These fries are SO GOOD, SUPER ADDICTIVE and honestly as easy to make up as the frozen variety (and cheaper too). I’m serious! They’re browned, caramelized and slightly crispy on the outside, and soft, sweet and tender on the inside. Yum, Yum! I will admit that these fries are not going to be crispy, like fries that have been fried, they tend to be softer like steak fries.
In the past few weeks these “fries” have become our new favorite dinner/lunch side, and one of the kid’s favorite after school snacks. I hate even calling these fries, because fries have such a bad rap, and these are healthy. I call them fries because it gets kids excited to try them, but between you and me, these are really just roasted sweet potatoes in fry form!
See, these fries make my kiddos silly and happy! I’m even getting the thumbs up from Eli’s friend Robby. Make these fries up for your kiddos and they will be happy to! 😉
These fries are SUPER easy to make. Just take a sweet potato, slice it up into fries, toss the fries with a bit of coconut oil and coarse sea salt, and then bake them in the oven for 20 minutes. The whole process from start to finish takes roughly 25 minutes. Let’s be honest, most frozen sweet potato fries take 25-30 minutes to bake up, and they’re frozen peeps, while these take less time and are fresh! Hmm… fresh or frozen, not much of a decision here.
Nutritional benefits of sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta-carotene (select ones with the darkest orange flesh, as they have the highest amount of beta-carotene). To help your body better absorb the full benefits of beta-carotene, add a healthy fat like coconut oil, butter, or ghee to your sweet potato (coconut oil is great for the brain). Sweet potatoes help stabilize blood sugar levels and improve the response to the hormone insulin. They’re one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables. They help quench thirst and lubricate dry conditions, which is perfect for us all in the winter, as that’s when most of use tend to get dry skin conditions. They’re also high in vitamin A & C, making them an easy and tasty source for kid’s to get their vitamin A.
Buying and storing: Try and purchase sweet potatoes that have a smooth skin with no bruises or scars, and be sure to store sweet potatoes in a dry, cool place.
I baked up some fries for lunch the other day and paired with my favorite kale salad, and I have to say that I was one happy Marin mama! This lunch kept me full and satisfied until dinner!
I like to keep these fries on simple side by just using coconut oil and sea salt, but feel free to spice them up and add a pinch of cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika or curry powder. It’s really up to you!
easy oven baked sweet potato fries:
serves 4 as a side
- 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, washed and scrubbed
- 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil, or olive oil, melted- You just want enough oil to lightly and evenly coat the fries
- coarse celtic sea salt – approx 1 teaspoon or more depending on how salty you like your fries
- optional – freshly ground pepper – I did not add this, as my kid’s are not huge pepper fans
Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees!
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
MARIN MAMA TIPS:
- Don’t bake the sweet potato fries with anything else in the oven, as they will not turn out very crispy.
- Don’t overcrowd the fries or cook them too close together, or else they will sweat instead of brown and crisp up.
You can peel the sweet potatoes, or keep the skin on and scrub and wash the potatoes. I prefer to keep the skin on, as it adds some dietary fiber! My kids don’t mind the skin at all either.
After washing and scrubbing the sweet potato, dry it using either a towel or paper towel. If the sweet potato is too wet then the fries will be soggy.
Slice off the two skinny ends.
Cut the sweet potato in half crosswise.
Take each half of the sweet potato and cut it into planks, about 3/4 inch thick.
I usually get about 4-5 planks from each half.
Then cut the planks into fries. Try to cut them all evenly, so they all cook at the same rate.
I typically get about 4-5 fries per slice.
Put the fries in a large bowl and toss them with the coconut oil and sea salt.
Use only enough oil to lightly and evenly coat the fries. You don’t want them sitting in a pool of oil.
Once everything’s mixed, lift up the fries and space them out evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
Make sure they’re not touching and have ample space around them, or else they will get soggy and not crisp up.
