. Not like the pictures show, for some reason the cornflour made it more chewy? than crunchy
It’s cornstarch NOT cornflour
You did well, and to the other reply Cornstarch IS Cornflour in the UK
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe.
Found this works best with Rapeseed oil which crisps much better. Also found the soaking part unnecessary – why remove starch (which crisps things up) and then toss it in starch? Didn’t need to turn them half way either just give them a bit of a stir. Came out perfect. Top recipe and even sized is crucial – I found you could simplify and still get excellent results.
I made these last night, following your recipe down to each precise detail (weighing, measuring, timing etc) and the results were totally delicious!
No more soggy sweet potato chips for us – thank you so much for this great recipe!
I’ve never been able to crack the code on crispy sweet potato fries at home, but these are it! These are so, so good. Made them twice in one week and I foresee these being in regular rotation. In a rare move, I made no changes to the recipe, and it was delish as is.
These are the best crispiest sweet potato fries ever! I’m addicted.
Love your site and have used many recipes. My fries still came out limp and soggy. Followed directions to a “T”. Help? Should I try cooking longer? New to sweet potatoes
How long , approx, do you bake before the ‘flip’. You say 5 minutes after, but what about before?
Made this recipe for dinner tonight-BIG hit. I am not much of a sweet potato eater but I enjoyed these too. Everyone devoured these and was wanting more. Easy to make and having ingredients on hand made this something I will definitely fix again. Thank you!
What is the green herb on thr fries?
Crispy and flavorful.! Turned out great! A huge success with my picky eater. Made from homegrown sweet potatoes so eyeballed the spices but added extra paprika.
I absolutely hate sweet potatoes but these were so delicious I couldn’t stop eating them! They were a huge hit with my 2-year-old and husband. I’ll definitely be saving this recipe to make them again. Thank you so much!
I wonder if, adding a tiny little touch of baking powder, would make it a lot more crispy. I do it for crispy wings in the oven. I know it’s meat and this is a vegetable but same principal. We’re talking a small little pinch.
I just made these tonight and they turned out wonderfully. Unfortunately I didn’t have smoked paprika but subbed for regular paprika and a bit of curry powder. Just lovely! I also made curry mayo for dipping and it was heaven. This was my first time ever making sweet potato fries and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result. Thank you :)
I want to make these for Thanksgiving and would like to prep as much as possible the night before. So can I cut them & soak overnight & just throw them in the oven right before I’m ready to serve dinner?
Still have yet for these to come out crispy, made them many times now and they taste good but have not been crispy
Not crispy at all the same as every other time I have made sweet potato fries. They tasted nice enough though with the seasoning.
Thanks Ali
We did these in the Airfryer, full blast, for 20 minutes and they were excellent.
Longer soak next time, but the spicing in the rub worked really well.
Thanks for posting this and for all your hard work
I’m going to make these for supper tonight! Hopefully they turn out ? Do you have any nutrition info for them?
We made these tonight and they were excellent. Two modifications we made for maximum crispyness: we put the pan into the oven (without the fries) when we turned it on – by the time the oven got to 425, the pan was nice and hot and the fries sizzled when they hit it. (We’ve used the ‘super hot pan’ technique with broccoli and brussels sprouts as well – anything that’s small and roasted benefits from a hot pan) We also omitted the parchment paper – we have aluminum pans, and parchment paper just slows down the heat transfer. It’s fine for large items that stick to aluminum, but for thin, oily fries, we went for direct contact.
So good.
What is the green stuff in the photos?
can you sub arrow root for the cornstarch?
Mine sure didn’t turn our crispy and tasted like cornstarch. My son said he also tried this recipe once with no luck.
These sadly did not turn out as well as I’d hoped. The outside of the fries had a bit of a powdery texture from the cornstarch and didn’t get as crispy as when I make them without cornstarch. Maybe the amount of oil needs to be increased?
I want to have the fries and the ultra crispy chicken nuggets, but I only have one oven. Can I wait let the fries wait and make the nuggets?
