Created by Laura Wright
Jump to Recipe
Pin Recipe
5 from 5 votes
These are the best crispy baked sweet potato fries. I share lots of tips to avoid soggy fries as well as my foolproof crisping method. There's also a roasted garlic tahini yogurt dip for dipping the fries!
Did you see my Instagram post last week? I’ve been working on these crispy baked sweet potato fries. This food has been covered exhaustively on the internet, but I do feel that my findings here will add something to the discussion. I even busted out the measuring tape for this one! It’s gonna be that kind of post today.
Let me start by saying: I always order sweet potato fries at restaurants. Like, the fried ones that usually cost an extra dollar to be served alongside your burger/sandwich/wrap etc. When they’re right (lightly crispy, well-salted to balance the sweet, no burnt-but-still-soggy bits), they’re SO right. I crave them regularly.
I don’t deep fry at home though, reserving that special “treat yourself” moment for when we’re out. With that in mind, it can be difficult to bake a tray of sweet potato fries that don’t taste like regular old roasted sweet potatoes–which I do love! But when I want fries, that’s a separate craving. Crispy, salty, sturdy enough to pick up with your fingers, dip-able. You know?
SO! Here’s a rundown of my necessaries if you want bomb crispy baked sweet potato fries. These are ALL non-negotiables for me:
Precision cuts! I cut my fries in the area of 3 inches long and ½ an inch thick. You want them all the same to avoid over/under done portions. Chunky, rustically cut, large fries won’t crisp up properly because it’s just too much sweet potato. Think of it as a lightly meditative knife skills exercise.
A little soak. My mum makes truly epic homemade french fries and she always soaks them in cold water prior to frying. This step draws extra starch out of your sweet potatoes, which in turn helps us avoid any burnt fry edges (burnt sweet potato is one of the ickiest tastes, seriously). Leave them totally submerged for a minimum of one hour or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. You must dry them thoroughly after draining.
Arrowroot is our MVP. I’ve seen baked versions of sweet potato fries with cornstarch or cornmeal added to crisp them up. I wanted to avoid corn because I know that a lot of people in this community avoid it or have allergies. Here, the dried sweet potatoes are tossed with arrowroot to coat. It’s a starch that I lean on often to thicken mixtures and with this recipe, it starches up the edges of our fries and makes them sturdy.
Oil spray that can take the heat. You need a thin, even coating of oil on the lining of your baking sheet and the fries themselves. Spray oil is far and away the best option. I use the avocado oil spray from Chosen Foods because it can handle high temperatures without breaking down and there aren’t any weird propellants int his product. I’ve tried these fries with regular oil that you pour from the bottle and it’s just so finicky to get it on each fry and you wind up using too much.
Spacing and flipping. You can’t just dump these fries on the baking sheet and slam them in the oven. Each one has to have its own little bubble of space and must be flipped carefully at the halfway point of the 50 minute baking process to retain said space. I never said that this recipe was low maintenance!
You have to wait on the salt. Salt immediately draws out moisture wherever it lands, and you definitely want to avoid that here. You can go in with your other seasonings prior to baking though! Once the sweet potato fries are totally done, quickly transfer them to a large bowl and toss them with a fat pinch of fine sea salt. Fleur de sel is beautiful and special, but you need a fine salt that’s going to stick to these fries immediately.
Make a dip worthy of these magnanimous fries that you basically just spent an entire week working on, seriously. I’ve included a recipe for a roasted garlic tahini yogurt dip with herbs here, but I also enjoy these fries with ketchup. Alternatively, perhaps a nice Sheet Pan Gravy? The Chile Lime Tahini Sauce from these Grilled Sweet Potatoes would be another great option. If you’ve made it this far and your eyes aren’t rolling out of your head at the precision of it all, I hope that you make these! You’ll be so happy.
Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Roasted Garlic Tahini Yogurt Dip
These are the best crispy baked sweet potato fries. I share lots of tips to avoid soggy fries as well as my foolproof crisping method. There's also a roasted garlic tahini yogurt dip for dipping the fries!
5 from 5 votes
Print Recipe
Prep Time: 25 minutes mins
Cook Time: 50 minutes mins
Resting Time: 1 hour hr
Total Time: 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Servings 2 -4
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic Tahini Yogurt Dip
- 1 head of garlic
- oil
- generous ½ cup unsweetened non-dairy yogurt of choice
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 1 small handful chopped fresh parsley
- 1 small handful chopped fresh mint
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- 2 small-medium sweet potatoes, peeled (about 750 grams total)
- 2-3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- cayenne, cinnamon, thyme, garlic powder, rosemary, turmeric or any other SALT-FREE seasoning that you like (we’re adding salt at the very end)
- high heat-tolerant oil spray (I like avocado oil)
- fine sea salt, to taste
Notes
- I would not go off-script here. I’m all for making recipes your own, but if you’re expecting perfectly crispy results, I’d follow this recipe to a tee the first go-around.
