The BEST Crispy Homemade Sweet Potato Fries Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why won t my sweet potato fries get crispy? ›

The secret to crispy (instead of soggy) sweet potato fries is to spread them out in an even layer with enough room so that they don't touch. This is especially important if you're making a big batch of fries. Instead of just piling more onto one baking pan, spread them out over two baking pans or cook them in batches.

Sweet potato fries are slightly higher in calories and carbs but also more nutrient dense than French fries. The greatest nutrient difference is that French fries have no vitamin A, while sweet potato fries are high in this nutrient. Vitamin A is important for your vision and immune system ( 2 ).

If you'd like, you can soak the sweet potato slices for 30 minutes up to 2 hours before frying to remove excess starch. Personally, though, going through this step didn't make a real difference for my fries. Peels on or off — it's up to you!

A standard sweet potato has a lot of moisture, and its structure makes it behave less like a starchy potato, and more like a vegetable like squash or rutabaga. To make a sweet potato crispy, you have to choose the right sweet potato.

The Double-Fry Method

When it comes to the actual cooking, you want to fry the french fries twice. The first round is at a lower temperature to cook the inside of the potato and the second time you'll use a higher temperature to make the fries golden brown and crispy.

The same 3-ounce serving of frozen sweet potato fries contains 140 calories, 5 grams of fat and typically less sodium than the regular fries. Sweet potato fries at a restaurant also land in the 400-calorie neighborhood, and the fat content also averages 20 grams; sodium can add up quickly.

Freeze Time for Sweeter Sweet Potatoes

So if you want a sweet, sweet potato, you have to cook it until it reaches 135–170°F (57–77°C). And you want to keep sweet potatoes in that range for as long as possible. That will maximize how sweet the potatoes taste.

If your air fryer fries are soggy, it is likely because you over-crowded them in the basket. The sweet potatoes steam when crowded together, instead of air frying. For the best, most crispy results, cook the fries in a single layer so that the air has room to circulate.

I wouldn't bother doing potatoes from the raw state, without soaking. It will take about a half an hour and the texture won't be nearly as rewarding. They just don't get very crispy without that cold soak.

Why do my air fryer sweet potato fries turn black? Sweet potatoes contain a higher concentration of sugar than standard potatoes, and caramelize as they cook in the air fryer. If you find the fries are darkening too quickly or deeply, cook at a lower temperature, or for a shorter period of time.

Which is crispier cornstarch or potato starch? ›

In test after test, potato starch produced the crunchiest, most cohesive coating—even when compared to cornstarch. Cornstarch samples were slightly more brittle and delicate. Not only was the potato starch coating crispier, but the crispy coating remained crispy up to 2 hours longer at room temperature.

You can peel the sweet potatoes if you like, but I prefer to leave the skin on. It's packed with fiber, and I think it makes the fries crispier! Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/4- to 1/2-inch planks.

Starch has two primary uses in the kitchen—thickening and crisping. Cornstarch can help you accomplish both, as it contains two types of starch molecules, amylose and amylopectin. Amylose is a straight, linear chain; amylopectin is highly branched.

My guess is you aren't blanching the sweet potato fries before you are frying them. In order to get crispy fries, of any type, you need to cook them twice. You begin by either boiling them in water, or frying them at 325, until they are just cooked through, but not so much that they lose their shape.

If they are still not crispy you might have skipped a step or you might not have let them cool down sufficiently. Make sure to cool them in a single even layer and also make sure that the oil has the right temperature. Or maybe you've used the wrong potatoes to make them.

Fries have a very high starch content. When they are cooked at high temperatures, they absorb moisture which gives them their signature crispy exterior. When they are left out to cool, the starches secrete moisture, which eventually makes the fries' crust soggy.

If your air fryer fries are soggy, it is likely because you over-crowded them in the basket. The sweet potatoes steam when crowded together, instead of air frying. For the best, most crispy results, cook the fries in a single layer so that the air has room to circulate.