Thank you so much for this recipe! We tried it tonight after trying several other recipes over the years that just didn’t hit the mark. This is the one to keep!!
A few modifications we made: 10 mins of additional cooking time (might have been our oven) and I was a bit nervous about the smoked paprika as it seemed overpowering when I first mixed the spices together, so I added a bit more garlic powder, but when the fries came out of the oven they were just delicious!
Thanks again :)
Thank you so much for this recipe! We tried it tonight after trying several other recipes over the years that just didn’t hit the mark. This is the one to keep!!
A few modifications we made: 10 mins of additional cooking time (might have been our oven) and I was a bit nervous about the smoked paprika as it seemed overpowering when I first mixed the spices together, so I added a bit more garlic powder, but when the fries came out of the oven they were just delicious!
Thanks again :)
AppleBees used to serve sweet potatoes fries with three dipping sauces,one of which had a smooth sweet flavor. Do you know the recipe for this sauce?
Mayo and maple syrup w a pinch of salt.
What gadget do you use to cut your fries even and uniform?
Made these tonight, followed the recipe to the letterall I got was soggy sweet potato that I refused to serve. So disappointed.
Mine did not get crispy at all. Advice?
DELICIOUS! Have made twice. Didn’t do cold bath & turned out great! Uniform is the ticket. Fries not uniform on 2nd batch. Some soggy & a few burned. Dipped w Honey Mustard & #2 Sirachia ( spelling) Mayo. Added a kick. Both were great bc the SP fries were so good. No longer make french fries. Sweet Potatoe fries r easy, no greasy clean up, better 4 u & TASTY! Could baking powder b used instead of Corn starch?
Can I mix the oil, cornstarch and spices all together and brush it on the fries for a more even coverage?
These were really tasty, but not very crispy for me. I couldn’t really flip them though becuase they were so stuck to the baking sheet after 15 min. I’ll try again with parchment paper and hopefully they crisp up better. Still happily ate them as the favor was great!
Has anyone tried boiling the potatoes for 5 minutes first before roasting? I don’t this with baby potatoes but not sure it will work for these..
I could taste the cornstarch texture on these and thought it was really gross. I’m not sure if I did something wrong but mine turned out mostly soft with this gritty texture. Not my favorite technique!
Followed the recipe precisely, and it didn’t work. However, I think this recipe will work if you turn the temp down. Mine start burning on the tips before the insides were able to cook. I think if you cook these lower and slower..for longer.. these will come out great.
Followed recipe 100%. They came out super soggy and floppy.
These aren’t crunchy , but they still are tasty. If you cook it for 40-50min until it’s a bit black…then it is crunchy a bit. But ouvbiously it won’t be crunchy as frying in the oil.
I had to increase the temperature to 450 and cook for 20 minutes each side to get them crispy . They had good flavor, will make again but start at higher temperature.
Followed this recipe and fries Did not come out crispy
This recipe is a definite keeper. They came out perfect! So delicious.
The spice combo was good but they weren’t crispy. Followed recipe and I had it on convect on sheet pan with rack. They taste yummy but they weren’t crispy. : (
These tasted GREAT but were definitely not crispy at all. I’ll try again, because of the successful comments. I feel like it would take 60 minutes of baking. The seasoning was perfect.
These are delershious.
Unfortunately I ended up with 2 trays of sweet potato mush, despite following the recipe faithfully. I also cannot understand how these ever cook for anyone in such a short time – almost an hour later I gave up and threw them away. Sure there are better recipes out there so will keep hunting
Tasty indeed but not crispy at all. Soaked for several hours, dried them well., turned each “fry” over at 15 minutes. Used convection function set at 430 degrees. Continued to pre-heat the oven for 15 minutes after it reached 430. I’ve also tried Mark Bittman’s recipe and his “fries” aren’t crispy either.
These were delish! They didn’t crisp up but I may try them in the air fryer next time. However, my family and I thought that they tasted delicious and we’ll definitely make them again!