Right here, right now I am going to teach you how to make crispy sweet potato fries. But first …
Let’s get one thing straight. A sweet potato french fry is not a real french fry. I like them, I’ll eat them … but they’re not a real french fry.
They are french fry substitutes to be eaten when a real french fry can’t be found.
Yes, I know. But you loveeeeeeeee sweet potato french fries. You like them wayyyyyyyyyy better than regular french fries. That’s because you’re an amateur. I on the other hand, am a french fry professional.
I have been eating, making and lusting after french fries for as long as I can remember. I ate french fries every single day for lunch while I was in highschool. Large fries with gravy please. At the end of grade 13 … yes we had grade 13 back then … I threw up a ball of grease. So … clearly … a professional here.
Best way to eat a french fry? Salty and hot with your fingers, while walking around a flea market. Using one of those wooden forks is pretty good too. Best potato to make a french fry with? A baking potato like the Russet or Idaho because the high level of starch makes them relatively dry and therefore easier to get crispy. Best outfit for eating french fries? Shorts, flip flops and a tank top. So … clearly … again … a french fry professional here.
But … if you’re on some sort of stupid meal plan, or you’re all out of regular potatoes, or you just feel like having something a little different, why wouldn’t you cook up some Sweet Potato French Fries?
Because they’re soggy messes. That’s why.
I’ve oven baked them, par boiled them and deep fried them and they don’t get crispy. They get brown, but not crisp.
Finally, I’ve figured out how to make crispy sweet potato fries and the best part is you can do them in the deep fryer or the oven! Either way, you’ll end up with crispy fries. Guaranteed.
But like with most things, you’re more guaranteed if you do them in the deep fryer.
Here’s what you need to do …
Gather your sweet potatoes.
Get some corn starch.
Also get some olive oil. Just the cheap stuff. Not the good stuff like my favourite Lorenzo No.5. Seriously best tasting olive oil ever.
Peel your sweet potatoes. I have used the same brand of vegetable peeler for 15 years now. It’s the cheapest, most basic vegetable peeler around and it’s pretty much every cook’s favourite. It’s the Great Lash mascara of the vegetable peeling world.
Cut your sweet potatoes until they’re a medium thickness. Not hugely thick cut and not shoestring.
Let potatoes soak in water for an hour – half the day. (not mandatory, but recommended)
Preheat oven to 425°
Throw a Tablespoon or two of cornstarch into a plastic bag.
(update: I’m reducing this to a definite 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch because people were reading this as 1 to 2 to 173 Tablespoons of cornstarch. So it’s a hard 1 Tablespoon now. Got it?)
Dump a handful of sweet potatoes into the bag with the cornstarch. You don’t need to dry them with paper towels or anything. Just drain the water and then give each handful you drop in the cornstarch a good shake. Twist the top of the bag so it forms a balloon with some air inside and shake the fries around until they’re lightly coated with the cornstarch. This is important. Too much water and too much cornstarch and you’ll end up with a goopy mess. Plus your fries will taste like cornstarch.
Put your coated fries on a non stick cookie sheet.
Drizzle 2 Tbsps. of olive oil over the fries. This is if you want to be healthy.
Any vegetable oil will work. I’ve used sunflower, canola, etc. etc.
You can use as much oil as you want.
(Update: The more oil you use the easier time you’ll have of getting the fries crispy but the less healthy they will be.)
I usually go the totally unhealthy route to ensure the fries are crispy. Just keep glugging the oil until the fries are well coated.
Using your hands, make sure the fries are well coated.
Arrange them on the sheet again, so they have space between each fry. The less fries on the pan the better they’ll cook. Too many shoved together and they’ll never get crispy. They’ll just steam. So do NOT overcrowd the pan. Pop the fries into your preheated oven and cook for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile you can make the dipping sauce. Mix together 1/2 cup of mayonaise with 1 teaspoon of Sriracha sauce and 1/4 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper.
You can adjust the proportions to taste. Mix it up and taste it then adjust as you like.
Check the fries after 15 minutes, flip them over (you might have to use a spatula depending on how “non stick” your pan is) and return to the oven if necessary for another 5 minutes. The timing really depends on the size of your fry, the heat of your oven and how well your pan conducts heat.
(update: You can see the pan I’m using here is very dark, this very dark, old, used pan cooks things faster and crispier. So if you have an old pan like this use it. If you have a shiny, new baking sheet your fries will take much longer to cook, will have a greater tendency to stick and won’t get as crispy)
Maxwell Williams French Fry and dipping cup!!
If you prefer your fries deep fried, throw them in the deep fryer at the highest setting for a few minutes instead of sticking them in the oven. You STILL need to coat them in cornstarch. Even in a deep fryer, sweet potatoes fries won’t get crispy unless they have a coating of cornstarch.
This is how I do them when I’m in a rush. They’re always crispier than those from the oven, but far less healthy.
See? French fry professional.
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch
- *Dipping Sauce*
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp (or more) Sriracha sauce
- Preheat oven to 425 or deep fryer to highest setting
- Peel sweet potatoes, slice into medium thick slices (closer to thin than thick).
- Soak potatoes at least 4 hours in water.
- Drain water from sweet potatoes and shake dry with your hands.
- Put 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch into food safe plastic bag.
- Dump sweet potato fries into bag, blow some air into it, and shake bag until fries are coated.
- Place fries on cookie sheet, drizzle with a couple Tablespoons of olive oil.
- Toss fries until evenly coated with oil.
- Arrange on cookie sheet(s) with lots of space in between fries to prevent steaming.
- Cook in hot oven for 15 minutes then check.
- The fries will release from the pan when they're ready to flip the same way a steak would.
- Flip fries, and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes.
- (cooking time depends greatly on the quality of your baking sheet so keep an eye on them)
- Dipping Sauce: Mix together mayo, pepper and Sriracha sauce. Adjust to your taste.
Please note : This recipe does have a bit of a learning curve. It may take a few attempts to get your proportions of corn starch and oil correct. It took me several years to figure out how to do this, but with these instructions it shouldn’t take you more than a couple of tries.
If it doesn’t work for you, it’s not the recipe it’s either a) your technique or b) your baking pan so try again. You’ll get it. ~ karen
You are a genius. Just bought some sweet potatoes and will have to try this.
Question: I like Sriracha sauce but I get migraines from MSG. I can usually handle a little bit (honestly, you don’t need much of the stuff), but was wondering… Does an acceptable alternative exist?
Renee – There really isn’t anything around that tastes like genuine Rooster brand Sriracha sauce. It doesn’t contain MSG by the way, it contains Benzoic Acid. However, if you think you’ll still have a problem with it, you can try any hot sauce. Franks Red Hot, Melinda’s, even Tobasco. Like I said, Sriracha has a definite taste to it (delicious) but if you experiment with your own hot sauces I think you’ll be able to come up with something you like! Also I toned down the amount of Sriracha for this recipe to make it more compatible to the most amount of palates. I actually use around 2 teaspoons. ~ karen
Thanks for the reply! I did find one online that has no MSG (I thought Rooster sauce did, glad to hear it may not) – posted link below. Hard to believe it will taste as good, though 🙂
I’ll definitely use the heavier dose when I make this!
I used regular hot sauce – Chaluha; twas tasty! the fries were a big hit at home.
Kim – So you were able to get the proportion of corn starch to oil correct? ~ karen
You could probably use greek yogurt instead of the mayo too. Greek Yogurt and mashed avocados are my subs for mayo almost all the time.
KristenK – Yes, I LOVE Greek yogourt. You’re right. I usually use it as a substitute for sour cream. ~ karen
So, these were EPIC. By far the best sweet potato fry recipe I have tried. I did use use greek yogurt instead of mayo and it was tasty as well. I added dijon mustard, sriracha, and lemon. It could use some altering but the greek yogurt and sriracha was definitely a good starting point. Thanks for the recipe!
Sweet potato fries are also good with mayo mixed with curry powder and lemon juice. So if you are using 1/2 cup mayo use maybe 1/2 – 1 tsp curry powder and the same amount of lemon juice.
try some sambal olek.
even better to eat with sweet potato fries is curry mayonnaise sauce. It’s mayonnaise mixed with curry powder and salt until it tastes yummy to you!
Emma I use that for dipping artichokes! Sooo good!
apple butter is also a great dip
I just made these and they were the strangest/weirdest fries I have ever had. I cooked them for 40 minutes and they still weren’t crispy. The corn starch was still like dry corn starch and the inside of the fries was just plain weird. Definitely won’t try these again!
Well then Kevin, you did them wrong. I can tell right away you overpacked your baking pan (didn’t get crispy) and you didn’t use enough oil. So. There you have it. ~ karen
Actually they were no more packed on the pan than they are in your photo. And I used slightly more oil than you said to because I wanted to make sure there was some on each fry. Just didn’t work out well.
sounds like you didn’t use enough oil. or maybe your oven wasn’t hot enough (try an oven thermometer). either way, i made these tonight and they were amazing so the issue is definitely with you and not the recipe.
Kevin I agree with you. The cornstarch was a very, very bad idea. I followed the recipe to a T and the fries were awful, I mean inedible awful. I will never make sweet potato fries this way again. The only reason I am posting a comment is so other people don’t waste their time, sorry:(
Heather – You did something wrong. Sorry. But you did. If that weren’t the case then there wouldn’t be hundreds of comments stating how this recipe does work. I make it at least once a month and it works every time. To reiterate … sorry. ~ karen
I tried these tonight and I have to say I’m in the failed camp. I soaked them in cold water for around 45 minutes. After 30 minutes on 450F, they still weren’t crispy. I practically dipped each one in oil. The bottom of each fry got a lot of colour (even black!) but the rest of the fry remained soggy and pasty. I’ve seen other recipes that use cornstarch as a coating to get that crisp (like calamari) which is why I was sure this would work but I don’t know it didn’t. I might try it again sometime though.
Hi Doris – Did you turn the fries every 15 minutes? Also the oven temp. should be at 425, not 450. Maybe that was just a typo on your part. If all else fails, use the same technique but put them in a deep fryer. But I would bet with a couple of more tries you’ll get it all figured out. ~ karen!
People are reading your blog, therefore supporting you, and trying your recipes…. to immediately blame them for doing something wrong, as you sit all high and mighty is a little rude, and very untactful of you. Perhaps some manners in the new year.
Dear person who refused to give their name or email address. Shove it. ~ karen!
I had the same issue. Followed the recipe exactly used two cookie sheets to not crowd them and they were a soggy, soggy mess, the cornstarch probably works great if they are deep fried, but in the oven, they were inedible
After reading the comments here I followed the instructions to the letter and got the same results as you. Everything appeared exactly like the posted pics except for the result. Suggested reasons:
1) Natural gas oven vs Electric: one of the two major combustion products of natural gas is water vapor. If having fries just be close to each other is enough to keep them from getting crispy because of steam I can’t imagine putting them in a box with copious amounts of water vapor helps the situation…perhaps this only works best, or at all, in electric?
2) Potato variety: I deep fried the failed bakers. Still limp. As an experiment I let some go till they started to turn black. Charcoal must be crispy, right? If not “crispy” then “brittle” at least. Nope, still limp. I managed to make limp charcoal. The only logic I can imagine behind this is the variety of potato just isn’t suitable for crisping because of its chemical make up?
Just spitballin’ here.
Just made these for my dad and I, and they turned out perfect.
I don’t ever measure anything so I just dumped some corn starch in a bag, and also added cornflake crumbs and a little mrs.Dash for some extra texture. I soaked the fries for about 4 hours, drained them and let them sit for about half an hour before mixing them up. I placed enough for a large serving for two people on the cookie sheet and coated in oil. Baked at 425 for 15 min, flipped, baked for 15 minutes, then broiled for 3 minutes. There were a few that got a little too crunchy due to the different sizes. Overall they were GREAT and I will definitely make them again.
I had a lot of sweet potatoes that I needed to use so I cut them all into fries. The ones that I did not season I threw in the freezer. Any tips on how to make these next time? Can I bake them frozen or should I let them thaw before coating them and baking? and do I need to soak them in water again?
As someone who has tried these and failed to do it correctly, it seems that the amount of cornstarch is critical. Karen noted in the post that it may take some trial and error to get the amount right. I used far too much cornstarch and the raw flavor was not good. BUT, I can see the point and think with a bit of tweaking these will be really good. Lucky for me I have another sweet potato so I can try again tomorrow. Can’t wait to get it right!
Erica – I’ve also had good luck with putting the cornstarch coated fries in a bowl and drizzling (glugging) oil over them and tossing them with my hands. Then I put them onto the baking sheet which I’ve also drizzled (gluggled) oil onto. ~ karen!
Glugging oil over them sort of defeats the whole purpose of the oven rather than the deep fryer
Not really Annie. It’s still less oil saturation than deep frying. If the fries didn’t work you’ve done something wrong. Seeing as I”m not there watching you I can’t say what it is exactly. Could be anything from a poor baking sheet (the darker the better) to not soaking your fries in water prior to cooking them. ~ karen
So, you realize that means theres quite a few vegetables and fruits you cant eat, right? Seeing as how MSG was discovered because its a naturally occurring chemical in quite a lot of plants
Synthetically produced chemicals and refined naturally occurring compounds do not usually behave identically in the human body so your point is moot.
all of the MSG i have seen is fermented from corn. it’s not some wild, crazy synthetic chemical… it’s a “refined, naturally-occuring compound”, as you put it (grammatical corrections mine).
Not to niggle, but she was right: you do not hyphenate compound modifiers that contain “ly” adverbs when used before the noun in the sentence. So “naturally occurring compound” is right.
Big sweet tater fry lover here. About the sauce though….I use a mixture of chili paste (the kind you find at a Vietnamese or Thai restaurant), and ketchup. It’s delicious!!
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but if you get JetPuff marshmellow sauce and heat it for about 30sec-1min in the microwave it is FANTASTIC for sweet potato fries… thank sweet potato casserole!! This was an addiction for several months in high school and is a guilty pleasure now that im a little older 🙂 Enjoy!
Do you dry the sweet potatoes after you soak them in water and before you coat them with cornstarch
Barb – Just shake them vigorously so they aren’t soaking wet. No need to actually dry them with paper towels or dishtowels. ~ karen!
I’ve tried this a few times, and it seems for me, the trick for crispy fries is cooking them directly on a metal pan–no glass, no tin foil!
From one french fry lover to another – the very best french fries you will ever eat will be made in a chip truck under the Bluewater Bridge in Sarnia, ON. Just sayin…
Nah, sorry, but Hutch’s on the beach in Hamilton couldn’t be beat. Course it was more than a few years ago that I was there…
Gotta have Stan’s Fries in Brantford! 😉
I love yam fries but from some of the comments i dont know if i should try these..aww what the hell the dog will i hope..and i was in Hamilton last week, i couldnt find Hutch’s Susan..seems it’s gone
Hey! Do you know the name of the chip truck under the Bluewater? Or what roads I take to get to it? I’m visiting Canada in a few weeks and could go for some good fries
I’m from Sarnia (eons ago) and was thinking the same thing. 🙂
I bow down.
Hm, seems like I have already answered my own question. After some quick research, I found this sriracha sauce that has no MSG…
“Roland Sriracha Chili Sauce”
http://amzn.to/jUpH9H
Anyone tried it?
mmm sriracha mayo…
or anything with sriracha…
the oatmeal says it best:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/sriracha
I have just done my meal plan for this week, so I will have to go back and re-jig it to try and fit in the SP fries… Man I really want some now!
We get different sorts of SP or ‘Kumera’ in NZ, the orangey ones like you’ve used and yellow ones that seem less sweet. Can I use either?
Hey Bev – I’ve never used the yellow ones but I can’t imagine it wouldn’t work. There’s no reason for it not to. Give it a shot and let us know! ~ karen
Ah — corn starch?! Thanks for letting us in on your secret. Can’t wait to try — they look picture-perfectly delish. (Btw, your site’s loading much faster now. Whatever you did to tweak it worked.)
Huh! I’m going to continue tweeking. I’m not sure what else to do! The quicker loading time also has to do w/ the number of pics. in a post and the time of day. Fingers crossed it gets even better. ~ karen
I love the french fry tips! Thank you! But what I REALLY want to know: where did you get the cool french fry and matching dip bowls? LOVE THEM!!
Michelle – Here you go … somewhere in the comments section there’s a link to buy them on Amazon! https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/stuff-i-like-the-mystery-cup
So glad that I’m not the only one who chooses regular fries over SP fries. My hubby LOVES SP fries, so we buy the ones in the freezer section for him. I can’t always find ‘real’ sweet potatoes here (small town in Northern Japan) and the Japanese sweet potatoes are NOT as good as regular ones, so we may have to wait a while to try your recipe.
p.s. For regular fries, sprinkle them with garlic salt, MMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMM GOOOOOOD!
Actually, I was gonna suggest garlic salt for SP fries… it’s actually a really neat combination, I think 🙂 Oh– and coating a LOT of stuff with cornstarch solves the “crispiness (or lack thereof)” issue. I had eggplant fries just today, in fact 🙂
I bet you could use tapioca starch too!
yes yes yes!!!! accompanying the bbq tonight!!! 🙂
karen i also have had that problem and fing that the temperature of the oven makes a difference as well, it has to be quite hot.
ok looked back and saw the temp posted sorry karen shoulda known you wouldn’t leave that out.
My hero! I make sweet potato french fries for lunch about 3 times a week. I am so excited to try this I can’t even tell you! How do you come up with this stuff??
Mmmm! Looks good! I’ve also read that coating them with egg white will give them that crisp texture. 🙂
This is well timed! We tried to make SP fries on Friday night and like you said, they turned into a mushy mess. Take two will be coming soon, using your brilliant strategy!
OMG. This is just what I need. My boyfriend (who runs a BBQ joint in a bar) had declared all crispy sweet potato fries to be FAKE since he couldn’t figure out how to get them crispy. Can’t wait to show him this.
i do like sweet potato fries, but can we have a recipe on for reals french fries too??
And I just happen to have some sweet potatoes, sriracha mayo, some corn starch and even an oven on hand! Suh-weet!
This works with butternut squash too, although I think I used regular flour instead of cornstarch…maybe? But you have to cook them a little longer. I also may try this with those cool purple potatoes, because those made crappy fries the one time I tried. it.
I’ve redone my meal plan too. My son LOVES sweet potato fries. This will be a big treat for him. I’ve tried making them before and they were awful!
First – I love a woman who enjoys fried foods. Second, great tip about the corn starch!
I have tried a wide range of (baked) sweet potato fry recipes and always end up with soft mushiness. Delicious, but mushy. I can’t wait to try your way!
Hey, ALSO: do you think baking them on parchment paper on a baking sheet would change anything? I don’t have non-stick ones and I’m not big on scrubbing them clean.
I use my silpat when I make oven fries. It works really well and is so much easier to clean than a pan or sheet. I think parchment would work, just keep an eye on it, as the oven is pretty darn hot for these fries.
I agree. They were the most delicious mush I’ve ever served. I had about 5 fries that miraculously didn’t stick.