Put the fries in the pre-heated 450 degree oven on the middle rack for 12 minutes, then take them out and flip them over using tongs, a spatula or your bare hands (which I tend to do because my hands are heat-resistant).
Keep an eye on the fries the first time you bake them, as every oven is different and some may cook the fries faster than 12 minutes. You definitely don’t want black fries, yuck!
Below is what my fries looked like after baking for 12 minutes. I flipped them, and as you can see, they’re slightly browned, puffed up and a bit crispy.
Once your fries are flipped, put them back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes. I would check your fries at the 8-minute mark and see how they’re doing. You want both sides to be puffed up in texture, evenly browned and slightly crispy. You don’t want to overcook the fries and have them be black, as they will be dry inside and taste charred.
Below is what my fries looked like after cooking for 20 minutes total (12 minutes then flip, and then an additional 8 minutes).
Note: Keep in mind that baking time may vary depending on how large you cut your sweet potatoes and how accurate your oven is.
If you want crispier fries, try adding a generous pinch of cornstarch to the fries before tossing and baking. I personally have never tried this technique, but I hear that it works. I’m honestly happy with the consistency of the fries cooking them without cornstarch, but if any of you give the cornstarch a try, let me know how it turns out for you.
Dunk these fries into some ketchup, your favorite aioli or some ketchup spiked with Sriracha! We’ve love pairing them with ketchup and chipotle mayo.
Sweet potatoes come in many varieties, not just the classic pinkish red on the outside and orange interior. I love Japanese sweet potatoes. They’re purple on the outside, white on the inside and taste amazing! As you can see sweet potato fries paired with my lacinato kale salad is my new favorite lunch!
These fries/roasted sweet poatoes are kid and mom approved!
Here’s another kid approved sweet potato recipe, oven roasted sweet potato halves. Roasting sweet potato halves is SO EASY! The whole process takes 35 minutes! Just slice those bad boys in half, slather them with melted coconut oil and some coarse sea salt, lay them face down on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake them for approx 30 minutes in a pre-heated 400 degree oven. When they come out, they’re caramelized on the flesh and soft and sweet on the inside. Delish! These are simply amazing and may even become your new favorite side dish!
- 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, washed and scrubbed
- 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil, or olive oil, melted- You just want enough oil to lightly and evenly coat the fries
- coarse sea salt - approx 1 teaspoon or more depending on how salty you like your fries
- optional - freshly ground pepper - I did not add this, as my kid's are not huge pepper fans
- Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees! Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- MARIN MAMA TIPS: Don't bake the sweet potato fries with anything else in the oven, as they will not turn out very crispy. Don't overcrowd the fries or cook them too close together, or else they will sweat instead of brown and crisp up.
- You can peel the sweet potatoes, or keep the skin on and scrub and wash the potatoes. I prefer to keep the skin on, as it adds some dietary fiber! My kids don't mind the skin at all either.
- After washing and scrubbing the sweet potato, dry it using either a towel or paper towel. If the sweet potato is too wet then the fries will be soggy.
- Slice off the two skinny ends.Cut the sweet potato in half crosswise.
- Take each half of the sweet potato and cut it into planks, about ¾ inch thick. I usually get about 4-5 planks from each half.
- Then cut the planks into fries. Try to cut them all evenly, so they all cook at the same rate. I typically get about 4-5 fries per slice.
- Put the fries in a large bowl and toss them with the coconut oil and sea salt. Use only enough oil to lightly and evenly coat the fries, as you don't want them sitting in a pool of oil.
- Once everything's mixed, lift up the fries and space them out evenly on the prepared baking sheet. Make sure they're not touching and have ample space around them, or else they will get soggy and not crisp up.
- Put the fries in the pre-heated 450 degree oven on a center rack for 12 minutes, then take them out and flip them over using tongs, a spatula, or your bare hands (which I tend to do because my hands are heat-resistant). Keep an eye on the fries the first time you bake them, as every oven is different and some may cook the fries faster than 12 minutes. You definitely don't want black fries, yuck!
