Best Ever Crispy Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries
This recipe uses a cornstarch coating and a wire rack to achieve maximum crispiness for sweet potato fries baked in a conventional oven, avoiding sogginess.
- Prep Time: 40 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 70 min
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place a wire cooling rack on top of the parchment paper.
- Cut the sweet potatoes into uniform fry shapes, about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. Keep the skin on for best texture.
- Place the cut sweet potatoes in a large bowl and cover them completely with cold water. Soak for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 hours, to remove excess starch. Drain the water completely.
- Dry the sweet potato fries thoroughly using paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. This step is critical for crispiness.
- In the same bowl, toss the dry fries with cornstarch until lightly coated.
- Drizzle the fries with olive oil and toss again until evenly coated.
- Spread the fries in a single layer on the prepared wire rack. Do not let them touch each other.
- Sprinkle evenly with salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the fries carefully.
- Return to the oven and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the fries are deeply golden brown and crisp.
Notes
- Soaking and drying the potatoes removes surface starch, which prevents steaming and promotes crisping.
- Using a wire rack allows air to circulate around the fries, preventing the bottoms from becoming soggy.
- Do not overcrowd the rack; work in batches if necessary.
- For extra crispiness, you can increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for the last 5 minutes, watching closely to prevent burning.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 205
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 450
- Fat: 6
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 5
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 35
- Fiber: 5
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 0