I like my SP Fries dipped in lazy-gal aioli (Hellman’s/Best Foods mayonnaise with tons of minced garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice). Just about everything is good with garlic mayonnaise, though.
Sound and look yummy! Great idea. Gonna give them a go! I always found the mushy thing disappointing in a sw.-potato-fry too. I was thinking of soaking the cut fries in ice water like is done for good regular fries…but this is definitely less time consuming.
BTW – the cute dishes are no longer available and havent any ETA either. Whaaa.
Brenda – Blech. That’s too bad. Also, I do soak my Sweet Potato fries in cold water before cooking them if I have time. I didn’t have too much time this particular day so they were only in the water for a hour or so. ~ karen
Very excited to try this out! Thanks!!
I don’t like this post. I had managed to forget that I wanted french frie cups with matching sauce cups (or was it that I/my boyfriend convinced me that I didn’t need any..?) and now you just went ahead and reminded me just how great they look.
I will like this post the day I decide to make sweet potato french fries however.
magali…
Maxwell & Williams French Fry cups…try this!
http://www.maxwellandwilliams.com.au/mw/maxwell-williams-dinnerware-servingware-platters-bowls-white-basics-french-p9003.asp
Hey Karen!
LOVE sweet potato fries, baby chicks and fried chicken. (There’s an icky question about poor, sweet Lucky buried around here somewhere, but we won’t go there.)
What is the oven temperature for this, please? Love sweet potato fries. Oops! Said that already.
Thanks!
Marti ! Sorry .. the temperature is hidden above one of the pictures somewhere. Set your oven to 425. ~ karen
Thanks much! Luv your blog, btw. 🙂 Bookmarked already!
Okay, first. Those are YAMS.
Second, I’ve been trying for YEARS to get them crispy. How did you figure this out?
Gayle! Hmm. They were labelled as Sweet Potatoes at the store. They aren’t scaley or anything like a Yam. Why do you think they aren’t the dark skinned variety of sweet potatoes (which are often wrongly called a Yam?) Not being accusatory. Just curious! Do you know things I don’t know? I like to know everything. It’s a downfall. Lemme know! 🙂 I looked up all kinds of recipes and techniques on the Internet, weeded out the ones that didn’t work and combined a couple of techniques that did. It’s that whole “know everything” gene in me. ~ karen!
Okay, I just read up on yams and sweet potatoes on wiki, and, well, sweet potatoes can be orange after all. Also, I think I was being a bit rude… sorry. I’m going to try these very soon.
The funny part is, I was trying to make crispy ones the other day using the broiler, and I thought to myself I should submit an Ask Karen… but I forgot!!
from wiki:
_______________________________________
In the United States, sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), especially those with orange flesh, are often referred to as “yams.” In the United States, firm varieties of sweet potatoes were produced before soft varieties. When soft varieties were first grown commercially, there was a need to differentiate between the two. African slaves had already been calling the soft sweet potatoes “yams” because they resembled the yams in Africa. Thus, soft sweet potatoes were referred to as yams to distinguish them from the firm varieties.[10] Sweet potatoes labeled as “yams” are widely available in markets that serve Asian or Caribbean communities.
______________________________________
Gayle – Don’t worry about it. If I thought someone was wrong I’d be just as vocal about it. I *am* just as vocal about it. 🙂 ~ karen
Hold on; let’s not let this slip by too fast. I had understood yams and sweet potatoes were two different things and got into conversations with family who I now, out wisdom with this conversation. It went to the point in the supermarket, they were all called Yams, I went to the produce guy, fresh out of kindergarten, and he said they were the same thing, I got back to the shack and they were not the same things, in the bag, I indeed had two different products. He, thinking they were the same had put them all together and listed them under Yams. I go to the guy with the grey hair now and ask and do get sweet potatoes. So, yes there is a difference.
I’m making these for my in-laws tonight! My kids have always resisted sweet potatoes. Maybe if they are crispy they’ll enjoy them. Bonus: I’m roasting off an extra tater for my wee!
Jen – Glad to hear it! Make sure you have a good non-stick pan. If you don’t, add a tiny bit of extra oil to help the sweet potatoes not stick so badly. When you flip them you’ll have to use a spatula to scrape them up regardless. Good luck! ~ karen
Great tips…thank you. I love french fries but sweet potatoe fries are pretty good too especially with the right dipping sauce. Can’t wait to try this one.
This Canadian is so proud of you! I’ve always loved you on TV. How is it you get even better in print? And now, as if it couldn’t get better, you share the secret of crispy sweet potato fries on the absolute day I have been bemoaning the limp disasters I keep producing. As a breast cancer survivor I can’t indulge in normal fries as often as I’d like, but these, especially with Sriracha dip, these are going to be my new, healthy, crack. Bless you!
Thank you Cynthia! Remember … a really good non stick pan and if you don’t have one a touch extra oil so they don’t stick too badly! Good luck. The dip is absolutely delicious! The more Cayenne the better, too. (if you like hot that is) And congratulations on kicking breast cancer’s ass by the way. BREAST CANCER CAN SUCK IT! ~ karen
Well I made an attempt but they weren’t quite as crispy as I was hoping for. I think I must have used too much corn starch and maybe not enough oil? Will definitely be trying again though!
Nichola – You definitely need to coat the fries in oil. And you don’t need a ton of cornstarch. If push comes to shove and you’re having trouble, you can use the same technique in the deep fryer. It’s easier to get them crispy that way. But even in the deep fryer you’ll need to coat them in corn starch. Even in the fryer they won’t come out crispy. Try again and let me know how it goes. ~ karen
Less corn starch, more oil = a tasty success! Thanks!
Nichola – Phew! Glad to hear it! ~ karen
How long do you usually soak them in cold water? And what does the soak do? Thanks!
Hi Jan – A lot of restaurants soak their fries all day in water. I’ve read it should only be for an hour or two. It removes a lot of the starch. That’s why the water is cloudy when you remove them. Removing the starch from the potato makes a crispier fry and it helps to stop them from stick to each other and your pan. (you have to let them dry before cooking them by rolling them in a dish towel) ~ karen!
Ooh! Ok, we soaked our potatoes for an hour, then went straight to the cornstarch. They were so mushy… The cornstarch just got all gooey over them, so we added more after letting them sit for a while, but I knew I wasn’t missing a step, and then they were in the oven 3x as long and skipped right to getting burnt… Ok. Dry them off, first. That will probably help. Thanks!
Same thing here. I ended up with way too much cornstarch on my SP. I thought maybe I should towel them off first but I didn’t see that mentioned in the steps and I wanted to follow the directions to a “t”. They were still awesome-but next time I’m sure they will be even better. The dipping sauce was off the hook!!!
I tried making them once, and you’re right they were soggy. I didn’t even try again b/c I didn’t know you could make them crispy. I will definitely try this!!
Hey! Karen,
As a matter of fact I just bought some sweet potatoes today. I was just gonna bake them, but your fried sweet potato recipe has tweeked my interest. I think I’m gonna go for it.
Thanks for sharing!
Good luck with the fries Kelly! Make sure to use “just enough” corn starch and make sure they’re evenly coated with oil. And make the sauce!!! So good. ~ karen
I got so excited when I saw the title cause Sweet Potatoes are allowed on my stupid meal plan but I’m pretty sure corn starch is not allowed cause it’s from corn and has starch. Urghhh. Still I’m going to try it for the days when I don’t follow the stupid meal plan exactly.
Hi Linda–can you have potato starch? Or rice starch? I’ve tried these with potato starch and they were very good.
I just made these and they taste floury. I thought I didn’t even have enough corn starch but maybe it was too much still? And not enough oil?.0
Rachel – Yes, it sounds like you had too much corn starch. You really just need a very light dusting of cornstarch. The first time I tried them this way I used too much cornstarch as well. And make sure each and every fry is covered in oil. If you have a deep fryer try them with the cornstarch and deep frying them. The oven method is definitely more difficult to get the hang of, but once you figure out the proportions of corn starch and oil you’ll be set. ~ karen!
I just made them again with very little corn starch and lots of oil and they came out perfect! My 3 year old and one year old gobbled them right up!
Rachel – Good! Glad to hear it. 🙂 ~ karen
this idaho girl and self proclaimed (idaho russet) french fry expert is going to have to try this! I love sweet potato fries but never have any luck, and eating it with sirachi sauce might just be the best idea ever!
kris – It may take a couple of tries to get the proportions of corn starch and oil down. Usually by the second try all is good! ~ karen
Wow, thanks for this! I gave up on making my own sweet potato fries a while ago (I had even tried the egg white thing to no avail). Went out to Bulk Barn and bought a bit of corn starch (used tonight) and a bit of potato starch (cuz really, not supposed to have corn). Cost me $0.11! haha
SO..thanks for my dinner tonight – these kick butt CRISPY sweet potato fries with chicken and veg. YUM. Who knew? ta 🙂
and of course, I just see now why I made them soggy before – you just posted this this May. and I’m a dif Rachel….not too many of us around here – nice to see TWO of us on one blog posting 🙂
Booo. I tried these last night, imagine my entire cooking process with “womp womp womp wommmppppp” music as my background.
I followed the recipe to the T, and they came out black and burnt, soggy, and tasted like corn starch.
Reviewing the comments I will try again with MORE oil and less starch, though my pre-cooked fries looked exactly like yours, if your photos didn’t even look more starch-y. I think I may have not coated each fry as good as I should have – at least that is what I’m trying next time.
Onward!!
Tiffany – Yes, there’s a learning curve with these fries. If you can’t be bothered to go through the learning curve, you can always just chuck them in the deep fryer. You *still* have to add the cornstarch if you’re going to deep fry them though. Sweet Potato Fries don’t even get crispy in a deep fryer unless you use cornstarch. Good luck! Oh! And if they turned out black your oven might be running a bit hot! You should check it to make sure. ~ karen!
Thanks Karen 🙂 I don’t own a deep fryer and I would be scared as hell to attempt to operate one anyway. ;o) I will try in the oven again. The bottoms were black, not the tops. Like when I pushed them off the pan they were charred below. ACK! I will be using a different oven anyway, I tried making them for my dad for father’s day in my parents oven and I think their knobby old-school oven isn’t entirely accurate!
I tried making these today..first time around, I added way too much corn starch and it was very floury. So I dumped those out and trid it a second time adding the corn starch little by little (thinking it was just the right amount), but it was not cripsy at all. I didn’t put the potatoes in water so I am guessing that was the problem, so I’ll try again another day. 🙂
Elle – I’m guessing you just didn’t use enough oil or didn’t coat them properly with the oil. Try a bit more oil. And like I say if it’s too hard to get the hang of, use a deep fryer. ~ karen!
two words….thank you.
you have solved a dilemma that has plagued me for years.
bees – The best technique is the cornstarch prior to putting them in a deep fryer. However, you CAN make them crispy by using the oven method, it just takes a little fiddling to figure out the ratio of cornstach and oil. Good luck! ~ karen
I have sriracha in the pantry and mayo in the fridge. I’m quite confident that going to the store for sweet potatoes at this point is like buying an outfit to go with a pair of shoes, but nevertheless I WILL be in the produce section in the next hour or two … buying sweet potatoes to go with my sriracha 🙂
Thanks for this! I have a “Puerto Rican Fryer” a friend gave me that I’ve never used. As much as I want to deep fry things, I can’t bring myself to do it. Between the fat (on my body) and the smell lingering for days, I … well, I’ll be baking mine, and these look amazing. Thanks!
-Ant
Antof9 – Honestly … the cornstarch then deep fryer method for these fries along with the mayo and sriracha will change your life. Live a little. Go for the fried method! ~ karen
P.S. Found you by way of Pinterest 🙂
Thx. for letting me know! I’m always curious about how people found me. ~ k
I’ve been searching forever for the secret to crispy sweet potato fries. My attempt was not successful. I deep fried, but mine look like they are coated with a layer of icing. Even though the fries themselves are brown. I am assuming too much cornstarch, but how to coat them with less? And I did not soak th potatos in anything before…
Kate – I can’t believe they weren’t successful in the deep fryer! You must have used way too much cornstarch. They just need a dusting. They come out similar to a “crispy fry”, so you will notice a slight, slight coating, but it’s barely noticeable. Try putting a tablespoon of cornstarch in a plastic bag, then add your fries, make sure there’s a lot of air in the bag and then shake it all around. Take a look and see if you need to add a bit more cornstarch. This is the best way to make sure you have an even, thin coating of corn starch. Good luck the second time around! I may have to hold a class in this, LOL. ~ karen
Now this may sound stupid but… my man has been asking me for crispy sweet potato fries,so far not happening… do I skip the olive oil process if I use the deep fryer?? and is there a need for pre frying??
thank you 🙂
France – If you’re doing your sweet potato fries in a deep fryer, you don’t have to douse them in olive oil. However, you do still have to give them a dusting of cornstarch. Just remember to give a light coating. The easiest way to do this is to put them in a plastic bag with a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch and shake the bag. Like Shake n’ Bake. There’s no need to pre fry, but pre soaking them in water will help. Also, sweet potato fries cook quicker than regular fries, so keep your eye on them. Good luck! ~ karen
Wow! These sound easy and delicious.
– The Tablescaper
Making these. TONIGHT. Thanks for sharing!
these need to be fried – there’s no way they are getting crispy with corn starch, olive oil, and an oven – NO WAY. Fryer = crispy
Paul – Yes. They do get crispy. YES WAY. ~ karen
Ok… I DO love sweet potato fries dipped in home made Bleu cheese dressing…. However, as vile as Mickey D’s may be to adults, their ff dipped in a strawberry shake.. Well.. I think that takes professionalism to a whole other level, don’t you?! Lol
(btw, please do not knock til you’ve tried it.. :))
Wow! Just made these alongside Carolina BBQ Turkey Burgers. What a healthy complement to a weeknight summer meal. The corstarch is like a magical ingredient!
Elisabeth – Excellent! I’m glad they worked out for you. There’s a bit of a learning curve w/ them for sure. ~ karen!
I love sweet potato fries more than regular fries so I’m so excited to try this out! I usually coat my sp fries with a mixture of spices (chili powder, cayenne, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, black pepper, thyme, and oregano) to give them a little kick. They taste delicious but are super mushy. I know I’ve been cutting them unevenly and too big and crowding my pan, so I’m going to fix those issues. Do you think it would interfere with the crisping process if I mixed the spices with the cornstarch? Or would you add the spices with the oil? Do them in a separate baggie? I just might have to make five batches and test all the options!
Thank you! The world is a better place with sweet potato fries. Really, it is.
These rocked. This is the first time I made fries without them being soggy. The corn starch helped. Also, I put my sweet potatoes in cold water for 30 min and let them dry out a bit. This is supposed to help get rid of moisture. This was great.
(Amazing how few posts are related to the actual SP fries.) As Karen said, the starch\oil ratio is critical. I made them and they were almost crispy.
I need to cut thinner fries. Karen’s are thin which probably reduces the amount of moisture. Mine were too thick so the next test will be closer to the cut in her photo.
Duane – That’s true! You can’t have thick cut sweet potato fries! And also, like I say, if all else fails, do them with the cornstarch in the deep fryer or in a pan with oil! ~ karen
You’re right about the learning curve on these. First time- undercooked sweet potato fries covered in oily starch.(yes I still ate them, I would eat anything with spicy mayo on it.) Second time- getting closer. I cooked them much longer, till they were browned. Some crispy, but very cornstarchy still, so I’ll chill out on the cornstarch next time. Hopefully that fixes it. I make sweet potato fries about once a week, so its worth figuring this one out.
Jessica – Yes … go very light on the cornstarch. I add mine to the bag a large handful or two at a time. Makes it easier to get a light dusting. Also, as someone else pointed out, make sure your fries aren’t cut too thick. Good luck. Third time’s a charm. 🙂 ~ karen
Thought I’d let you know that I added your picture with a link to this post on my blog under my “I’m craving” feature. Will be making these tomorrow!
Thanks Supal! Like I tell everyone, there’s a bit of a learning curve with this. Light on the cornstarch and heavier on the oil. Guaranteed success the first time, use the deep fryer. (with the cornstarch) Good luck! ~ karen!
The dip looks good but here in North Carolna the Sweet Potato State we sprinkle sweet potato frys with cinnamon sugar. You should try it. Looking forward to trying your crispy SP fries.
I love you for posting this.
Elizabeth – It seems a bit early for declaring our love for each other but … well … I love you too. ~ karen!
I just tried the oven baked wedge style SP fries. This was my third attempt. First I tried frying, no good. Second time I tried frying them bigger, again, no good. I will try you recipe Sunday.
You are a Pro! I will post the results.
Keith – Give it a go. Like I said it may take a couple of attempts to get a feeling for the proportions. If you want GUARANTEED results, use the cornstarch/deep fryer method. Perfect every time. ~ karen
found this on pinterest. . making them now. . will let you know how the family likes them. . thanks for sharing
Su – I’m making them for dinner tonight! Sweet potato fries, tenderloin steaks and asparagus on the BBQ! I’m doing the deep fry w/ cornstarch route. Mainly I love them because of the dip. 🙂 ~ karen
We made them. . we loved them. . you are right, there is a learning curve. . go light light on cornstarch. . and for us we had to bake 20 minutes but we all loved them. . .thanks for sharing the details of how to make these. I just shared about these on my blog. . .I linked to here.
Here is my post:
http://theintentionalhome.blogspot.com/2011/09/5-for-friday_16.html
I found your blog on these gems when poking around on Pinterest. I was intrigued. Because we were just at a favorite restaurant in town, husband loves their french fries come to find out they use CORNSTARCH!!!
Doodles – It took me mannnnnyyyyyy attempts and experiments before I decided cornstarch was indeed the way to go with Sweet Potatoes. I’ll never go back! Glad you found the site! ~ karen
Glad I’m not the only one who had soggy problems. Will try yours next time (I had given up).
I’m surprised no one else has comments on your beautiful serving vessels… where did you get them?
Hi Lianne – I actually did a post on this fry cup last year! https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/stuff-i-like-the-mystery-cup/ It’s by Maxwell Williams. ~ karen!
Sorry, only been following you since this summer…
Used ‘Stumble!’ and found you remembered you from CityLine and have RSS’d (and now FB) you ever since! Love all your stuff and thanks for the link!
Oh, so sad “Caab Living is now in voluntary insolvency.”
But now you have a collectors item!
We made these tonight and tried to follow the recipe and all the comment suggestions exactly, but they were a pretty big flop. Even with a light coating of corn starch, the fries tasted powdery. They didn’t crisp up, despite the olive oil and additional cooking time. We had organic heirloom sweet potatoes from our CSA box and I’m kind of bummed to have wasted them.
Magic and Mayhem – Eek. I’m sorry to hear you ruined your heirloom sweet potatoes. The only thing I can tell you is either your oven isn’t running hot enough, or you should just go straight to deep frying. There’s no way to mess them up that way. If you ever go to a restaurant with great sweet potato fries you’ll notice they’re always deep fried and they always have a light coating of cornstarch on them. Also … soaking them in water is important. Like I say … there’s a learning curve to these fries and the proportions of cornstarch and olive oil. If you give it another go let me know how they turn out. ~ karen!