- If you’re down with using cornstarch, you can use the same amount of it in place of the arrowroot.
- Some of you may know this, but my preferred coconut yogurt is Anita’s. Use any unsweetened, slightly thick yogurt that you like though.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. If your baking sheet is well-seasoned, you can skip the parchment lining.
Make the dip: Cut the top ½ inch off of the garlic head. Tear a piece of foil (enough to wrap around the garlic) and place the garlic head in the middle. Drizzle oil on top, letting it seep into the garlic cavities. Wrap the garlic up and place it in the oven. Roast the garlic until squidgy and golden inside, about 45 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Place the yogurt into a small bowl. Squeeze the cooled roasted garlic into the bowl. Add the lemon juice, tahini, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper to the yogurt mixture. Mash and stir it all together with a fork until combined. Cover the bowl and set aside in the refrigerator.
Make the fries: Cut the sweet potatoes into 3-inch long and ½ -inch thick fries. Place the cut sweet potatoes into a large bowl and cover them with cold water. Let them sit for at least an hour or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
Drain the sweet potatoes and lay them on a clean kitchen towel. Place another clean kitchen towel on top and loosely roll them all up. Massage the little towel sweet potato roll-up for a bit so that the fries are as dry as possible.
In another large bowl, toss the cut sweet potatoes with the arrowroot powder and SALT-FREE seasonings of your choice (salt is happening later). The cut sweet potatoes should have a light, powdery coating of arrowroot.
Spray the parchment on your baking sheet evenly with the oil spray. Arrange the sweet potatoes in rows on the baking sheet. Spray the tops of the sweet potatoes with the oil spray before sliding them into the oven.
Bake the sweet potato fries for 25 minutes or very lightly browned in spots and the arrowroot is forming a light “webbing” on the undersides of the fries. Remove the fries from the oven and carefully flip them all over. Slide the sweet potato fries back into the oven and bake for another 25 minutes.
At the end of the 25 minutes, the sweet potato fries should have some strong brown spots and crisp exteriors. If they still look like they need crisping, carefully flip them one more time and bake until they’ve reached your desired doneness.
Quickly transfer the fries to a large bowl and toss them with a fat pinch of sea salt. Warning: when they’re piping hot, they won’t FEEL completely crispy yet. Place the hot fries on your serving plate in a single layer along with your roasted garlic tahini yogurt dip. After they sit for a few seconds, they will start to get that super crispy quality.
Author: Laura Wright
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American
Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword: 10 ingredients, 5 ingredients, all seasons, arrowroot powder, avocado oil, cayenne, cinnamon, fall, game day, garlic, herbs, lemon, mint, non dairy yogurt, oil spray, olive oil, parsley, spring, summer, sweet potatoes, tahini, turmeric, winter
25/10/2017 (Last Updated 12/07/2023)
Posted in: appetizer, autumn, creamy, earthy, gluten free, grain-free, nut free, refined sugar-free, roasted, salty, sauce, side dish, snack, spring, summer, sweet, sweet potatoes, tahini, vegan, winter
33 comments
-
Kristen Kinsman Laura, saw all your sweet potato recipes in your “roundup” on Instagram. Can’t wait to try them! For this one, do you really use every clove in the entire large head of roasted garlic? Seems like a lot so I wanted to check before making. THANK YOU! will let you know how it turns out ❤️
Reply
-
Laura Hi Kristen!
I really do use every clove, but feel free to just use half (or as much as you feel comfortable with), and then save the rest for another use! You can always taste as you go and add more.
-LReply
-
Jackie Hofilena Question- could I do 2 sheets in the same oven? Would that make a difference?
Reply
-
Laura Yes you could definitely do this!
-LReply
-
Nicky Holy mother of f*** are these good. My bf and I both were floored. Followed your recipe to the T. Turned out PERFECT. Crispy but not too crispy and totes healthy. Plus that sauce is BOMBDIG. Well played, wizard, well played.
Reply
-
Amanda U My mandolin has a 1/4″ fry blade, decided to try it out with this recipe (too much chaos in this house for knife work to be meditative) — worked like a charm, used the time saved to read up on dip options.
Reply
-
Mackenzie @ Nibble to Nourish This recipe looks fantastic! I’m a huge sweet potato lover and have been searching for the secret for crispier fries. I definitely plan to try this one out!