- Once your fries are flipped, put them back in the oven for another 8-10 minutes. I would check your fries at the 8-minute mark and see how they're doing. You want both sides to be puffed up in texture, evenly browned and slightly crispy. You don't want to overcook the fries and have them be black, as they will be dry inside and taste charred. Note: Keep in mind that baking time may vary depending on how large you cut your sweet potatoes and how accurate your oven is.
- If you want crispier fries, try adding a generous pinch of cornstarch to the fries before tossing and baking. I personally have never tried this technique, but I hear that it works. I'm honestly happy with the consistency of the fries cooking them without cornstarch, but if any of you give the cornstarch a try, let me know how it turns out for you.
- Dunk these fries into some ketchup, your favorite aioli or some ketchup spiked with Sriracha! We've love pairing them with ketchup and chipotle mayo.
- These fries are kid and mom approved!
I’ve been on the PALEO diet for over a year now. I lost 35# during the first 6 months and keeping it off. I’m going to do the Sweet Potato Fries and some Kale recopies. Thank you for your site!
A little tip I figured out some time ago. I do similar to both sweet and white potatoes. The difference with my routine is that I get a crispy outside similar to deep frying. Start out the same as you describe. For a big batch for two people, I use a teaspoon or two of your favorite veggie oil. That’s all it takes for 2-3 medium spuds. I prefer fresh peanut or coconut oil. The MCTs in coconut are important to me. If you use coconut, the spuds must be at room temp and the oil warmed to properly coat. Yes, you can use olive, but it adds a strange flavor to me. I just flip the spuds and oil in a larger bowl. Here’s the important difference. I use a 9 X 12 steel cake pan with a footed wire cooling rack on top. Lay the coated and salted fries on the cooling rack. It’s not even critical that they are not overlapping a bit. The key is to place the pan/rack/ and fries into a convection oven pre-warmed to about 375 F. They fries cook in about 20-25 minutes. Why it so effective is the the hot air circulates around the fries and cooks and crisps all sides of the fries without burning them. The middle remains soft and fluffy. Set the cooked fries on a paper plate after cooking. Virtually no oil stains. My method is the forerunner of the air fryers now growing popular. It’s perhaps more effective and more cost efficient. Try dry coated (I like Dixie Fry) chicken this way. It’s amazing. Crisp and juicy!
Wow Phil! Thanks for the very detailed tip. I’m totally going to give that a try! My readers will appreciate your tip as well, as I know there are people out there that want crispy fries 🙂 xoxo, Jacquelyn
i like how you made them thicker and not thin. The problem I have with sweet potato fries sometimes is they don’t hold up as well being thin as regular potatoes- yet for some reason I have never thought to make them thicker. LOVE IT!
Yum! I have sweet potatoes wrapped in tinfoil ready to be baked, but I think I’ll try this recipe instead! Dinner tonight will be baked Orange Roughy, sweet potato fries and roasted asparagus!!!
Hi Nicole! Yum! What’s baked Orange Roughy? It sounds interesting! Just a heads up, I wouldn’t bake the sweet potatoes on tin foil, as it tends to burn them, so just use a plain old baking sheet. Also, parchment paper makes them soggy! I should add that to the post! I hope you and your crew enjoys these! Have a great Monday! xoxo, Jacquelyn
Orange Roughy is a salt water fish. My favorite is flounder, and I also like orange roughy because it is similar. I grew up on the Gulf coast of Florida and orange roughy can be caught there, as well as flounder. I know it’s been two years since these comments, but I hope this helps. Thanks for your recipe!
I love sweet potato fries. Yours are thicker than I’ve ever made mine but I want to try them this way! Looks super delicious.
What’s the oven temperature and where do you position the rack for these fries ?
Hi Bruce! The oven temperature is 450 degrees and I usually position my rack in the center of the oven for all of my roasting, so third rack. I hope that helps! xoxo, Jacquelyn
Def gonna try these!
I hope you and the gang love them girl!!! 🙂