Whoa. 1st attempt at the fries…WAYYYY too much corn starch! Oooops. Tried to get most of it off, didn’t really work, just resulted in a BIG BIG BIG mess in my kitchen. Sigh. Better luck next time?!!! They are in the oven right now…crossing my fingers they are still edible!
Amber E. – LOL! Oh no! Well … now you know for next time. Right? Eep. Sorry! ~ karen
I a making these with dinner tomorrow and I can’t wait to see how they turn out.
This is EXACTLY what I was craving for supper down to the Sriracha dip!! I’ll definitely be giving these a try tonight. Thanks!
OMG – just tried them – we have a professional fryer – HOT HOT OIL – 6 min – didnt have Sriracha but kinda made a hot mayo – maybe I CUT them too small – kinda like shoestring – BUT STILL EXCELLENT – I will do bigger cuts next time – but sooooo excellet
Excellence! But I HIGHLY recommend getting the Sriracha. Sooooooo good. ~ karen
Mine just came out and they’re PERFECT!! At first I added way too much corn starch, but i used a colander to shake them around a bit and get some of it off…seemed to do the trick. Thanks so much for this post!
Elysse – Excellent! Some people get discouraged by the learning curve, but they’re worth it! ~ karen
Hello Karen,
I recently posted your recipe for crispy sweet potato fries. I received your comment and took it down immediately. I sincerely apologize, I meant no disrespect. My site is just a way for me to collect recipes for myself, and yours looked so delicious.
I am very sorry.
Emma
Emma – No problem. No hard feelings. But maybe you should take a look at this … https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/how-to-properly-re-post-something/. It’s a post I did on how to repost something properly for anyone who is new to this. Sorry if I alarmed you, but my blog is how I make my living. I work 60 hours a week on it so I have to protect my site and the content. 🙂 ~ karen!
This recipe sounds great, but what temp do you set the oven on? Thanks!
What is Sriracha sauce?
Hi Caroline – Sriracha sauce is a hot sauce, kind of like Tobasco but a totally different flavour. It’s really good. It’s comes in a bottle about the size of an old, glass Heinz ketchup bottle and is usually in the Asian section or with the hot sauces. Now that you’re aware of it, you’ll probably notice it/be able to find it. 🙂 ~ karen
Found you from Pinterest. Great recipe. I look forward to trying it.
Fantastic! Can’t wait to try this.
*Nice*
::Bowing down to the french fry queen.::
I really enjoyed your candor and the tip is indispensable to me since I’m eating Paleo. Thanks!
Ashy
The cafeteria french fries and gravy WERE pretty tasty at Parkside. I *still* fondly remember them.
Found you on pinterest. These look awesome. And the dipping sauce is where it’s AT! 🙂
Repinned!
Thanks Averie! And you’re right the sauce is where it’s at. – Karen!
Sorry – these looked delicious but were actually really gross 🙁
Hi Lindsay – I’m guessing you did them wrong. Well … I’m not guessing, I know you did. Because they’re not gross in any way shape or form. You either a) used too much cornstarch or b) used too much cornstarch. As I said in the bottom of the post there’s a learning curve to them. To getting the ratios right. Also if you deep fry them there’s almost zero chance of screwing them up. ~ karen
Mine didn’t turn out. I cooked them for 15 minutes and when I checked them they were soft and powdery, so I cooked them for a bit longer. Then they just got burnt and powdery. I am wondering if I did not put enough oil? When comparing my pictures to yours, it did not look like I put too much cornstarch.
Probably not enough oil then, Natasha. You have to make sure the oil coats all the fries. Be vigilant about this. And if you’re having a hard time just use more oil! Easy as that. And as I always say, the fail proof method is cornstarch and then the deep fryer! ~ karen
Also found you via Pinterest. I looooove sweet potato fries, but usually buy the kind in a bag in the frozen section of the grocery store. I am so going to try this. BTW, I make my dipping sauce as follows: 4 tbsp. lite mayo, sriracha sauce (to taste) and some lime juice… delicious!!
Best online sweet-potato recipe I found! Thank you so much for the share. I made it today and had a bit of a tough time figuring out at what degree to set the oven, maybe putting that and how many sweet potatoes per spoonful of olive oil would be a help for other first timers?
Hi Gabbi – Sorry, you must have missed it. Right in between the pictures of the olive oil and the cut fries it says to preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. And yes, I’ll amend the recipe to say 2 Tbsps oil per pan of fries. It can be more … it just shouldn’t be less. Glad you managed to figure them out regardless! ~ karen
Yep, used way too much cornstarch I think. Had to bake them for about 30 mins, and they still didn’t get that crispy (I even made sure to spread them out). They weren’t too bad, but after you ate one you would get this film on the top of your mouth (thanks to the cornstarch). It’s too bad because I did the exact ratio this recipe calls for. I’d say start with 1 tbsp MAX of corn starch for all your fries to lightly coat them. Looking forward to giving this another go sometime.
Holly – Yes, I always have leftover cornstarch in the bag. It’ a matter of throwing a few in and quickly shaking them and removing them. Then again with the next handful. The problem is, if you don’t use extra cornstarch, you have trouble coating all the fries. Well … like I said, there’s a learning curve. 🙂 Also, feel free to use more oil. Did you try the sauce? ~ karen
This may be life changing…can’t wait to dive into that box of sweet potatoes I have on my counter!
Thats a great idea! Sadly I made my first attempt before looking at your recipe and didn’t do the cornstarch coating part… I’m going to try it again tonight. Your sauce sounds delicious, I’ve been making a chipotle mayo, but i will have to give your sriracha mayo a try. Would i be correct in assuming if you are deep frying them, you can skip the oil coating? thanks!!
Hi Patrick – You’re right. If you’re gonna deep fry, you don’t need to coat the fries in oil. You *do* need the cornstarch and you *do* need to soak them in water. Good luck! ~ karen
I JUST had a major sweet potato fry fail last week. They came out totally limp and soggy. A total disappointment. But now I’m totally excited to try out your technique. I wish it was closer to the end of the day so I could get home and make these 🙂
Pinterest follower, too! I am definitely going to try this. thanks!
Tried these. AWESOME! So far it’s the best method I’ve come across.. although I just learned of another one where you toss them in beaten foamy egg white. I’m going to give that a go as well and see what happens. But your method was very tasty.
Glad to hear it Sawyer. Did ya deep fry or oven fry? People seem to have trouble with the oven fry but it just takes a bit of practice. ~ k!
Baked in the oven. I made sure not to overcoat with corn starch and made sure they were fully coated (but not over-coated) with olive oil.
GREAT! You’re a good example for everyone else. 🙂 ~ karen
Great recipe – just tweeted about you! 🙂
Thanks Karen! Did you try them or do they just *look* good to you? The sauce is FANTASTIC. ~ karen!
I have a ton of sweet potatoes in my fridge from my CSA share- now I have a new recipe to try! Thank!
Just made these. Mine turned out perfect! Thanks for the wonderful guidance!!
Excellent! I’m glad they worked out for you. You must have a knack for the sweet potatoes. ~ karen!
I noticed in your Nov. 16th response to Patrick you mention soaking them in water. I don’t see that mentioned in the original instructions. Am I missing something? Thanks!
Susie – I’ve looked and looked and I can’t see my mention of soaking the fries in water first either! I don’t know if I accidentally erased it or not so I’ll have to add it back in. Yes, it’s best if you soak your fries after they’re cut for at least an hour, preferably half the day. Just cut them when you decide you’re making sweet potato fries and stick them in a bowl of water until they’re ready to use. ~ karen!
Susie,
Are you supposed to blot them dry when you take them out of the water, before shaking them in the cornstarch? Any idea why they should be soaked? Thanks! Karen N.
Was Googling a “crispy sweet potato fries” recipe and found you! Can’t wait to try this tonight. But I must share my dip recipe with you: 1 heaping tablespoon of mayo, 2 heaping tablespoons of horseradish sauce (not plain horseradish, but the sauce you put on a roast beef sandwich) and 1 heaping teaspoon of brown mustard. Add about 1/4 teaspoon of dried dill & blend. (I never actually measure so this is my estimation and you might wish to readjust portions to taste) It is SUPER yummy for dipping sweet potato fries!
Thanks Sarah! – My boyfriend will hate the sauce, and I will *love* it! He’s not much for horseradish or dill. I could eat the two of them as a meal. 🙂 ~ karen
I LOVE!! SP fries. I will be trying this very soon. For an extra yummy dip, try mixing plain youghert or sour cream with a healthy pour of REAL maple syrup. It elevates SP fries to perfection.
~C8>
These were amazing! Maybe I lucked out with the right proportion of cornstarch. I love sweet potato fries but since i don’t use a deep fryer they are always soggy. These were crispy and delicious. I heated a little oil in the bottom of the pan while the oven was warming up so I put them in hot oil and then drizzled a little bit more on top. The sauce was also really good, although I may have put a teensy bit too much hot sauce in….:)
That’s great Elayne! Glad to hear it. Some people get it right away, others take a few gos. ~ karen
Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I love sweet potato fries but I can never get the darn things crispy!
I just cooked a batch. The had the perfect crisp to them unfortunately, I went a little over board on the cornstarch. I think next time I will get it right. That is the secret ingredient I was looking for. I ate them like this at a restuarant at Stone Mountain Park (GA) – The Commons, I think, on the golf course. I have been looking for a way to make them crisp like theirs. You nailed it. I tried cooking them many different ways and coating them lightly with flour, sugar….awful! Thank you!!
Glad to hear it Sue! That’s kind of my thing. Figuring out the perfect way to do stuff. I’m currently working on the perfect regular french fry. 😉 ~ karen
Karen -I was a little nervous to try this recipe. I can’t believe how rude people can be! I’m sorry you have to go thru that on Pinterest! This is suppose to be a fun website! Obviously these kind of people don’t cook a lot! I made these tonight for the first time and they were perfectly crisp!!! The cornstarch is the key but not too much!!! Thank you for this amazing recipe!!
Tiffany
Hi Tiffany. LOL, don’t you worry about me. 🙂 Did you make the sauce? (I ask everyone that because it’s my favourite part of the recipe). Glad they worked out for you. ~ karen!
Thanks for sharing this! I tried it tonight and blogged about it, but it was an epic failure! I’ll have to try it again soon!
http://herestohandyandy.blogspot.com/2011/11/pinterest-thursday-fail-christmas.html
Just tried this recipe and tweaked it slightly (can’t help it but I did, hope I haven’t offended). When tossing the Sps in corn flour I added a teaspoon of icing sugar, then bunged them in a fine sieve and knocked off the excess. I also added a knob of butter (salted) into the olive oil and melted it slightly. I sprayed my baking sheet first with som low cal cooking spray and laid the chips out it and then brushed them with the oil/butter mixture rather than tossing them. They came out really well. Just a few handy hints.
Babbs – I’m horribly offended. ~ karen Just kidding. Glad they worked for you! Did you make the sauce? ~ karen
Wow! These were absolutely flawless.
Great. I’m glad they worked for ya! ~ karen
Just a suggestion… while you toss them with olive oil add fresh black pepper, sea salt, and garlic powder. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and savory!
Will try this tonight! We have Sweet Potato Fries about once a week with Turkey Burgers. I mix the turkey with Cavenders Greek seasoning, an egg, and feta cheese. Cook in a grill pan with a little olive oil. We NEVER have them without our Sweet Potato Fries, but ALWAYS wish they were a little crispier!! 🙂 Thank You!
Hi Karen,
What do we do after we have left the potatoes to be soaked for 1/2 a day? Do we pat them dry on paper towels before throwing them into the corn starch?? Please help!! Thanks and your website is amazing 🙂 can’t wait to try this!
Hi Chad! Thanks! No need to pat them dry. Just drain the water well and throw the cut fries in the cornstarch. Make sure not to overcoat them. One way to make sure of this is to put all the fries in the bag and shake. If you add only a few at a time, they get completely coated with all the cornstarch. And then they are gross. 🙂 ~ karen!
Hey Karen, thanks for this awesome recipe! It led me to a small revelation. We tried the fries last night, water soak + corn starch + deep fry and they were great! I mixed the sauce up too, but it wasn’t a hit as a dipping sauce. I think we just don’t like mayo enough; I tried various ratios of sriracha and mayo and it just didn’t spark with us as a dipping sauce for the fries. The sriracha was, of course, awesome as usual, so we made some other combos, one mixed with some low carb ketchup and another with a little ranch dressing. Despite not enjoying it as a dipping sauce for the sp fries, we do not waste perfectly good condiments in this house, and we were able to use the extra sriracha mayo on our jalapeno cream cheese burgers…it was a perfect combination! Now I wonder why I wasn’t using sriracha on or in my burgers all along. There, revelation. Thanks 🙂
LOL! Glad to help. In a completely random, roundabout way. ~ karen!
Karen,
I tried the sweet potato fries tonight. I bought sweet potatoes and yams. The sweet potatoes were the color of idaho potatoes, not orange. I washed the cut potatoes off so they were wet, and then I kept sprinkling on the cornstarch on them in a bag until all of the potatoes were covered. I mixed in oil, but ran out of olive oil so used some vegetable oil as well. I used miracle whip, hot sauce, and some lime/cayenne pepper for the sauce. I would love to taste your sauce. My teenager loved them too.
You stopped me in my tracks with the awesome photo on Pinterest, but then I knew I had found home sweet potato home when I read you used to love fries with gravy in high school! Haven’t heard that in 20 something years, especially having moved from Canada to the south USA. My recent addiction to sweet potato fries and several failed home attempts finds me here, armed with hope and and refusal to give up and use the fryer. WIsh me luck!
Painterchic … Hold on. JUST HOLD ON. Do they not have fries with gravy in the States? If that’s true, that’s just plain craziness! Glad you found the site. ~ karen
While yours look delicious, mine did not turn out at all. I followed your directions on two separate attempts and both were soggy and not crisp at all. (My previous attempts with just evoo and salt turned out much better.) I think I will try one more time and skip the pre-soak. I think the extra moisture might have been a problem. ?
Mamak – No. The soaking shouldn’t have been a problem. The potato doesn’t absorb the water. It could be your oven isn’t getting hot enough? ~ karen
Does this work with the white sweet potato fries too? I did it the other day with regular orange sweet potatoes and they were great. I just bought some white ones and wonder if it would work the same way?
Shannon – I’m not sure what you mean by white sweet potato fries? Do you mean regular potatos, LOL? Or do you mean light fleshed yams? If you’re talking about yams, they’re much sweeter and they have a higher moisture content, which makes them more difficult to get crispy. BUT … as I always say … give it a shot to find out! That’s the only way to figure stuff out. Especially with cooking. I easily serve one dinner a month that ends up being disgusting in the name of experimentation. 🙂 ~ karen
I discovered Pinterest today, this recipe (which I’m going to try – looks wonderful). Where did you find those cute white serving pieces???
Donna – I got the french fry cups at a local gardening store (oddly). They’re by Maxwell Williams and are available online at a variety of places … like here .. http://www.tweedandhickory.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/white-basics-french-fries-cup-and-sauce-dish-by-maxwell-and-williams.html . They used to be on Amazon as well. Glad you found Pinterest and my site! ~ karen
haha Karen, well USA has gravy at our house, as well as imported packages of Swiss Chalet sauce. (And Tim Hortons coffee…)You can take the girl out of Canada…
But I don’t recall seeing gravy and fries around here!
Maybe more north. Can’t blame the whole darn country quite yet…
They make a fine biscuit to make up for it.
Off to try the fries right now. Wish me luck!
J
Sounds great, anyone tried these with a different dip. I had them in Whistler once at the apré ski spot at the base and it was served with a sweet chili sauce. I have tried many different ones with mayo and other dips but nothing touches the sweet chili one in my opinion. The mayo is good but the sweet chili is god
Thank you for this recipe! I’m in love with sweet potatoes and cooking like french fries it’s so original! i’ll do this tonight for my family 🙂
Karen,
I have been scouring the internet for a recipe like this. I am making SP fries in a few hours for a cookout for about 15 ppl. So I only have one shot. I have read the recipe and the comments. I still have a few questions:
1. What happens when you add the oil before the cornstarch?
2. If you don’t dry the SP’s off before tossing them in the cornstarch, won’t too much cornstarch stick to the potato?
3. Can I blanch instead of soaking in cold water? I ask because it seems that blanching would reduce the time for removing the starch from the SPs.
4. How much oil is enough for the coating? In your pics, the amount doesn’t seem too excessive, but from the posts, a lot of people came up short on the oil.
Please help!
John
Hi John. O.K. Here we go … 1. Don’t add the oil before the cornstarch. Add it after. 2. Nope. No need to dry the potatoes. Just shake them dry and toss with the cornstarch. 3. No. Blanching won’t get rid of the starch. Soak em if you can. 4. You can add as much oil as you like. I just try to keep it low if I can. And finally … If you want to absolutely guaranteeeeee they’re going to work the first time out of the barn, deep fry them. (soak in water, coat with cornstarch … then deep fry) Good luck! ~ karen
Thanks – working on this tonight! Been wanting to try something like this for a while now, thanks for sharing:)
Hello! I did indeed pop over from Pinterest and am happy to do so. It is a common complaint that my sweet potato fries are too soggy. At first I thought it was a problem with my cooking. Was something wrong with me? Did the sweet potato just not like me? 😛 Now after reading your article, I can live happily knowing it is indeed possible to render a sweet potato fry crispy.
Wanted to compliment you on your comical style of writing and on the very helpful tip regarding the inclusion of corn starch. Thanks!
Thanks Vanessa! Good luck with the fries. ~ karen
I made the fries last night. They were yummy but stuck to the cookie sheet really bad. They did not turn out like yours. Tips?
Thanks,
Mandy
Mandy – There are 2 reasons for that … not a very good cookie sheet (I have 3 non stick cookie sheets and only one of them is *actually* non stick) and not enough oil. The better your cookie sheet, the less oil you have to use. Next time just use more oil. You can actually use as much oil as you want, I just try to keep it low ’cause it seems the smart thing to do. But if it makes your fries stick it isn’t so smart at all, is it? ~ karen
Thank you!!!
Can you cook them with the skins on them, or do we have to peel them entirely first?
Also, do you prefer the ones with red or orange on the inside?
Can’t WAIT to try these tonight!! 😀
BreAnna – I’ve never tried these with the skin on. It never occurred to me for some reason! I buy whatever sweet potatoes are available. Sometimes they’re darker inside, sometimes lighter … always good. Good luck! You *have* to make the dipping sauce with the Sriracha sauce … it’s the best part. ~ karen!
Do you have a print ready recipe card for this?