Reply
-
Claire P Yummy! :) it looks so delicious and I love sweet potato thanks a lot for sharing the recipe :)
Reply
-
Daniel Made these tonight. They were great. Thank you.
Reply
-
Ruby Yessss these sound absolutely perfect! Your meticulous hard work has for sure paid off here and I cannot wait to try this method <3
Reply
-
Alyssa Gargiulo These look delicious and I LOVE your website. It’s seriously my current vibe. Question: will you be posting a Thanksgiving/fall menu or recipes? Looking for some inspiration so I can avoid making the same old dishes.
Reply
-
Laura Hi Alyssa!
I have all of my holiday-appropriate recipes rounded up here: https://thefirstmess.com/vegan-holiday-recipes/
-LReply
-
Diego Lopes I don’t know what potatoes have against me, but I rarely get them right and crispy…hopefully your recipe will change that! =)
Reply
-
Hilaire oh wow! My husband and I were JUST talking about how baked sweet potato ANYTHING (fries/tots) never comes out crispy enough!
Can’t wait to try out these methods – thanks!Reply
-
Maggie Bergius This is my method of making sweet potato fries too! They are delicious! I will defenitly try the dip-sauce, looks great!
Reply
-
Zita @The Puur Blog Finally! Thank you for this recipe <3 I'm in love with sweet potatoes, but I just couldn't get them crispy no matter how hard I tried. Now I'll try your method, I can't wait. :)
Reply
-
Carlos At Spoonabilities The sweet potatoes fries look delicious and the photos are mouthwatering!
I always have issues trying to bake a crispy sweet potato. i will give a try your recipe:)Reply
-
Laine That you for all the tips, Laura! I’ve never tried soaking my fries in the water before baking. Will give this recipe a go on the weekend! :)
Reply
-
Emily Quick question: Have you tried tossing the potatoes in olive oil vs spraying with cooking spray? I am just wondering if it makes a difference. Thank you! These look delicious and the pictures are beautiful.
Reply
-
Laura Hi Emily,
So I have tried tossing the fries in oil after tossing them in arrowroot powder and I didn’t like the results. The spray oil is still preferable because it doesn’t disturb the arrowroot coating as much, and it’s definitely less messy.
-LReply
-
Heather There is nothing I hate more than a soggy sweet potato fry. This recipe is calling my name. And like always, your photos are so dreamy.
hugs
Reply
-
Sarah | Well and Full I’m really excited to try these. I can usually make a decent roasted (and soft) sweet potato, but the element of crisp has always eluded me.
Reply
-
sara forte Oh I generally do not like high maintenance.exact sort of recipes but I am so making these! They sound perfect and I appreciate how much time you dedicated to this. You’re amazing.
Reply
-
Tonie Osborne I am definitely going to try this but I love a cilantro lime sour cream dressing w them. Just like the grill at Nordstrom’s used to have. My friends and I would go there all the time just to get them. Then they changed sauce and now we hardly go anymore!
Reply
-
Rachel @Clean Eating for the Non-Hippie Sadly, I do not tolerate arrowroot, is there a replacement, even if not quite as effective? Thx!
Reply
-
Laura So in the recipe notes I recommend cornstarch as a one-for-one replacement, but other options you could explore (off the top of my head) include tapioca starch or even potato starch. I have not tried this recipe with the tapioca or potato starch, so cannot guarantee the success rate unfortunately.
-LReply
-
Amanda Your work here is done.
Reply
-
Kimberley This is the stuff of my dreams. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting for the rest of us.
Reply
-
Kat Downs If recipes can be spirit animals, this is mine. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Reply
-
Jessie Snyder Genuinely appreciate your commitment to this process Laura! Cannot wait to give these a try :). I made your root vegetable dal for dinner the other night and it was so amazing and comforting (had it two nights in a row). Just on a Laura-kick and I love it – xo.
Reply
-
Abby @ Heart of a Baker I really appreciate the LEGIT crispy title of this! haha. I’m with you, when sweet potato fries are done right, they are ohhh so right. You are a fry queen and I can’t wait to make these!
Reply
-
Erin at Pure Feast I’ve made sweet potato fries with cornmeal before (wasn’t too crazy about them), but I’m super excited about trying them with arrowroot. T H A N K S !
Reply
-
Marta I LOVE this! I can’t seem to make a tray without a soggy and/or burnt sweet potato somehow… meh – NEver tried to coat them with any starch though! I like the meditative part of chopping veggies (and do it often!) I feel like all this “trouble” just makes it all taste better in the end :) Will try this soon with the sauce – yum! Have a wonderful day Laura!
Reply