Hi Cheryl – Not yet, no. Sorry. I haven’t had time to make all my recipes printable. I’m workin’ on it. ~ karen
if it’s not too late you might consider putting the info about drying the SP in the recipe, for ppul like me who like lots of instructions.
or if you don’t those kind of ppul will just read in the comments looking for the info and discover what a nice person you are who answers so many comments.
it’s 4:45 a.m. i would make these right now but my wife probly wouldn’t appreciate me wakening her. but she might not might if i had SP fries waiting. hm-m-m…
If you deep fry, try frying them in coconut oil. Not the hydrogenated processed stuff, but the kind you find at Trader Joes or Whole Foods. Absolute deliciousness as the flavors are quite complimentary (coconut oil doesn’t really taste like coconut, but it does have a very rich flavor). Also, coconut oil has TONS of protective and beneficial health benefits, much like olive oil, but you can use it at temperatures much hotter than you can use olive oil. 🙂
Thanks so much!!!
I just made them and I’m in heaven. What an excellent recipe.
Cheers
great recipe…but what attracted me are the gorgeous french fry mug and matching condiment bowl. What’s the source of these?????
I have 4 sweet potatoes in the house just begging me to become fries. This looks like just the method to use.
Thanks!
Lynne
The sauce I like to use is honey mustard thinned with a little bourbon. Spice it up with bbq seasoning, or garlic
Do you soak the whole potato in water or soak it once they’re cut up into fries?
Hi Alexa – Once they’re cut up. ~ karen
how do you cut them up when they’re so hard?
Alexa – Just use a sharp knife, cut a small section off one edge of the potato to make it flat, put that end down on the cutting board so the potato doesn’t slip around and start cutting away. ~ karen
Hi! First, let me preface by saying I enjoy to cook when I have time but I am not very good 🙂 I decided to make these for my hubby’s birthday dinner on Thursday. And I just had to comment! After reading some of the comments I was a little nervous….but….mine turned out perfectly!!!! I quickly realized the cornstarch goes a LONG way! I put 1 TBS in a bag and put a handful of the potatoes in there and they were completely white! So..I added more potatoes until they were just lightly coated. I used 2 large potatoes and 1TBS+ a little more was all I needed. I deep fried mine. They were sooooo good!
The sauce is my new favorite on anything! I used the greek yogart with Frank’s hot sauce. Yummy! I made it again the next night and we dipped veggies, pretzels, for a snack and also used it on our steak.
I printed out your recipe but just had to find this site again to tell you it was a success and so delicious and I don’t even like sweet potatoes! So have faith…even bad cooks can make it happen! LOL.
Thanks Angie – I’m glad they worked out! I try to only post recipes that I *know* will work and most people will like. You should try the spaghetti and meatballs next! ~ karen
So thrilled to find this recipe! We love SP fries and every attempt to make them at home has been disappointing. Thanks for taking the time to figure out what works and sharing it with everyone!
Diane – You’re welcome. 🙂 Good luck with the fries. ~ karen
To evenly coat each fry could you use a small basting brush or an oil spray bottle?
I just found this recipe ONE day too late LOL. I made soggy sweet potato fries for dinner last night. My family is gluten free so I hesitated to even look at your recipe-everyone adds wheat to their recipes! Thank you so much!!!!!! We’ll be having crispy fries from now on!!!
OMG I love you… i just tried to make sweet potato fries last night and they were a gross soggy mess…thank you SO much for this… i’m forever indebted to you! 🙂
What temperature do we set the oven to? 350F?
Also, do you coat the pan with non-stick spray before putting the fries on it to bake?
Thanks!
Lauren
Lauren – Somewhere about halfway down the recipe I show you to set the oven to 425. HOT. (400 for convection) No need to coat the pan, although you can if you like. They tend to want to stick no matter what. I have one pan, which is actually made of stone which is the best non stick pan I have! ~ karen!
Made these last night and they turned out pretty well. Here’s what I learned: I should have used less cornstarch and more oil, should have dried them better post soak, use convection oven, turn trays, do not crowd trays. They definitely took longer than 15 minutes in my oven and Reynolds Non-Stick Foil is a lifesaver with these. Made a chipotle-garlic mayo and they were crunchy and yummy! Thanks!
Prepping this recipe now. Can’t wait for some crispy sweet potato fries! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
These came out so good!!! Great recipe and easy to follow. I love sweet potato fries but don’t like how they’re soggy when I’ve tried making them in the past. I made up a batch of these to have with lunch yesterday for myself and my husband. Since they aren’t terribly greasy or fried (mine were baked) I gave a few to my 19 month old son who couldn’t get enough 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe. I blogged about them and included a few pictures there, they came out perfectly crispy! 🙂 http://oursucculentlife.blogspot.com/2012/02/homemade-sweet-potato-fries.html
Glad to hear it Heather! ~ karen
Found you on pinterest, have made these fries 4 times already. The second time I made them with white Japanese sweet potatoes, they caramelized at the bottom, they were extra good!! I don’t cook a lot, and even I can make these good, this recipe is fool proof! My husband said he could eat these fries everyday! 😉
L Ooi – Glad to hear it! As you may have seen in the comments, a few people have had problems with them, but that’s because they didn’t follow the instructions exactly. Not a lot of cornstarch, thoroughly coat with oil, do NOT crowd fries on pan. Tell your husband I could eat them every day too. Really. I could. ~ karen
Those are some amazing looking fries!
Kevin – They’re pretty darn good tasting too. (frying is the foolproof method … oven baking takes a bit more finesse) ~ karen!
Will be making these tonight. I am not going to lie, I am pretty excited to try your cornstarch-crispy-fry-method Karen!
Melanie – It may take a couple of shots to get it right. When in doubt, add more oil and less cornstarch. When really in doubt use the deep fryer. 🙂 ~ karen
Tried on the top rack…soggy, tried on the bottom rack…burned???? Followed directions to the word. Must have a dis functional oven.
R m – Well. I think I’d go for the middle rack then. 🙂 Do you have convection? Use that if you do. And if the fries were soggy it’s possible you had too many of them on the pan, which causes them to steam instead of bake. Or … it could be your oven. ~ karen!
Should you season the fri or the cornstarch with s&p?
Phil – Leave the seasoning til the fries are cooked. Salt brings out moisture in foods so I’d be afraid they’d encourage the fries to be soggy. It’s hard enough to get them crispy without salt having its way with them! ~ karen
I am sorry to report. I followed your recipe EXACTLY, and my fries were far from crispy. 🙁
Ashil – Impossible. 🙂 Could be your oven wasn’t hot enough (even if you set it to the right temp the gauge could be off) or you or you crowded the pans. You really can’t put a lot of fries on the pan or they steam. If you want it to be fool proof do the same thing with the cornstarch coating and deep fry. ~ karen
Alright, I need a little bit of guidance. I tried these babies tonight. I used true sweet potatoes (light yellow in color, instead of yams which are bright orange) and I’m not sure if that was part of the problem. I could REALLY taste the cornstarch (I used 1 T). Not sure if I should just try less cornstarch or yams instead of sweet potatoes, or both, next time… thoughts?
Candace – Yes, just try less cornstarch. The fries do need to be completely dusted with the stuff though. Maybe try a bit more oil too. If all else fails eat twice as much dipping sauce on them. 🙂 ~ karen
I can’t believe all these stupid posts about, “Oh I have the perfect sauce” or “mayonaise this and mayonaise that”. All I want to read is whether or not your stupid recipe works on getting crispy yam fries! All you people that says “Oh I can hardly wait to try it” I say, why don’t you try the bloody recipe first, and then post on its success or not. Talk about a lot of nothing!! Get real guys!
I know this is WAY LATE, but i just made these for the first time and they were AMAZING. i can’t believe all the comments this got saying it didn’t work! i made them in the oven, and they had to stay in there a little bit longer, but we loved them. also, you were totally right, that sauce is perfect. lastly, i’d like to inform you that we eat antojitos a couple times a week, so basically we would starve without you and your blog.
OH you wouldn’t starve. You might end up eating each other, but … you wouldn’t starve. ~ karen
Spray olive oil works too. I u s e this in oven wi t h regular fries all the time. Makes em crispy like fried.
Phenomenal website! (Found you through Pinterest, and I’m so glad!) The kids were thrilled to help with the sorting of the sweet potatoes and putting them in the water, then they helped me to shake the bag as well. I had a little trouble with cutting them uniformly, so the littler ones burned and the biggest ones are a little squishy (any suggestions for that?) but overall, just amazing! If nothing else, I know that shaking with the right amount of corn starch will always help (and we started with way too much per fry but just added fries to the bag and kept shaking until the ratio worked itself out). And I had never realized that I probably had been cooking them way too close together. Now we’re experimenting with dips, my preschooler’s favorite part of the day so far!
Thanks Kendra! Pinterest is my best friend, LOL. I can’t believe how many people find my site from people pinning it. Glad the fries worked out for you! I’m so in love with the dipping sauce every time I try to make a new one, I can’t bring myself to do it. I could eat the mayo/cayenne/sriracha by the spoonful! ~ karen
How many sweet potatoes did you use?
Hi Angie – I can’t remember, but probably 2 or 3 large. ~ karen!
My work used to sell sweet potato fries, but instead of dipping them in something, they’d sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on them. Very good!
I wish someone would have mentioned that you have to dry the sweet potatoes off thoroughly before putting them into a bag with cornstarch. When cornstarch and water mix, it makes a gooey paste, not a nice powder as pictured. Wish I would have known to dry them beforehand!
Christiana – I don’t dry my sweet potatoes before hand. I drain the water off of them, pick them up out of the bowl, shake them out a tiny bit and then throw them in the bag. My guess is you may have used too much cornstarch. ~ karen!
I only used 1 tbsp of cornstarch. Oh well, I guess I’ll try less next time! They still tasted good, just a little mushy.
I recently discovered Japanese Kewpie mayo, which takes the Sriracha/Mayo dip to a whole new level! Kewpie is healthier than regular mayo (no unsaturated fats) and is umami at it’s finest. Yum!
Where did you discover this exactly? Where might I discover it? Have other people also discovered this? ~ karen!
I’ve seen it in a lot of different recipes and Asian sauces. You can find it at Asian groceries in a bottle with a..Kewpie baby..on it. That’s a bit different, but you should try it out! It really takes mayo to a whole new level!
Erin
Just tried this – my husband and I are still in shocked that it actually worked! It’s like the 4th SP fry recipe that I’ve tried. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!!!
I’m glad they worked out for you Patee! You must have followed the instructions to the “T”. Yeah … I kind of made it my mission to figure out a Sweet Potato fry recipe that actually *worked*. ~ karen!
You rock! I am so pinning this and trying it asap! Thanks! Your humor is welcome and make the adventure all that more welcome!
LOL, Thanks M! Pin away. I love people pinning! Lemme know if you have any problems with it. 🙂 ~ karen
Made these last night, and they turned out amazing!! Who knew it could be so simple to make crispy sweet potatoe fries? Thank you!
Olivia – I’m glad they worked out for you! ~ karen
Going to make these tonight, will go very easy on the cornstarch and make sure there is adequate oil, as I will be oven baking. I’ve tried before with the egg wash but not with success 🙁 Excited to give this a whirl! I have a bottle of Roasted Garlic & Chili Aioli by Culinary Treasures that I brought back from the US, specifically as a dip for sweet potato fries, cause I am lazy like that but next time, I will make your sauce because I do LOVE Sriracha sauce and have a big bottle of it in the fridge 🙂 I am sure it is delish! I also found you on Pinterest 🙂
Good luck Tracey! Lemme know if you need any pointers. ~ k
OK…bought pre cut SP at grocery store, perfect size. Soaked in water for one hour. Dusted lightly in cornstarch, drizzled with olive oil and tossed, preheated oven to 440F (as I am in Calgary and everything seems to need higher heat and longer cooking time), placed on baking sheet with parchment. They are soft and ‘slightly’ crunchy….I am wondering if they need higher heat yet? They were in for 20 minutes. They look perfect but are slightly limp.They are awesome with my garlic and chili aioli, regardless 🙂 I may just buy a deep fryer so I can have them perfect!! Thanks for recipe! 🙂
Tracey – They *are* pretty perfect with the deep fryer. Just cook em a bit longer, or use convection if you have it. Also try foregoing the parchment paper. And the darker your baking sheet, the better crispiness you’ll get. ~ karen!
Karen…. This IS amazing. My boyfriend hated sweet potatoes until I baked these with a touch of cayenne. It’s perfect for our diet (minus the dip) and makes me so happy I can indulge in my sweet potato obsession in a crunchy way! Thanks 🙂
Was so excited to try these, but gotta say, in my (convection) oven, at 425, these were still NOT crispy! 🙁 Tasted delicious, but didn’t stand up like they should. Next time I would use a little less cornstarch (had to brush them off cuz I used too much) and use a 500 degree oven! I think a deep fryer would be ideal (which I don’t have). Added a little sea salt and cayenne. Tasty! But still soft.
Tammy – Try more oil. I wouldn’t move it up to 500 degrees unless your oven thermometer is off and that’s why they aren’t crisping up at all. At 500, they’ll just burn. Go for more oil. ~ karen!
Hey! I’m off all grains, corn and white potatoes. Sweet potatoes are fine, do you think I could use some almond or coconut flour instead of the cornstarch? I would LOVE some super crispy sweet potato fries!!
Um I have no idea Rebecca. I’m guessing no. But that’s just a guess. All you can do is try. If it doesn’t work out all you’ve lost is a sweet potato. And dinner for that night. And possibly a pound or two. ~ karen
Okay! I guess I’ll have to try it and see what happens!!! 🙂
I’m about to make these (sweet potatoes are julienned and standing by in some water) and decided to read some of the comments first…and wow, some of these people are rude. Anyway, I’m excited to try these out, we’ll see how it goes! I’ll let you know =)
LOL. I take it in stride Joanne. Well. Usually. 🙂 People are passionate about their Sweet Potato Fries. Lemme know how it goes. ~ karen!
They didn’t turn out crispy, but I’m almost positive I didn’t add enough cornstarch. I wanted to go on the low side though because I read about other people putting too much and them being inedible (my under cornstarched ones may not be crispy but they still taste good lol). I’m looking forward to trying these again the next time I get sweet potatoes from the store. It’s a work in progress!
Also have you experimented with baking these on a wire rack set above the sheet pan? I wonder if that would make it better or worse. I’ll have to try.
Joanne – I have one pan that works perfectly for these fries and 2 that aren’t as good for getting the fries crispy. Don’t forget, you really can’t overdo it on the oil. The amount I talk about is a minimum. ~ karen!
Hi Karen – I am a 1st time visitor from Pinterest! Thank you for posting the fantastic pics along with the written directions. I love crispy, good for you food. I just tried crispy kale this week which I also love. I’ve been disappointed w/ sweet potato fries in the past. I am so excited to try your method. I’ll give you an update!
Thanks Gigi! Glad you stumbled upon my site. Or Pinterested I guess. Lemme know how it goes and I’ll see if I can make any further suggestions. ~ karen!
This is SOOOO GOOD! And simple! And cheap! Thankyou thankyou THANKYOU!
LOL. You made it I take it? ~ karen
Yes I did! I was surprised to find that I had everything to make this and decided to make it for dinner….was not disappointed! This will forever be in my recipe box!
Excellent. I *try*, to only print recipes I know are delicious and have worked for me for years. How good is that Sriracha sauce dip? LOVE it. ~ karen
HEAVENLY! Thanks for the 10 lbs I’ll gain now :p
Thank you so much, I tried them tonight and they were great. Made an adjustment I used the cornstarch and crushed a few walnuts to add to the cornstarch, sea salt and pepper mixture. I also put them in the refrigerator for a few hours prior to baking. I could have used a bit more oil when I baked them. They were very tasty.
These are better than any restaurant fries I’ve ever had!! Thank you!
These are fabulous! And yes they do get crispy – my mother was amazed that it uses cornstarch. She didn’t believe me. Brilliant recipe!
Thanks Stephanie. Cornstarch also works for getting a crispy crust on chicken, for Chinese food and such. If you search my “Cashew chicken recipe”, you’ll see I use it there too. ~ karen!
Why can’t I coat them in oil first, then toss them with cornstarch?
Kenner – Well, … why would you want to? ~ karen
Better cornstarch adherence? More on the fries and less on the bottom of the cookie sheet? Just a thought as I was pouring over the photos….
Kenner – You actually don’t want better cornstarch adherence. You’d end up with wayyy to much cornstarch sticking to the fries and it’d also turn into a gloppy mess that would never get crisp. You just want a light dusting of cornstarch, not a thick coating of it. ~ karen!
Thank you, Karen!
I can’t wait to try these! Has anyone tried adding brown sugar? Would that be added along with the corn starch or after they’ve cooked? Sweet potato newbie here!
Hi Sherrie – I probably wouldn’t add brown sugar to the corn starch. If you’re looking to sweeten them up even *more* eliminate the Sriracha sauce from the mayo dipping sauce and substitute with a dip made with mayo, a tiny bit of lemon juice, and brown sugar. Good luck. ~ karen!
yes, ma’am you are a bonafide professional and I am forever in your debt! I must, however, add that IF you ever get a hankering for the very best baked sweet potato please find a specimen from Vardaman, Mississippi – par excellance. The soil there produces a potato that, when baked, is truly sweet and creamy, no butter or brown sugar or anything else needed to create perfection! bon appetite.
Thank you Connie. More fry information coming up in a week or so. ~ karen!
Hello, I’m from Italy. I saw you on pinterest and I want you to know that I’m going to try right now whit my sweet potato ;o)
Let me know how it goes Valentina! ~ karen
I don’t know what went wrong but I followed the recipe exactly. I even used $$ organic yams and organic cornstarch. What did I get? A greasy, soggy, sticky mess! Expensive garbage.
Linda – Well, organic is good but it wouldn’t have any factor in whether or not you get crispy fries unfortunately. I’m guessing you used too much cornstarch. I may have to have a group video lesson on how to do these fries for the people who are having trouble. Sorry ’bout your fry disaster. 🙁 ~ karen
Hi Karen,
I would love to try and make these fries but I don’t have any cornstarch. Is there a substitute for this ingredient, like breadcrumbs?, or can I just leave it out?
Thanks so much!
Rebekah
Hi Rebekah – I’m afraid cornstarch is the key ingredient. If you leave it out, the fries won’t get crispy. Not in the deep fryer or the oven. If I were you, I’d just wait until you can get to the store for some cornstarch. 🙁 Sorry! ~ karen
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I bought sweet potatoes today to make fries to dip into a cilantro/lime/garlic mayo and just happened upon your pinterest post. I can’t wait to try them out!
I’m making them for supper tonight – can’t wait! Thanks!!
I could eat the dipping sauce by the bucket. Don’t forget. Soak. Drain & shake dry with your hands. Lightly toss in cornstarch. Coat with oil. You an use more oil than I specify if you want. Cook! ~ karen
I like serving sweet potato fries or chips with a variety of sauces, such as wasabi mayo, cream cheese & green onion and sour cream with curry.
Very nice change from the usual sweet potato mush!
I’m having them tonight as a matter of fact! Can’t wait. ~ karen
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Great Sauce
Thanks Matt. I know! Isn’t it good? I could eat it by the bucket. ~ karen!
I thought I was emailing myself the recipe but evidently, I was posting a message… Excellent sauce is a more accurate discription… so simple and flavorful. Will definitely use it on a number dishes. Thanks Karen
sp fries recipe
REALLY good… I made it with the lemon aioli sauce below to dip:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Easy-Aioli-242695
Excellent. I’ll give it a try. Maybe. I’m kind of addicted to the Sriracha sauce dip. 🙂 ~ karen
Hi Karen!
These look INCREDIBLE. Our local favourite restaurant, Cafe Hollander, makes the most wonderful sweet potato fries in the world… And i’ve been looking for a great recipe for them!
ONE QUESTION: I can’t eat anything with corn in it. Is there any alternative to corn starch that will work with this and still get crispy, wonderful results?
…
Karen – I’m afraid cornstarch is the magic ingredient. The only other thing I can think of is another similar starch like potato starch. Although I have NO idea if it will work or not. Give it a shot and let me know. 🙂 ~ karen
I will definitely have to try these. My husband and I both enjoy sweet potato fries although he prefers them more crispy, the less sweet potato-y the better he thinks. I think the Siracha Mayo will make them taste great. Less of a sweet, sugary side dish for the holidays and more of a hamburger and hot dogs kinda side.
Hi Krystal – Yup. The dipping sauce *makes* them! I’m not a huge fan of “sweet” either, but THESE I love. ~ karen
I listed this recipe on my “favorite recipe finds” post today! I want my readers to see this yummy one! 🙂 http://vegetarianmamma.blogspot.com/2012/04/favorite-recipe-finds-week-of-41612.html
Cindy 🙂
Thank you Cindy. 🙂 ~ k
Hey there! I saw this recipe on Pinterest and tried it tonight. I baked them, and they turned out GREAT! Not as crispy as your picture seems, but still crispy enough. I also substituted nonfat plain Greek yogurt for the mayo to make it healthier, and the dip was still delicious. One tip: bake the fries on your lowest rack in the oven, it makes them crispier. Thank for sharing your recipe!!!
Karen,
Would you mind please sharing with us the approximate number of potatoes you used? That should give us all a baseline for your 1-2 tbsp of corn starch and 2 tbsp. I’ve tried this recipe a few times and still end up with burnt, soggy fries.
Perhaps add it to directions so you are asked this over and over? Something like “I used 3 medium sized sweet potatoes”
Tim – To be honest, I can’t remember how many I used. Chances are it was 2 or 3 very large sweet potatoes, but it should really matter. When I make these I rarely measure the corn starch. I just dump a bunch in the bag, throw ALL of my fries in, making sure there’s a lot of air in the bag, shake quickly then pull them out. It’s one of those things, where if I’m not there seeing exactly what’s going on it’s hard to determine what the problem is. It could be an oven that’s running too high a temp., not enough oil, too much cornstarch left on the fries etc. etc. Sorry I can’t be more help. ~ karen
Also, you say the soaking in water is optional…what benefit does it/should it provide?
Tim – Soaking potatoes (either sweet or regular) removes starch from the potato. You know how the water gets all cloudy? That’s the starch. Starch retains moisture basically, so the more starch you get out of the potato, the drier it will be, therefore making crispiness easier to attain. Don’t forget the size of the fry is important too. ~ karen!
I don’t know, or honestly care, where you grew up, to think that it’s ok to come off with such an egotistical opening to this post. But my Grandmother, that was born in 1906, made “fried” sweet potatoes EVERY Sunday for US, her grandchildren, before anyone EVER thought of “sweet potato fries”. So maybe you need to SERIOUSLY “back up”. And remember that there were a LOT of really incredible cooks out there providing for their families before you were ever even thought of. AND, don’t even TRY to throw the “I know french fries” card with me. That’s the only thing I ever made myself as a snack when I came home from school. You will never win this arguement with me. Your post insulted me. And I’ve told you why.
Wow. Um. You’re kindda nuts. ~ karen
These look good! Can you add sea salt to the oil? And what is sriracha sauce? I have never used it or actually I’ve never heard of it! I have baked the frozen sweet potato fries and look forward to trying your recipe. Thanks for sharing. Ann
Hi Ann – You’ll find Sriracha sauce in the “hot sauce” or Asian/International aisle. I wouldn’t add sea salt to the oil if I were you. Salt draws out water from the surface and will do nothing to crisp up your fries. Leave the sea salt until after you’ve cooked them. And like I tell everyone … if you want to absolutely guarantee success … do the cornstarch method, but fry the in a deep fryer. That method is foolproof, while the oven method takes a bit of finessing and following EVERY direction I give you. Good luck! ~ karen
We made these using the deep fryer method yesterday (after being continually disappointed with soggy SP fries before coming across this recipe) and they were AMAZING! We must have gotten just the right amount of cornstarch coating because we couldn’t taste the cornstarch at all but they were perfectly crispy and cooked through all the way! So glad we found this!
Also, we toss ours with chili salt after they come out of the fryer and then dip them in a roasted garlic chipotle mayo – delicious!
Hi Renee! Thanks for letting me know. Yup. It’s almost impossible to screw up the deep fry method. They’re always good. The oven method takes a little more finesse. I made them last night actually and I was greedy putting too many in the oven. They didn’t turn out well at all. You CANNOT crowd the pan. :/ ~ karen!
For those who want the crispy fries without the gluten…
Tapioca starch works perfectly! I followed the recipe exactly, but just substituted tapioca starch and they were devilishly delicious! Thank you so much for helping me indulge in one of my favorite comfort foods!
Thanks for the Tapioca tip! ~ karen
i make these constantly, and they’re always awesome, but the best part is that my kid loves them. he’s ten months old and it’s so nice to have a snack i can throw in a container and take with us and not worry about whether or not it’s healthy and how big a mess he’s going to make. thanks!
I’m glad they work out for you Sara! ~ karen
I got this on the first try THANKS!!!
I had a little bit of TEMPURA powder mix leftover from making tempura shrimp the other night and decided to use that instead of cornstarch. Tasted amazing!!! I can’t imagine it tasting any better, so I will continue using the tempura mix instead of cornstarch because i’m worried it might taste starchy.
Thank you so much for the “shake n’ bake” trick. I deep fried at the highest setting as you suggested and they were perfect in minutes.
Great! If the tempura powder works … then no need to change it. 🙂 ~ karen
Oh man! Found this on Pinterest and just made them for my daughter for lunch. Neither of us are sweet potato fans — LOVE french fries, though, so I was looking for something healthier with the same crunch. I cut them more like shoestring (as that’s what we prefer), so probably didn’t need the full 15 minutes. Coated them with the corn starch, as well as a pinch of salt and some lemon pepper. Crispy and delicious! My daughter (and I) may be converted sweet potato fans afterall, thanks to this great recipe! THank you for sharing it!
Glad you liked them Shannon! ~ karen
Enjoyed reading your post. Made me laugh. It’s true that most people looovveee sweet potatoes fries because they are suppose to be healthy. But Really? When they’re breaded, fried and dipped in a mayo sauce, that all goes out the window.
Your fries look delicious. Making mine this way tonight!
All these sauces for SP fries??? doesn’t anyone use a scoop of whipped butter and a drizzle of honey over them >>??<<
Chip – Dunno. I use the hot mayo sauce I’ve given the recipe for. I find sweet potatoes sweet enough, so I like to cut the sweet with a lotta spice! 🙂 ~ karen
Karen,
Your recipes are the BOMB! Made them tonight and both the fries and the sauce were fantastic. Deep fried them in olive oil. Have you ever considered the food concession business? What other amazing recipes do you have to offer?
Thanks again,
Timothy “Hudy” Hudacek
I found these from Pinterest and just had them with our dinner tonight – they were great! I read the reviews so I was very careful with the corn starch – I tried just a few initially and determined I had too much in the bag. I poured most of it out and got them lightly coated. I used Canola Oil. My fries were a little thicker than pictured, so I ended up roasting for 30 minutes total, turning them every 10 minutes. I just kept baking them until they got crispy! Also – I sprinkled salt and pepper on mine before I baked them. Very yummy!! Could be my new favorite thing.
Thanks Shaugness – You are proof that following the instructions (*and* having a little common sense) works! Glad you liked em. Did you make the sauce? ~ karen
Yes! The sauce was awesome and really complemented the fries. I’ve been using mayo made with Olive Oil, so that helps with calories! And it tastes just as good as regular mayo in my opinion. Thanks!
sounds great, I can’t wait to try,,,, however i will sprinkle with powdered sugar… yall should try it southern way
I just made these and yes, they are nothing like regular french fries! But, not too bad either. I didn’t have the stuff to make the sauce. Which I’m sure goes right with them. They are best right out of the oven.
My fries turned out so great (and the recipe was nice and easy)!!! Thank you so much for this recipe. I found you through Pinterest.
Ali – GREAT. I’m glad they worked out for you. ~ karen!
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I would much rather have the Sweet type of fries. I have been trying different methods to make them taste and feel right. NOW I know the rest of the story.
Martha – Now you do. 🙂 As I’ve told everyone, if you want to *guarantee* that they work the first time, deep fry them. If you’re willing to play around and learn a little, do the oven baked. Good luck. And make sure you make the dipping sauce! So good. ~ karen!
These were easy and fabulous. My family loves sp fries, never would have thought cornstarch!!…anyway to print the recipe, can’t find a “print recipe” button.
I made these today for lunch… While mine *looked* like yours, they weren’t crispy and the cornstarch left a funny taste in my mouth afterwards. I went easy on the cornstarch, like the directions said, but it just isn’t tasty. Any advice on where I went wrong?
MC – If they weren’t crispy there are a few things that could be wrong. Not enough oil. Feel free to add as much as you want to coat the fries. Crowded pan. There has to be quite a lot or room around the fries. Not a hot enough oven. Oven temperatures vary depending on the oven. You may need to turn yours up a bit. Phew. Those are the off the top of my head ideas. ~ karen!
Thank you for replying! I will try out some of your suggestions. Here’s hoping I get it right! I do love sweet potato fries. 🙂
MC – If all else fails, do them in a deep fryer. There’s absolutely no screwing them up that way. (you still need to dust in cornstarch for the deep fryer) ~ karen
I love you. I am bookmarking, and using this page always!
Jessica. I love you too. ~ karen
So this is obviously an old post, but I pinned it way way back and finally got around to trying sweet potato fries this way two nights ago. They were perfect! I ended up needing an additional five minutes in the oven, but maybe my fries were cut a little thicker. I didn’t try the Sriracha mayo, but that’s next on the list. Thanks for this!
Yum! I’m too lazy to make sweet potato fries (I use bagged ones…hate cutting potatoes), but that sauce looks awesome. Awesomesauce. Heh.
made these last night. first attempt….perfect…everyone should read through all of the comments before trying these. so many great pointers! TY!! xo
Well, I gave it a go, but it was not a success, sadly. I feel like I followed the directions closely, but they wouldn’t cook. We were starving, so I gave up and threw them in a fry pan on the stove to finish them off – not bad, just not a ‘fry.’
variations…..
Soak in vinegar and salt water (1:5)plus 1Tbsp coarse salt. Soak 1 hour. Drain and pat dry.
Toss with olive oil or with egg whites (commercial) then cornstarch.
So happy to find this! I love sweet potato fries (drizzled with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon, yum!) but I could never make them. Mine always came out half soggy, half burnt. Not appetizing. I just used this and they were so good. I think I still need to tweak a little more, but I was so pleased with them.
Thanks for the tips!
Excellent! Glad they worked out for you. ~ karen
Holy millions of comments! Hi Karen, I tried reading through in case the answer was in there but I’m giving up and just asking. Your fries look amazing, and everything I read was that everyone else had success with your tips. HELP! I’m about to venture onto attempt #5 and keep wasting time and sweet potatoes!
First let me explain that I’m on an elimination diet and can’t have corn yet, so upon talking with some folks and reading up on it, tapioca starch seemed the appropriate substitute, and indeed when coated they appear just like in your pictures (if appearance matters?) But I don’t know, maybe this is the problem.. Anyway, no matter what I do- lower the heat of the oven, bake for less time, bake for more time, sometimes I don’t have the choice, because the bottoms are burning every. single. time. And the rest of them remain soggy. Sometimes I’ll see an edge that look bubbly and crispy like yours do, but it’s few and far between. I’ve even bought new pans & cookie sheets in case the old pizza pans were causing the burning.
I’ve only just been getting interested in cooking and baking in the past few months, so I’m wondering if maybe my altitude has something to do with the oven temp? I live in the White Mountains of NH and have no idea- but could find out- what altitude I’m at if you think that might matter. Other than that.. The rack is closer to the top of the oven so it’s as far away from the heat source at the bottom.. gahh.. Oh, and yes I’ve tried flipping them mid-bake too but they’re already burning. I might just hold off again until I can use corn starch in case the tapioca starch is the culprit. Thanks for any help you can offer. 🙂 Your blog is awesome.
Hi Julie! I think you’ll do better w/ corn starch. However, in the meantime have you tried deep frying them? Why don’t you give that a shot. It’s a fool proof way. If they don’t get crispy with deep frying you KNOW it’s the tapioca starch. Then you can move on. 🙂 ~ karen
Thank you so much. You have helped me solve a mystery of many years… 🙂
You’re welcome Tom. If you want to make sure it work first shot out of the gate then soak em in water, do the cornstarch then deep fry. ~ karen!
Are those pictures from the over or deep fryer
Becca – The oven. ~ karen
Lesson learned – when trying a new, very much longed for recipe found on Pinterest, instead of following the synopsis of instruction under the picture, click to the link for more details. For only soaking a half an hour, tossing with a good cup of corn starch (and salt, how can you have fries without salt?!), and overcrowding the pan (remedied half way through), they were still edible for me and my three year old. I can’t wait to see what happens when I actually FOLLOW your instructions. Thanks for all the work you did for me!
Lol. Oh crud. Yes, give it another shot with the proper instructions. The quick and easy way is soak, toss in cornstarch, deep fry. Good luck either way! – karen
Thanks for the great tip! I can’t wait to try this. I usually cut my sweet potatoes into fries and freeze them until I’m ready to use them. I bake them straight from the freezer. I would like to make them crispy like yours. Is it possible to freeze these before baking?
Just made your recipe as part of my 4th of July dinner! I hope that’s okay, I made sure to link people to your blog for the original recipe.
Check it out here: http://thecoffeebreaker.blogspot.com/2012/07/independence-day-dinner.html
Thanks Sarah! – karen
What temperature do you preheat the oven and cook the sweet potatoes?? I’ve never had luck with crisping them!
THANK YOU! I’ve been driving my roommates crazy all year trying to make sweet potato fries that get soft in the middle and crispy on the outside and you finally solved my problem. (Seriously, piles and piles of sweet potato fries ranging from solid to meh and my roomies are tired of it.)
Also, if you’re ever in Chicago, the best french fries I’ve ever had were the french fries with truffle oil at Rocket. Dangerously delicious, I hope you get a chance to try them someday.
Thanks Meg! Did you use the oven or deep fry method? ~ karen!
Yikes.
It’s possible I didn’t use enough olive oil, because my fries, crispy though they were on the outside, still looked slightly white from the cornstarch (and there wasn’t really that much cornstarch on them). They tasted awful, too. 🙁
I think I’m doomed to just never be able to produce good fries.
No ma’am. Not doomed. Just use more oil. Go for vegetable oil if you want. Doesn’t matter. And glug it on if you like. As I always say, when in doubt, use the deep fryer. (still with the cornstarch) ~ karen!
It looks as if you peeled the potatoes?!? Dumb question, I know…but do you have to peel them or not??? Mine are soaking now…gotta know soon! LOL Thanks 🙂 Can not wait to try them! I love the sauce (have had it in a restaurant) but also love to dip in melted butter/brown sugar mixture for a “sweet” treat!
Hi K – I always peel them, but if you haven’t I don’t think it’s going to matter. By the way, you should soak them after you cut them. I’m not sure if I mentioned that in the original post. ~ karen!
Thanks so much for your quick response! 🙂 I did not peel them, and that didn’t really seem to be a problem on most pieces. I, unfortunately, was not successful in the magic trick of corn starch–olive oil ratio. *Sad Face!* I used too much cornstarch. I’ll have to try this again. I really want it to work!!!! Thank you, again, for the recipe and your help! Cross your fingers for better luck next time! Haha!
Karen – You’re welcome. You’ll get there. Takes a few trial and errors. ~ karen!
Looks great! Would love a print button for recipes!
Hi Jill. I did this post prior do doing printable recipes. I’m workin’ my way through them. 🙂 ~ karen
My fiance is a big sweet potato fry fan. Every once in a while, I try to make some at home and it just never ends well. Now, that has changed! I made these tonight and they were amazing. I didn’t think you could make them this crispy in the oven! Thanks for the pointers, I will definitely be making these on a regular basis : )
Mary! I’m so glad to hear that. Some people have trouble, but this is one of those recipes you have to follow to the T. Your baking sheet has a lot to do with it as well. We ate them just tonight! (I went nuts and deep fried them though) Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know about your results. ~ karen!
Hmmm…I followed the directions to a T and my fries didn’t get crispy!! 🙁 I arranged them really nicely in rows on the cookie sheet so i could make sure to get the most fries on there as I could. I made sure to leave probably at least a 1/4 inch between them all and they were limp, and they burned pretty easy.. i wonder if mine would cook better if i set the oven to 400 instead of 425 or something? do you have any recommendations? thanks
Sorry ’bout the fries Cheri. A lot of it does depend on your oven and baking sheet. For your baking sheet the darker the better. You can sometimes get good old dark ones at second hand stores. Aside from that all I can say is try, try again with the equipment you have. Like you say, try a different temp., different pan. All ovens should be the same, but often they’re not. ~ karen!
So, my fries are actually in the oven i just turn them over…and well, i don’t think i got the ratio just right…or maybe i didn’t cut the fires right i am not sure…i will try again 🙂 because i am not giving up
Crystal – Do not give up! They’ll work out. It could also be your baking sheet. The older and darker the better. Good luck. ~ karen!
They weren’t crispy for me. 🙁
I recently tried doing something similar… although no cornstarch, but on the cookie sheet I had a cooling/baking rack that I lined the fries on and they surprised me by getting a little crispy. Have you tried that? I might have to try a combo of your recipe with the cornstarch and baking them on a rack. No fluipping necesary then since there is no pool of grease for it. Unless the hot pan helps the crispiness???
Now I just gotta keep working on figuring out a twice stuffed sweet potato without the skins falling flat
yum
Made these for the first time tonight. They were amazing! I think I want to marry you they were so good. Obama says it’s ok, but my husband says no. Anyway, I coated my pan with olive oil instead of drizzling on top and seasoned the cornstarch with garlic and sea salt. My husband doesn’t like sweet potatoes, and he ate half of the plate. Great recipe!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent. Glad they worked out for you JJ! ~ karen
I had to bake mine about twice as long to get em nice and crispy. Made the dipping sauce too. Oh my goodness, they were sublime!
Great! I l o v e the dipping sauce. 🙂 ~ karen
Umm.. dumb question which doesn’t seem to have been answered here, but do you dry them off between the soaking and the corn starch steps, or do you just throw them in the bag to coat soaking wet?
Ingrid – Just shake them out with your hands. ~ karen!
I made these 4 times and they came out perfect the first 2 and the 3rd and 4th times they stuck! I used tin foil all times…..did i use too much oil the times they stuck?? i can’t find much i did different! but i love these and don’t want to give up!
Hi Amanda – Chances are you didn’t use enough oil the 3rd and 4th times around. You’ll get the hang of it. ~ karen!
I tried making sweet potato fries once after having them at a restaurant. The thing that kept me from making them again was how HARD a sweet potato is to cut. Any tips on that? When I saw you mention soaking them in water, I thought maybe that was the trick – but then I realized you meant after they were cut up.
Fun site – thanks!
Elda – Nope, no trick to cutting the sweet potato. Although you can buy a plastic guard to fit over your knife to make cutting hard vegetables easier. http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=10156&cat=2,40733,40738 It’s also smart to cut just a small sliver off the bottom of the sweet potato. That way you can rest it on the cutting board and it has a flat surface to sit on, so it doesn’t roll around. ~ karen!
Thanks, I’ve been looking for a way to make SPF crispy. Made it tonight and they were the best I’ve made. Can you put the olive oil in the bag first and shake it up before adding the corn starch?
Where did you get the serving dishes??? I love them!
I tried these this weekend. We were so excited to hopefully have crispy sweet potatoes fries without frying them. Well were we ever disappointed! I followed this recipe to a T! and am an excellent cook. They looked good, but tasted awful. Oh well.. back to square one. thanks anyway
After soaking the potatoes in water, and before coating them with corn starch, do you pat them dry…or put them in the bag, wet?
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have been trying to crack this code for a while now. I thought for a little while that the crunchy, outer crust on the frozen, store bought sweet potato fries was from passing them through a light egg wash (though I never attempted this myself). Cornstarch makes so much more sense though!
Dear lord! This works! I asked my wife if she wouldn’t mind if I tried making sweet potato fries again tonight…she informed me this would be the last time, and lo and behold, this recipe kept me in the sweet potato fry biz! Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m all for supporting the advancement of sweet potato fry popularity. ~ karen!
I love sriracha and use it ALL the time. For a healthier alternative (didn’t read all the comments to see if there was all ready the suggestions) try light or fat free sour cream. If you’re not a mayo person and don’t mind the calories sriracha and regular sour cream is an amazing combo for fries, quesadillas, topping on omelets, and pretty much anything else.
I’m about to try these fries for the 5th time. I’m wild about the sauce and I can see the potential for the fries to be out of this world, but I’m not quite there yet. Just skimmed through the comments for additional help and see some suggestions that I will try this go around. Would using an oil with a higher smoke point than olive oil help? I’ve got safflower oil in mind.
Ann – Sure use any vegetable type oil you want. And use more if it if they aren’t getting crispy enough. I often use whatever oil is the one I grab first. ~ karen!
Thanks! I really want this work because I like what I’ve tasted so far — the fries just need to be crispier!
Looks like the 5th time’s a charm! Fries came out perfect. Seems like dousing in oil did the trick — might as well have deep fried them! I think the safflower oil was a better choice over the olive oil, too, especially since they bake at such a high heat. Served them with mustard and brown sugar glazed pork medallions and cabbage braised in white wine. Yum!!!
Phew! It all depends on the oven and the moisture in the fry etc. etc. Deep frying in cornstarch is still the best way but if you can stick with it and figure out the oven method you can eat them more often. 😉 ~ karen
I’m going to have to give this method a try. Sounds really good, thanks. I love them with Sour cream 🙂
Ok, now I am going to cry! This is the worst news ever! I have been so excited about the availability of SPF in restaurants, but to find out they are adding my nemesis corn to them, well that truely burst my bubble. Being sensitive to night shades (potatoes) I have turned to my friend the yam. Any brilliant ideas of something else I could coat with? I just eat them mushy at home, but love the crispness of the fries I miss so dearly! Help, please oh kitchen goddess!
Jennifer – I haven’t tried this personally, but the next best thing I can think to go with would be Arrowroot powder. That’d be my best guess but it’s only a guess! Good luck. ~ karen
WOW!!!!!!! I regret only making a small batch because now I want more! I’m so amazed that it worked because everything I’ve tried has failed horribly! THANK YOU!
MY DIP:
1 heaping tbs of mayo
1 tsp sugar
1 large pinch of coriander powder
1 dash of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of hot sauce
deedee – Excellent! Glad they worked out for you! ~ karen p.s. if you did them in the oven don’t forget, the bigger the batch the more steam they create, the less crispy they’ll be.
Any idea whether or not these will freeze and re-heat well?
Hi AJ. Not a clue! I freeze my regular french fries quite often, but haven’t tried these. The cornstarch element worries me a bit .. but … how ’bout you try it out then let me know, LOL! ~ karen
I made these last night, and while they were crispy, I did not like that I could still taste the cornstarch a lot. I guess these just need to be deep fried for me.
Martika – You may have just used a bit too much cornstarch. It doesn’t take much. Also … remember if you deep fry them that you *still* have to use cornstarch. Just deep frying won’t get them crispy, oddly enough. ~ karen!
i just made these and while the sweet potatoes are still not as crispy as i would like it, the sauce ROCKED!!! i made just 1 sweet potato for myself and eyeballed the sauce ingredients, so yummy. i placed all the fries on a metal rack hoping that it would get crispier with all the space around it, next time i’ll try oiling the bottom rack like one of the other suggestions. or i’ll soak them in water first.
Sophia – Definitely soak them. Also, if you want to guaranteeeeeee they’ll be super-crispy the only absolute fool proof way to do it is to use the deep fry method. (you still have to do all the other steps including soaking and cornstarch, but instead of baking in oven you fry in oil) ~ karen!
I had sweet potato fries on my mind and tried out your recipe. I get what you meant about a learning curve. I am going to have to try again…used way too much cornstarch and too hot an oven. I had to throw them all out. They were burnt and powdery-starchy. Yuck! I have another sweet potato so will try again tomorrow.
Hi Yola. Oh dear. Not good. Well … like I always say, if you want to skip the learning curve go straight to the deep fry method. (along with the soaking in water and cornstarch). ~ karen!
Do you dry off the SP before putting them in the bag and putting corn starch on them?
Hi Joyce – I just shake grab a bunch from the bowl and shake them off really well. You can dry them but there has to be enough moisture for some cornstarch to stick. ~ karen!
I’ve tried this a few times, but haven’t been able to get the fries crispy. 🙁 I’m sure having the right cornstarch to oil ratio, makes all the difference.
Will give it another go, and maybe crank up the oven temp to 425.
MerelyMarie – Like I say, if you’re desperate just deep fry them (along with the soaking and the cornstarch). They cook in no time and they’re always, always crispy. No screwing around. No need to worry about finessing anything. 🙂 Good luck. ~ karen!
As a future “fry professional”, I must nail the elusive “crispy oven fry”. Ha! Thanks Karen! 😉
Ah! Well then carry on soldier. ~ karen!
It works! I tried your recipe for the first time 6 months ago, and it flopped. I mean, the sweet potatoes were delicious but NOT AT ALL crispy. Well this time I said to heck with being healthy and smothered the corn starched babies in oil (I’m thinking maybe quarter cup per pan?) And it was magical. Cripsy on the outside. Soft on the inside. Thank you!
You’re welcome Ethyl! I’m glad you gave it another shot. Did you make the dipping sauce? ~ karen! p.s. Now I want sw. potato fries.
I can’t use corn starch – don’t eat grains, but how about arrowroot powder? Would that work here?
Ah. You must be Paleo. Well, I would say the closest thing is probably arrowroot powder but I’ve never personally tried it so I can’t guarantee it will work. This recipe is a bit trial and error for whoever is making it so I’m not sure what throwing arrowroot powder into the mix will do, LOL. All I can say is it seems to be the best substitute I can think of so give it a try. ~ karen!
Hello! I am happy to report that I went ahead and used arrowroot powder, I did SP chips -I used a mandolin, and they came out PERFECT! They were crispy and tasty! I also used uncured bacon fat as my oil. OMG they were so tasty! I also made your dipping sauce with some home made mayo -yes, paleo mayo, and it was the perfect combination. I’ve shared your recipe already and posted a picture of the final work. These chips had the flavor of restaurant sweet potato fries, but healthy – no soy, GMO, chemicals or gluten. THANK YOU!
Excellent! Glad to know arrowroot powder works. ~ karen!
I found you on Pinterest and I made this today they came out delicious. After reading a few post I decide and divide in 2 batches to measure my corn starch and oil. 1st batch not as good as the second one… My family loves it
Excellent Maria! I’m glad they worked out well for you. By the second batch the oven was probably heated up better, plus the pan may have been hot. ~ karen!
I have been hooked on sweet potato fries for 4-5 yrs at a bar in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s called the Black Market Bar & Grill also on Facebook, they serve theirs with a side of honey mustard, similar to O’charley’s honey mustard we buy at Sam’s Club here local. It is so yummy. Their menu you would love, very eclectic. A real twist on Yumms!!!
Thanks for the recipe using cornstarch, definitely the magic trick to make them crispy.
You’re welcome Terese! ~ karen
this is kinda weird question…if i dont have cookie sheet…can i use wax paper?
Hi Dyanne – No waxed paper definitely won’t work. Definitely. You need to buy a cookie sheet, or even if you have any kind of glass baking dish … something like that. It’s a difficult recipe to perfect at the best of times let alone without the right equipment. You can get cookie sheets for about $2 at second hand stores. ~ karen!
first of all, let me say this…i have NEVER baked in my life…always on the stove top kinda person..and i wanted to give this a try….i made 3 batches and all came out exactly the same! it was PERFECT!!!
ive read the comments on why some didnt turn out the way it should, so what i did was, while the oven was heating up, i place the sheet on the pan and put all 3 of them in the oven to be heated up for 10 mins.
Then i put oil in a big bowl and mix the corn starched powdered sweet potatoes in it and then transferred it to the heated pan…
15 minutes in and walla!!!! it came out great! thanks karen!!!!!! definitely a keeper!!!!
LOL. How did you go from having no cookie sheets to having 3?! Glad it worked for you. ~ karen
lol!!!! i know right! i had to drag my lazy ass to the supermarket to get those cookie sheet….took me like half an hour thinking about going to the store….lol! ur sweet potatoes were just so hard to resist! lol!
You forgot a crucial step! Because I’m a new cook I follow directions to a T and sometimes that can be to a fault. You need to add “Pat soaked fries with a paper towel prior to placing them in the bag of starch.” Although I drained the water and gave them a little shake before placing them in the bag they had too much moisture on them and became a sloppy mess. I will try again at a later date with the additional step; my husband is so sick of my failed attempts at sweet potato fries.
Brittany – I actually don’t pat mine down with a paper towel. I just shake them out vigorously the way you did. But you can pat if you like. ~ karen
I tried it tonight ; DELICIOUS, and easy !!! thanks !
I can’t eat corn (or corn starch) but use arrowroot powder as a substitute. Has anyone ever tried this recipe with arrowroot?
Have you tried spraying them with oil rather than drizzling them? Just wondering how that would work.
found these on pintrest and made them tonight. Loved them! I shook mine out in the collander after covering them with cornstarch, and ended up cooking them a little longer than posted, but they came out awesome. Some were crispier than others, but overall a nice balance. And they’re nice with salsa con queso too!
Glad to hear it Emily! I hate it when people post comments about them though. It reminds me about them and I want to make them immediately. ~ karen!
How do I comment on this site… “Guaranteed Crispy Sweet Potato Fries”?
You just did. ~ karen
Great tip with the corn starch – I tried this last night and it worked a treat! Very tasty, and a nice crunch to the sweet potatoes.
To anyone saying this doesn’t work: it’s YOU, not the recipe. Either your oven isn’t hot enough or you’re overcrowding the tray. I actually split my batch over 2 trays to ensure they didn’t steam.
YUM! 🙂
LOL, thank you for the support Matthew. Glad you perfected them! ~ karen
Went exactly by the recipe and they were good but not crispy! Second batch I did at 450 degrees for 25 min and they were PERFECT!
Excellent. Yes, it’s a finicky recipe, but if you give it a couple of shots you find what works for you. ~ karen!
Fantastic!
I have tried many times to make crispy sp fries this worked a treat
Thank you from Edinburgh -Scotand!
Just tried making these. Definitely more crispy then my usual cut, season and bake SPF. I really want this to work. I didn’t have time to soak before (chasing a 1 year old around, I can’t think that far ahead). I had a really hard time with the cornstarch. Way too much stuck to most of them. Is it because I didn’t soak? Tried baking them as they were and I can tell the ones that had just a dusting cooked faster, crisped up more. Any suggestions?
I have always, and did this time, season mine with cinnamon, cumin and garlic powder. Yum! And my dipping sauce is “homemade” curried ketchup (mix ketchup with sweet curry powder and garlic powder).
So now I just need to figure out the cornstarch. Hmmmmm…
I used Veganaise and Tuong Ot” Sriracha. Tasted great.
FYI use grapeseed oil. Any olive oil heated up for you is BAD. I’m no scientist but the research I’ve seen shows that heating it up changes the chemical composition negatively.
Excited to try this!
After soaking them, should they be dried before putting them in the corn starch or still a little wet?
Hi Lora – I just shake them out vigorously by hand. All you need is for the potatoes to be damp enough for the cornstarch to stick. The drier they are the less cornstarch that will stick, which is good. You don’t want a huge blanket of cornstarch on them. ~ karen!
Ok. Thanks. I’ll give it a whirl!
Thanks for the quick response.
I have a batch of these on trial in the oven. Im a vegan food blogger so would love to be able to add the finished result to the blog with ofcourse a thankyou to you for your brilliance!
Tried this and though they were better, still not quite right. Will keep trying!
I read this recipe once and then tried to recreate it weeks later by memory. I had limited success.
I forgot that it was only a tablespoon or 2 of cornstarch and dumped a cup of it in the bag.
That said – I did remember the oil drizzle and managed to coat a good number of SPFries. Those ones? They turned out awesome. Like GREAT!
The super coated ones? Well tasted like floury crap.
Long story short, I just cooked a new batch and they are the crispiest, tastiest SP Fries I’ve ever had at home.
(I use mayo, chipoltle and jalepeno juice as my dip but it doesn’t matter – the fries are so great any dip is extra..)
Yay! Glad they worked for you. Might have to try jalapeño juice in my dip! LOVE jalapeño juice! ~ karen!
I’m making these shortly. I just made a half batch of the Sriracha mayo, adding a squirt of Hoisin sauce to it to make it interesting. Yum! That would be good with almost anything.
I just made these, and they turned out awesome! I’m so excited they aren’t soggy!
As for the people who think this recipe doesn’t work, the only thing I can say is you probably used too much cornstarch. Just put a small amount in the bag.
Great recipe!
I just reviewed your recipe on my blog. These were so light and crispy on the outside, perfect on the inside–yum! The soaking time really does make a difference, too. Thanks for sharing your professional french fry expertise with us!
Thanks Mrs.Mackersnapper! ~ karen
Thanks for sharing your technique! I love sweet potato fries and shared your recipe on my latest meal plan, thank you!
Wow, what a discussion! This recipe is great, have made them using the deep fryer, and love them. Perfect. I have a question that I’ve googled, and can’t find an answer to: How long can you get away with the soaking part? With longer soaking, I assume that nutrient content may change, possibly flavour also? Just wondering how I can prepare them somewhat ahead.
Hi Mary – You can soak them for a longggg time. You aren’t sucking out any nutrients. Just starch. You can cut and soak 24 hours ahead of time even. ~ karen
I must say, I was a bit suspicious of your guarantee of crispy fries, especially given some of the negative comments that were posted here stating otherwise. But after 3 failed attempts at getting my sweet potato fries crispy, I knew I had to give your strategy a try, and oh, how I never should have doubted. Using the deep frying method, my fries came out PERFECTLY. Karen, you’re a super star!
Thanks Ian. I’m glad it worked for you. Anyone who says it didn’t work for them simply didn’t do it right. They’ll argue about that fact but it’s the truth. Happy crispy fry eating! ~ karen
This is the bomb! My husband doesn’t like sweet potatoes and ate it all.
Excellent! Thank you. Did you make the dip? I love the dip. I could just eat a bowl of the dip. ~ karen!
cornstarch worked great to keep them crisp, deep fried and they were awesome!!
Excellent. ~ karen!
This sounds like an excellent recipe! My favorite dip for sweet potato fries is mayo with dijon mustard (I use a garlic-flavored dijon) – it is totally amazing! Will definitely try the Sriracha mix soon too…
Hi Karen,
I found you via Pinterest. I admit I am a fry addict, but I love CRISPY sweet potato fries just as much as “real” french fries. I’ve only been able to find good ones at certain places and have been wondering how to do this at home. I can’t wait to try this over the weekend!
Thanks so much for posting this!
Melissa
Melissa – If you want to *guarantee* they work the first shot out of the gate, deep fry them. (you still need to soak and coat them in cornstarch … sweet potatoes won’t get crispy even in a deep fryer if you skip these steps). 80% get crispy fries their first shot at doing in the oven but around 20% struggle with it the first time, LOL. Enjoy! ~ karen
These are yams, not sweet potatoes, genius.
Hello Mr. Personality. It’s funny you should mention that. Seeing as you clearly have an eye for spotting mistakes I’m sure you’d like to know one of your own. These are indeed Sweet Potatoes I’ve shown. I even know the variety, but more on that later.
Yams are in fact quite rare in North America and usually only found in specialty markets. Sweet Potatoes are often mislabeled as Yams in grocery stores as a matter of fact. Yams are grown mainly in Africa while sweet potatoes in America. This particular sweet potato variety is called Beauregard. But I’m sure you know that. You being a genius and all. Honest mistake, which I forgive you for and won’t make a snarky, obnoxious, condescending comment about. ‘Cause that might make you feel bad about your honest mistake. Feel free to comment again if you have more questions about the difference between yams and sweet potatoes. ~ karen
What did I do wrong? I made these and they were slightly above awful. The fries were anything but crisp and very starchy… the outer coating almost made a paste. I dusted off as much cornstarch as possible when I made them…
Hi Tiana – It could be a few things. Definitely too much cornstarch in the bag for the amount of fries. They also may have been too wet when you tossed them in the cornstarch. And it sounds like there may have been too many fries on the baking sheet. That’s just a guess from how you described they turned out. ~ karen!
Wonderful! We have tried any number of sweet potato fries recipes with no success…till now! Thank You! Now I will smile when I see them in our CSA box!!
Excellent! So did you try them? Did you make the sauce too? I ask everyone if they made the dipping sauce because it’s my fav. part. ~ karen!
Is arrowroot OK to use instead of the cornstarch? If so, would the quantity be the same? And what kind of oil in the deep fryer? I use lard for my pork rind fried chicken. I’m looking forward to these fries with the dipping sauce (with my homemade walnut oil [or avocado oil] mayonnaise).
Hi Allen – I’ve heard others have used arrowroot powder with success. Just use the same amount. You don’t need a lot. Only a tablespoon or two in the bag for 2 or 3 big sweet potatoes. I use Canola Oil or any other type of vegetable oil, but if you like to fry in lard you can use that too! ~ karen
Still not crispy–although getting better. I think my deep fryer isn’t hot enough. I don’t have a deep-fry thermometer. I don’t think I put too much arrowroot powder on.On the plus side, though, ti dipping sauce is GREAT. These are for a potluck tonight, so I think most people will like them (if they’ve ever had them before), as most people probably haven’t had crispy ones.
532 comments on crispy sweet potato fries! Wow! These must be GREAT fries, I can’t wait to try them. Also, I just noticed the “Newer Comments” button at the bottom of the page. I thought I was reading all the comments on these back posts….until now. 🙁 Oh well, I’m reading the whole first page of comments. I think that’s good enough. Did you ever get a new fridge? I’m thinking of starting a nag-at-Karen-everyday-until-she-tells-us-about-the-fridge campaign. I don’t think I’ll have a problem finding followers…..
LOL. I ran into someone at my local kitchen store today and she said “It’s You! I read your blog! Did you get a fridge???” 🙂 ~ karen
You should be in politics 😉
LOL! I wouldn’t last a day before calling someone an idiot and getting thrown out. ~ karen
I just recently tried sweet potato fries at outback for the first time about a month ago. Ah-mazing!!!!!! These tasted almost identical. They were great and I’ll definitely be making them again!!!!! (I don’t get the negative comments….so easy and I didn’t even soak them at all.). Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Karen!
The only way I like sweet potato fries is crispy!! I too prefer potato French fries as well as a fellow French fry professiona. (I once received a bag of potatoes from coworkers when I left my first highschool job because they knew I loved French fries).
I was wondering how these do on a next day or make ahead plan? Real French fries have to be served hot but I was looking for an alternative side for college lunches. Do they keep a little crunch or are they soggy next day? I don’t need them to be hot but if they get soggy they won’t work for me!
I’ll have to just make them to serve hot too if you think they don’t save well.
Thanks!
Ashley
Ashley – These fries are completely soggy the next day, LOL. The only way to crisp them up again is the flash fry them in a deep fryer. I still eat them the next day by heating them in the microwave. The dipping sauce makes up for the horrible sogginess. ~ karen!
My potatos are soaking at the moment and i read through a bunch of comments so im hoping they turn out well!
Can i freeze them if there are leftovers? and how? also do i bake them again after freezing?
Hi Johanna – They aren’t great the next day and to get them crispy again you really need to put them in a hot deep fryer for a couple of minutes. I’ve never tried to freeze them and I don’t think they’d do very well. I do have a regular fry recipe that I use as frozen french fries all the time. https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/make-homemade-frozen-french-fries/ ~ karen!
Does this method work to get crispy white potato fries?
Hi Christina – No. This method isn’t for regular potato fries. This is the best way to get those crispy … https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/how-to-make-perfect-french-fries/. BUT it’s a bit of a workout. 🙂 ~ karen
who would have thought when I jumped on the internet looking for a cure for the dreaded soggy sweet potato, I would find the answer right here in London…will try this tonight with back ribs and chicken wings…nothing like healthy food, I always say!
Thank you very much for the recipe. Tried it twice and it has worked out very well. As you implied before, you can’t blanch the sweet potatoes for too short a time (i.e. the longer the better.) I just keep the cut ones ready to go in the fridge.
Sweet potato fries
Oh thank goodness. I gave up on those stupid SP fries -t hanks for sharing, will def try!
What a full circle it’s been. Many many months ago, I was on Pinterest and saw a recipe for sweet potato fries. Interested, I pinned it and followed the link. That is how I found The Art of Doing Stuff and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Today I wanted to make sweet potato fries for dinner. I knew just where to look for the recipe. 🙂
The sweet potato fries were dynamite, crunchy on the outside soft on the inside, I think the dusting of corn starch makes the difference. I didn’t have Sriracha sauce so I make a wasabi mayo to dip them in worked really well. I will never buy frozen sweet potato fries again. Thanks for a great recipe.
Tried these last week for the first time. Turned out amazing! I guess I got the amounts right 🙂 I also used 2 baking trays when I could have fitted it all on one, just to make sure they all had plenty of room. I have no idea what Sriracha sauce is, don’t think we get it in the UK, so I just mixed Mayo, Ketchup and Cayenne and it was gooood. Making these again this Friday for my girlfriends, can’t wait x
Im a Paleo so could I substitute arrowroot for the cornstarch?
Hi Tricia – You can try but I can’t guarantee the results because I’ve never tried it myself. Or … you could go nuts and use the tablespoon of cornstarch. I won’t tell. ~ karen
I followed the recipe 100%…and my fries were soggy 🙁 Going to try on a different pan next time, maybe stone ware?
MO – I actually find stoneware not great for getting things crispy. Could just be my stoneware. The pan definitely makes a big difference. The darker and older the pan the better. ~ karen!
Thanks for the tip! Maybe its just my pans….They are not the best quality and not seasoned well! I should borrow one from my mom since her pans/bakeware is from my grandmother.
And if worse comes to worse, deep fry them! (you still have to coat them in cornstarch) ~ karen!
I have been making them for a while and we love them especially the spicy mayo!!! I finally realized what I was doing wrong – not cutting them small/thin enough, normally I have to cook them for much longer and even then they turn out not too crispy. But last time I made sure they were thinner and smaller and worked much better.
I’m on a four day vegetable detox and figured it was the perfect time to try this recipe that I’ve had pinned on my Pinterest for a while. Technically it’s cheating since it uses starch and oil but I am starving on this diet!
These came out absolutely perfect! So crispy and sweet and delicious. I only used 2 sweet potatoes and 1/2 tablespoon of corn starch for each batch. I eyeballed the olive oil, but made sure each one got completely covered as when the first batch came out those without enough oil were somewhat soggy.
So delicious! Definitly making these again soon!
<3
Excellent. Glad they worked for you Ali! And glad you found me. 🙂 ~ karen
Is there a printable version?
Sorry, no Stacy. I’m working on making my older posts printable but it’s taking a bit of time. ~ karen!
I wonder if arrowroot powder would work as well to make them grain free? I’m so excited to try this and with the Sriracha sauce I know they are going to be fantastic!
Dana – I’ve never tried the Arrowroot powder, but I guess I’d better because everyone wants to know if they’ll work that way! Give it a shot! The sauce is d e l i c i o u s. I really only make the fries as a vehicle for the sauce. ~ karen!
I tried this recipe less than an hour ago. I did not soak the sweet potatoes (in to much of a hurry)and I used way to much cornstarch!
I do have a hint that works very well: there is a new “non stick” aluminum foil that I used, and not one of the fries stuck!
Looking forward to trying it again following your
instuctions exactly, and using the foil.
Thank you for your recipe, I was so tired of soggy fries.
Hi Debbora! I’d be interested to see how the foil works! If it’s non stick & allows things to brown it should be front page news as far as I’m concerned. Page 2 at the least. ~ karen!
what is sriracha sauce? thank yoy.
Sriracha sauce is an Asian hot sauce, but it has more flavour than heat with a lot of flavour. You can find it in the Asian aisle of the grocery store or in with the other hot sauces. ~ karen!
I came across this recipe through Pinterest and look forward to trying them out. Should we dry the sweet potatoes from their water soak before tossing them in the cornstarch, or toss them in all drippy wet? Thanks very much.
Hi Laika – Just drain the potatoes and then before you put them in the bag with the cornstarch give them a really good shake with your hands. They need a little moisture on them for the cornstarch to stick, but not so much that you get a gloggy mess. Good luck! ~ karen
Found your site via Pintrest. Tried these SP fries tonight. I was a bit skeptical after reading the reviews of failed attempts,but I gave it a go. Happy to announce, it was DELICIOUS! I only was able to soak for 30 min, but it still worked out. Thanks for the tip.
That’s great! Thanks for letting me know. ~ karen
Yummi yummi yummi, I want them in my tummy!
Karen,
After soaking the sweet potatoes, do you dry them before placing in the corn starch? I’ll be trying the crispy SP fries soon – Karen
Hi Karen. I just shake the fries out with my hands so they’re not dripping wet, but not completely dry. Too wet and you’ll get a gooey mess, but if they’re perfectly dry, not enough cornstarch will stick. Good luck! ~ karen
Okay, I just made these today. First of all, I am not a big fan of sweet potoato fries, but these turned out GREAT! I did 15 minutes on the first side and 11 minutes after I flipped them. They came out crispy on the outside and perfect on the inside. For those having problems, maybe try cutting them smaller/thinner next time. I did notice my thinner cuts were crispier….as to be expected. This recipe is keeper for me. I love the dipping sauce!
And I’m another one who put too much cornstarch on. Serves me right for not reading the comments 😛 Next time I’ll dry off the potatoes so it doesn’t cake to them. They weren’t terrible though. little bit mushy, but edible. I expect success in my future! Great recipe!
do you have a printer friendly version of this recipe so one doesn’t have to print the entire thing out?
Not yet Bev. I’m working on making my way through my older recipes and making them printer friendly. SOON I hope! ~ karen
Just took a few minutes to do it Bev. Done. ~ karen
thanks a million Karen…. that is great!
I just made these and they were SO good! I had a couple difficulties, but in the end none of them made the quality go down:
1. I had a hard time coating the fries evenly with corn starch (I did three separate handfuls, maybe next time I’ll use a bigger back and do all of them at the same time to get a more even coat)
2. My oven doesn’t realize that the line between 450 and 400 is supposed to be 425. So I had to keep adjusting the temperature to avoid burning or under cooking them, but it was worth the hassle!
To begin with I soaked them for about 3 hours. And I salted them before they went in the oven, and I didn’t have any sriracha (sp?) so instead I did mayo and ketchup with cayenne pepper mixed in. This was so good I think I’ll make it again tomorrow! A+
Good work Suzanne. Next time you’re at the grocery store try to find the Sriracha sauce. The dipping sauce is GREAT. Good improvising tho. ~ karen!
Nice! Thank you! My husband is on a health kick and has been obsessed with sweet potato fries. These are hard to find when eating out if you want them crispy so he has taken on trying to make them himself. I have had all I can handle of homemade soggy sweet potato fries. Hence my Googling How To Make Crispy Sweet Potato Fries and finding this:) Life is looking up.
Bought some sweet potatoes and cornstarch today to try this method. I have baked them in the oven before but they either got really soft or burnt on me.
I tried deep frying these today instead of baking them in the oven and they turned out even better. Very crisp and delicious.
Excellent! I know, they really are foolproof if you deep fry them with the cornstarch. ~ karen!
Just tried your recipe tonight and they were great! Thank you! I have tried many recipes before with no luck and finally success with your recipe. Baked sweet potato fries that are crispy. A new favourite.
These were fantastic!! Easy and delicious!
Yay! Glad they worked out for you Emily. ~ karen!
I hate to break it to you, but cooking olive oil at 425 will oxidize it and it becomes just as unhealthy as canola, vegetable oil. Olive oil becomes rancid above 220 degrees. Let the freeradical chain-reaction begin. Try grass-fed butter or coconut oil.
Nick. well .. the problem with coconut oil is everything cooked in it tastes like coconut. Which is great when you’re cooking something that would go well with. Not so much otherwise. I’m willing to take my chances on olive or vegetable oil. ~ karen
A. That simply is not true.
B. Sweet potatoes kind of ARE the type of thing that might taste good with a little coconut flavor.
C. Grass fed butter does not make anything taste like coconut.
D. Palm kernel oil is another much healthier alternative to vegetable oil.
Cooking in polyunsaturated fats or even monounsaturated fats heated beyond their smokepoints is a huge reason for why this country is so unhealthy….that’s all I’m saying.
Yeah. I’m pretty healthy. I’m not a zealot. But I am definitely healthy. I think it’s unreasonable to expect people from around the world to cook with a $10 pound of grass fed butter. Your intentions are right but also unrealistic. ~ karen
Natural Grocers: $3.79/pound.
It is telling people that it is unrealistic that keeps people making bad choices. Even if it was $10/lb. I think that it’s less costly than the health-care costs that mount up down the road.
It isn’t just good intentions. I go to school for this. I am on a mission to change careers and help people learn how to be healthy and get them out of the “health-care” combine that has seen every degenerative, autoimmune, and “Western disease” increase exponentially despite billions and billions spent “curing” those diseases, the cost of which is passed on to all of us. I don’t mean to hijack your blog, either, by the way.
Thank you for graciously engaging me.
Nick – No problem and good luck with your mission. But you have to understand there are people who can’t afford to eat organic, grass fed anything. You will have less heartache in your mission if you ease up a bit. People can only do what they can do. I’m all for encouraging people to eat better. I do it every day. But understand for some people it’s using grass fed butter, for others it will be something as simple as buying fresh vegetables instead of frozen dinners. ~ karen
My 2 cents:
Nicks comment is appreciated albeit wrong.
There is no diff wether you use grass fed, organic or any kind of butter. It is not suited for temps over 266 after which it will break down and thus starts to caramelize.
The obvious choice for baked sweet fries would be either Grape seed- Coconut(if u like the flavor)Peanut or Avocado oil. In order to get a even coating of oil on the fries I recommend to use a spray pump loaded with your fav oil. Even Pam like sprays in olive oil or canola work fine.This is important to avoid touching the fries and taking of the starch layer while tossing them.
Simply coat the pan with your preferred oil, spread the rice starch coated fries evenly and then give them a good all around spray. This will ensure even crisping .
Also stay away from coated non- sticks or dark pans as they will darken the fries to much on the bottom. Happy “oven frying”
Has this technique been used with potato starch by any chance? Results?
THis sound fantastic. I can’t wait to try, but am curious if anyone has tried a combo of deep fry and over by pan frying them on the stove top?? I’m curious if you think this could work too, that way the fries get coated in oil but not as heavily as a deep fryer and not as light as what I might try in the oven.
Thanks,
I’m sure I will try it at some point and when I do I will let you know what happens.
Britta
Great post, I have found that Rice starch works even better for crisping.
Interesting! I’ll give it a try. Thanks Petra. ~ karen
Hello!
I was very excited to try this recipe. I lined my baking sheets with aluminum foil but I followed the rest of the recipe. My fries were not crispy at all. Do you think it was because of the aluminum foil?
-Alyssa
Hi Alyssa – I have no idea, but I don’t imagine the tin foil would have helped with crispiness at all. Skip it next time. Another trick you can try is to heat your baking sheet up in the oven prior to putting the fries on it. Good luck. ~ karen!
this sounds great
I tried this last night and had good results. I did it in two batches and the second batch turned out much better (I think they had less cornstarch). I will definitely keep trying this until I get it perfect!
These are the best! I’ve made them several times now and they always turn out perfect! Thank you for sharing.
I’ve made these twice now with no problems. I was reading the comments and noticed all the failed attempts, so I wanted to let you know that I (and all my friends who I have made try them) love them!
Thanks for letting me know Melissa! Considering there are over 600 comments on this post the ratio of “These didn’t work, they suck” comments is actually pretty low, LOL. But I know what you mean. It would be a bit frightening. I’m not sure what causes the failures, but I suspect it isn’t following the instructions exactly and perhaps just not using enough common sense. Or oil. 😉 ~ karen!
LOVE THESE!!! I followed everything to a “T” (soaked for half the day, very little cornstarch, lots of oil) and they were PERFECT! I’m so glad I made 2 batches because I devoured the first before they even hit the dinner table!
So you’re living proof that the recipe does indeed work. 🙂 ~ karen!
Hey Karen! Thanks so much for sharing your secret, I can’t wait to try out this cornstarch trick! I am a lover of sweet potato fries (even the soggy ones!) but my husband isn’t quite convinced – maybe crispy ones will make him into a convert…
One question though – do you think it would be ok if I mixed spices into the cornstarch? Just some salt, pepper, and chili powder. Wasn’t sure if they would negate the magic of the cornstarch 🙂
Hi Kelly – Nah, it’ll be fine! Good idea. If you want to absolutely make sure they’re crispy the first shot, deep fry though. Good luck! ~ karen
I just made these and LOVE them! The only boo boo I made was a little too much corn starch (in terms of flavor) and added some salt! Yum yum yum! Thank you!
WOW! These were so good! After skimming through the comments I gave it a 50/50 of working out and they did! Crunchy and perfect!
I took a few tips from other recipies, like leave the pan in the oven so it’s already hot when you put the ‘fries’ on. I also used about a tbsp (for one pan) of sugar and sprinkled it in with the corn startch. No, it does not make them taste sweeter, just helps bring out the carmilization! Worked like a charm! Also I added some tex mex spice to the mix after I coated them in corn startch.
Love the recipe and thanks for sharing!
Love your site – just wanted to let you know there is a blogger who is passing off your picture and recipe as her own. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=337657966337387&set=a.291479070955277.47325.231859733583878&type=1&relevant_count=1
Thought you would want to know.
Thanks Abby! I’ve left a comment on their Facebook page and will follow up. If people like you didn’t let me know if these things I’d have no idea! ~ karen
This is a great recipe! I soaked the sweet potato overnight. As I did not have the luxury of time to oven-bake, I deep-fried them instead. I really love those super-crispy sweet potato fries.
Thanks for the recipe Karen you’re a star! =)
You’re welcome Ahmed! Glad they worked for you. ~ karen!
Hi Karen!
I’d bravely like to try this for a party tomorrow. My only concern is travel time. If I make them at home and then they sit for an hour in the car, will they totally suck? Any solutions? I kind of committed to making sweet potato fries : )
Thanks,
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie – Yes. I’m afraid they will suck. Honestly, they are not going to travel well. The only thing I can suggest is to do them in advance and then either giving them a quick deep deep fry once you get there or a shot in a super-hot oven for 2 minutes. But even then, you’re kind of taking a chance. Why didn’t you just bring salad like everybody else in the world, LOL?!
Hey Karen,
They actually rocked when they first came out of the oven. By the time we ate them, they still tasted good but were limp at best. I have no idea what I was thinking taking this on in August… no one should be running an oven for that long! Another guest was bringing a homemade chili ketchup and requested that someone else make sweet potato fries. I thought why not? Now I know : ) Next time, I’ll make ’em in the fall, at my house, and we’ll eat them immediately. But… the recipe totally works and I’m stoked to know it. Now… what to do about those 5 pounds of raw, soaked, & cut sweet potatoes I never got to??
LOL! Oh! Oh! I wonder if you could freeze them! I have no idea. You should give it a try and let me know. 🙂 ~ karen!
Gah! I’ve made these three times successfully, but tonight after I got them in the oven I realized I’d forgotten to soak them! 🙁 They’re ok, but definitely not as crispy, so for anyone wondering how much difference it makes, it matters! Next time I WILL remember!!
Mine have been disastrous in the past! I’m going to try your recipe today… Fingers crossed and thanks for sharing! X
Karen~
Any reports of people using something other than cornstarch? It’s not something I cook with all the time but if you say it’s the best option having tried all purpose flour or cornmeal, then I won’t waste too much time getting to the store! Thanks I’m making these for my toddler today 🙂
Hi Nicole – Cornstarch is the best option, although others have tried other things like rice starch etc. I believe cornstarch is the best option but others can be used for dietary issues. Flour and cornmeal definitely wouldn’t have done the trick for you. 🙂 ~ karen
For the record, MSG is almost in everything, including Doritos.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2013/07/msg_and_gluten_intolerance_is_the_nocebo_effect_to_blame.html
Well. I can’t say I’m surprised that MSG is in Doritos. I’m pretty sure it isn’t in Sweet Potatoes or corn starch or vegetable oil. But I’m just guessing. 🙂 ~ karen
This recipe is perfect. I add a little seasonings to the corn starch before i toss my sweet potatoes in (garlic powder, pepper, cumin , whatever you like) and it makes them even more fantastic 🙂
I LOVE these! The only issue I am having is that they stick to my pan/foil. Anything that might help with that?
Hi Alison – Your pan probably just isn’t “seasoned” enough. An old, black, dirty baking sheet is the best. The darker baking sheets get, the more non stick they are and the better they are! Until *that* day comes, 🙂 you can just use more oil. Spread it on the pan prior to dumping your fries on it. That should help a bit! ~ karen
Thank you for the reply! I will get working on seasoning my pans by making these yummy fries!
Looks so yummy! Wanted to let you know that I’m doing a round up of recipes that I can’t wait to try in the near future, and I’d like to include this one. I will be listing the name of your recipe, linked back to your site, as well as your site name. A photo will bein a collage format only, so that your picture cannot be “swiped” from my site. And there will be no information about the ingredients or recipe steps so that readers must come visit you if they want to know how to make it! This will go live on the 13th; please do let me know if you don’t want me to link to you for some reason. I hope it brings you a lot of traffic!
OMG. EXACTLY how it looks like in your picture. Taste even better than the fried ones at the diner. These are to die for. I’ve already eaten 2 whole sweet potatoes. These will definitely become a staple. Thank you!
Glad to hear it Elizabeth. Did you make the sauce? ~ karen!
This recipe was amazing! My husband doesn’t even like sweetpotatoe fries and he ate almost the whole batch 🙂 I put a bit of popcorn salt with the cornstarch and really liked the outcome. Next time I’ll have to try using the Greek yogurt for the dip. Thank you!
You’re welcome Alissa! I’m very happy they worked out for you. ~ karen
I like your french fries cup and dipping sauce. yhx for shating my 1st time yo make this. And, I love swewt potato fries
Is there a way to make these for the freezer? The freezer fries are awesome (and easy) can I make and freeze these for convenience?
I actually just made these last night Jinnie and was wondering the same thing. I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t tell you for sure but for some reason I don’t feel like these would freeze well. You could always give it a go and report back to me. 🙂 ~ karen
Hi!
I have a question (or actually a bunch). I spent a semester studying in Canada last year and got addicted to sweet potato fries there, but ever since I got home I have been ably to make them crispy myself. Now, I would really like to make crispy sweet potato fries this Christmas (my parents put me and my brother in charge of dinner this year, so we want to impress). Since we’re already using the (small) oven for another dish, I’d like to use the deep fryer. Your recipe says to use the highest setting on the deep fryer, and I was wondering how high that is for you. I live in the Netherlands, and really have no clue on whether these setting vary across the world.
Also, I assume I can only fry a small amount of fries at the same time? And how will I know they’re done? Do I just check if they look nice enough after a few minutes?
I hope you can help me out so I can impress my folks and feel a little bit like I’m back in Canada this Christmas! 🙂
Hi Eline!
Here are my tips for you. :).
Don’t use too much corn starch. They’ll taste corn starchy.
Remember to soak the fries in water. All day if you can!
Fry at 200 c.
They’re done when they’re brown and crispy. Just pull on our and feel or taste it.
Good luck and I hope you Christmas dinner goes well! ~ karen!
I NEVER comment on recipes (I feel guilty about that, since I love reading others’ reviews), but I had to chime in. These are by far the best sweet potato fries anywhere – this method is genius! Thank you!
Thanks for taking the time to leave the comment Andrea! Glad you like em. ~ karen!
Looking through all of the comments, I saw one person mention the possibility of failed sweet potato fries from using a gas oven and I think there may be some truth to that. I used to make sweet potato fries all the time at my parents house using their electric oven with no issue. I’ve since moved into an apartment with a gas oven and my fries never seem to get crispy. Nothing else about the way I’m baking them has changed.
WOW! Came out exactly as I imagined! Awesome, crispy and perfect! I drizzled honey over mine.
Thank you for sharing this awesome and easy recipe!
I simple cut two small sweet potatoes into wedge fries, 8 per potato, after removing skins. I dusted with about two teaspoons of cornstarch. Gently tossed. Used parchment paper. Drizzled crisco oil on fries. Seasoned fries with salt and Cajun seasonings. Roasted for 20 minutes at 425, flipped, roasted 20 minutes at 450. Served with mayo/catsup/hot sauce dropping sauce. Best fries ever! Thanks!
That’s great! Thanks for letting me know Michael. ~ karen!
I guess the soaking is essential. I was running out of time and since your post said that soaking wasn’t mandatory, I only soaked them for 1/2 hour. They came out a soggy mess. Crisped up a bit after being out of the oven for a few minutes, but I have to say that the taste of cornstarch was too overwhelming–and I was careful not to dust them more than showed in your photos. I can’t imagine that chalky taste would disappear even if they were crispy. My partner threw his share in the trash. It was probably my fault for not soaking them enough, but I have been forbidden to try this experiment again, so I guess I’ll never know.
This was my first attempt at making french fries (of any kind). I am particular about the texture of my french fries so I was a bit nervous attempting this recipe. They turned out perfect! I cut them fairly thin and followed the instructions. The only thing I’d do differently next time is use non-stick foil and/or parchment paper.
Thanks Karen! I love your enthusiasm about french fries, I feel the same was about pancakes 🙂
You’re welcome Erika! The only reason I haven’t used parchment paper is because I find things don’t brown as well on it. If you have a good, blackened cookie sheet you’re usually in business. But if you don’t have one, yes parchment would be the way to go. ~ karen!
Just made them and ate them in a flash – they are all gone 🙁 ! We are expecting a storm, here on the coast today and are having a cozy day and this recipe was perfect to go along with my husband’s soccer game. Some came out crispy, some not, but they were yummy and the sauce was great. We didn’t have the srirachi, so we used Chili Garlic Sauce (by H. Fong foods) and I can see us using this recipe and the sauce often. Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper.
Hi Michele – Let me guess … were the fries that weren’t crispy on the inside of the baking sheet? That always happens. Next time try to keep all the fries around the edge of the baking sheet. Or stir them up and around the pan more. But that’s just my guess. 😉 Glad you liked them and the sauce! ~ karen
Yes, Karen, probably they were. I think there are a few variables, like you said to others, but I loved them and will do them again and again, they were perfectly yummy and I appreciate you sharing with us.
This is a pretty robust recipe– I baked these at 350 for 20 minutes on accident (trying to bake a cake and sweet potato fries at the same time. Oops.) and still had a very light crisp, though they didn’t develop that flaky crust in the photo.
I’m thinking next time I’ll be a little more liberal on the starch and oil…and bake it at the right temp. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Abby – Be very careful with the cornstarch! Adding too much doesn’t do much to get the fries crispier it just makes them cornstarchier. Go stronger on the oil instead. 🙂 ~ karen
Guys…this is a recipe with which you absolutely HAVE to be patient. It took me 5 tries; the trick is to just do a handful at a time. Experiment with just a handful and change up the amount of cornstarch, amount and type of oil, amount of time in the oven, etc. It takes time but it is absolutely worth it! Don’t be stubborn or self righteous about it, go in with an open mind and you will succeed!
P.S. Karen, way to stick to your guns! You’re right, this recipe is fantastic!!
LOL. Thank YOU for being so patient with it. And yes, overcrowding is the #1 mistake I suspect people are making. And too much cornstarch. Glad you stuck it out ~ karen!
Do you think these would work with arrowroot instead of cornstarch? Trying to get off corn. Thanks; they look wonderful.
Hey there! First, my fries turned out soggy as other users had said, BUT my second time around I used less olive oil (less is more in this case, at least for me) and I broiled them for the last 5-10 minutes keeping a close eye on them, and they came out perfect! If you don’t succeed try, try again! Awesome recipe Karen!
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Hi! Just wondering if this would work if you add more spices with the cornstarch (I’m thinking brown sugar, salt, and cayenne pepper) before cooking, or maybe cost in cornstarch and then add the spices with the olive oil?? Has it been tried yet?
Hi Amy – I haven’t done that myself, but I suspect the brown sugar would caramelize. Would could be good or bad. It may just turn the cornstarch into a gloppy mess. Salt and Cayenne would be fine though. Just toss the fries in cornstarch, then coat in olive oil and put them on the pan. Then season however you like. When you turn the fries, season them again. Hope it goes well! ~ karen
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You are my new hero! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to make homemade sweet potato fries and failed. I followed the directions exactly and baked them in the oven – they turned out perfect! They’re almost like candy. YUMMERS!!!!
That’s great Mandy. Thanks for letting me know! ~ karen
I just finished eating my first batch of these. I can’t even put into words how heavenly that experience was. These were better than any restaurant or momma’s sp fri. A few were overcooked and a few undercooked, but oh my goodness, they were so good!! I dipped them in a ketchup, sriracha, cilantro sauce. Ahhh, I’m in love. So much love.
Mine didn’t crisp… but i didn’t read the part about not cramming too many onto the pan. They definitely steamed themselves!
I know this an old post but I have actually made these using the oven only method and passed the technique to others because they’re crisp and delicious done IF just right; you really have to be careful about the prep part. Too wet into too much cornstarch and they suck I know.
Tonight I had the balance perfect but dinner got put off for a few hours. So I’m sitting here with a bag of lightly coated fries and waiting. For a lark, I pan fried a few until done; they’re beyond yummy. So I’m thinking that perhaps doing a quick “pre fry” before oven baking might satisfy all the naysayers (as long as they don’t put too much CS in the bag–dust only or total gummy fail). I have yet to oil up these fries for the oven but I doubt after sitting for a few hours waiting they’ll be quite as tasty. But who knows?
Made properly, these rock! Thanks for the recipe.
I tried this recipe twice — once fried and once baked. The fried batch were inedible because too much cornstarch stuck to them. The baked batch never got crispy, despite the pan being no more crowded than in the blog pics. The recipe is NOT guaranteed. Finally, I refuse to give my name or email address because Karen is clearly a rude bitch with people who say her recipe doesn’t work.
Awwww. You sweet talker you. K. You have already admitted to using too much cornstarch in your own comment. A I a bitch? Maybe. But I’m not a coward, mr. / ms. Anonymous. – karen!
Hi! I love sweet potato fries and these look perfect!! I will be trying them but just wanted to know, because the recipe doesnt really specify. At the beginning you said, you put a tablespoon or two of cornstarch and then throw a handful of SP fries and shake. But in the written recipe, you said put 2/3 tbsps of cornstarch and put all the fries in… does it matter?
Hi Mash. It’s hard to say because sweet potatoes are so different in size and everyone’s “handful” is different. Personally, I put around 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch in the bottom of a bag and then throw all of my sweet potato fries (2 sweet potatoes worth usually) into the bag and shake them up. If they’re too wet they’ll attract too much cornstarch so shake the wet off the fries first. The key is for the fries to be coated with cornstarch but not a thick coating. Just light. Good luck! ~ karen
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I feel like I HAVE to comment on this post because of all the failed sweet potato fries that people have been commenting about.
My recipe is the same as yours and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t…Why? I don’t know. I make them often and they’re not always equally crisp. I think it’s the sweet potatoes.
Holy fudge, I love French Fries. Problem is, I’m on AIP paleo now, so I can’t eat them anymore. Unfortunately, this means any form of corn starch is out as well, so I will have to find some other solution in order to make this recipe. Thanks anyway
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Hi Karen! I’m making these tonight…can’t wait to see how they turn out!! I wanted to add some seasoning/spices to them. Should I add it to the corn starch or sprinkle over the fries and mix with the olive oil? Do you think adding spices will affect the cooking process at all?
Thanks in advance!!
My cut sp’s have been soaking in water all afternoon. Can’t wait to try these. Karen, you’ve never steered me wrong before, so here goes!
Remember. Don’t crowd them on the pan! (if you’re doing oven fries) And don’t use too much cornstarch. You hardly need any! Good luck and I’m praying to the lord above that you also made the dipping sauce. ~ karen!
No sriracha sauce in the house which surprises me because my husband has hot sauces with devils on the bottles. Would chilpotle sauce work?
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Lol…I can still hear my best friend…fries and gravy please…Woodwards cafeteria. I had to check out your post since I have never succeeded in making them crispy. Tonights menu kale salad topped with oranges/almonds/homemade dressing…and fries!!
Hi Jane! The deep fryer is definitely the way to go for super-crispy but oven works too. You just have to be careful not to crowd the pan, and not use a lot of cornstarch. Just a light coating. ~ karen!
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I nay have missed it in your original post, but it might be helpful to put “use darkest cooking sheet available to you” as a tip. Found it in the comments but it took a bit. For us amateurs, that detail is probably important. Looking forward to trying this recipe tonight!
Hi Kelly! You’re right, the darker, more used the pan the better for getting pretty much anything crispy and browned. So whenever you clean your cookie sheets don’t worry about scrubbing them until they’re new looking! It’s better if they show their wear and tear. 🙂 ~ karen
These were delicious and turned out crispy for me! It was even the first time I tried it! I really think the dark baking pan had everything to do with it. I used a baster to spread my oil over each fry and definitely wasn’t skimpy with the canola oil I used. I definitely could have even flipped mine sooner than 15 min, the undersides got a tad dark, but were still super tasty.
I took them out at savored them after the first 15 in. They were excellent dipped in my own concoction of real mayo and a packet of mild sauce from Taco Bell 🙂 Also, for a sweeter taste, they were great in honey. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent! I’m glad they worked out. If you can handle heat, try adding some cayenne pepper to the sauce next time. It does a good job of cutting the sweetness of the fry. 🙂 ~ karen!
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First time and perfect!
why do you soak the potatoes?
Because soaking the fries in water leeches some of the starch out of the potatoes. Starch causes the sweet potato (or any potato) to hold onto water. If you et rid of the starch before cooking it, you get rid of more water while cooking it, resulting in crispier fries. ~ karen
Mine came out soggy too. I followed the instructions exactly, and space between each fry. Still came out, and everyone complained. I won’t make these again, and stick with good ole white potato fries.
Beth – Try them once again. It’s entirely possible you just didn’t cook them long enough if they were soggy. The cook time really depends on the fry and the oven. Also soaking them really does make a difference. Potatoes (sweet and regular) contain starch which helps to bind water to them. When you soak them in water, the starch is released, therefore helping the potato release water. And if all else fails deep fry them (you still need the cornstarch). At the very least just make the sauce and eat it with your fingers. ~ karen!
Hi Karen, awesome recipe just one question
after i shake the sweet potato in the corn starch do i have to coat them with olive oil?
Or can i just throw them right into the deep fryer?
Right in the deep fryer Tony! You only need the olive oil if you’re going to oven bake them. ~ karen!
I make a wicked jerk spice and I mix that with the mayo… awesome!
Followed this recipe precisely and they weren’t good. I cooked them in a gas convection oven and they never got crisp. Let them cook longer and they were either limp or burnt. My pig liked them, though!
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Have made these several times since i first posted last October. Perfect every time!! Everyones loves them. Thank You!
Karen so glad to have found your blog!!! I never would have thought to do this!! Love it! Pinned and definitely trying it out!
Hi Mila. Welcome to The Art of Doing Stuff! As you can see there’s varied results with this recipe, lol. But if you follow my instructions you’ll do fine. And don’t forget to make the dip! ~ karen!
Karen I am drawn to your blog not only because of the gorgeous pictures but because I have a culinary background as well as I prefer to do most things the scientific route! So I bet this will do juuuuust fine 🙂
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A-MAZ-ING. I’m a few years behind the crowd here, but thank you for the great recipe. My pan wasn’t non-stick so I coated it with oil – the fries still stuck a bit (so I jumped on Amazon and ordered a non-stick cookie sheet because we MUST have these again!). They were delicious. I assume they were meant to be salted at the end (because what’s a fry without salt?).
I’m not much of a spice girl, so I cut down on the Siracha. Used 2/3 greek yogurt and 1/3 mayo – added a few shakes of garlic salt to make up for it. Delicious.
Served with a huge green salad for a delicious veggie meal. Will make these again and again.
Excellent Keli! Also remember the longer you use a non stick cookie sheet and the darker it gets (from cooking on it in the oven) the better it will be. So don’t be disappointed if it isn’t great at first. That’s just the way they are. ~ karen!
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Made these tonight for the first time and they turned out perfect!!!! Fantastic recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for letting me know Elin! ~ karen
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Just made these for dinner. We did the deep fry method. Worked perfectly!! We are very happy little sweet potato fry consumers now. Btw, we always serve ours w/ a little shot glass of maple syrup for dipping. Yummy!!!
Glad they worked out well for you ladyrose! I always laugh when people use something sweet to dip their sweet potatoes in. I make my sauce as hot as possible to cut the sweet. Something most of my family members are appalled by. ~ karen!
This is the first time I made them. I used our home grown sweet potatoes! Not to bad my hubby like them too! I think I will use less cornstarch next time.
Thanks for all the time you put into making the recipe work!
Sweet potato fries are one of my all time favorites, this recipe looks good!
Let me know how it works out for you Kristal. Good luck. 🙂 ~ karen!
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Karen, cornstarch was the best secret I discovered a few years back for SP fries. I season my cornstarch though with Kosher salt, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder. When they’re done I give them a sprinkle of Old Bay seasoning, A-MAZ-ING! I have never soaked them in water though, I will try that next time to see if I can tell the difference. Also, that dipping sauce sounds amazing, will have to try that as well.
Thanks.
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Baked these last night in the oven. So amazing! Totally crunchy! Thank you!!!
I will try this recipe but felt the need to address the “stupid meal plan” comment. I have spent almost three months in hospital and have developed IBS after bowel surgery. Sweet potato is one of the few vegetables that doesn’t trigger gut/bowel issues for me. Stupid meal plan or making the best of things? There are many people out there who rely on different foods to sustain themselves in a healthy way – so please reflect on this before labelling it as a stupid meal plan
Christine. I think you’re taking that sentence a little too personally. ~ karen
After many years of trying to make CRISPY sweet potatoe fries in the oven, I finally ran across your recipe. Hoorah! They came out SO CRISPY and yummy. I did add a little sprinkle of dried rosemary, seasoning salt, garlic powder, lemon pepper and paprika on them right before I put them in the oven. They were delicious!!! I used some yogurt, a little mayo and Grey Poupon to dip them in> Any spices the cook fancies can be used, of course, but what a treat not to have soggy and some burned. Thank you, keep up the good work!
Limeyjen
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Once again I have to say you have amazing advice and ideas. You are not only a french fry professional, you are a genius.
can i make these in a toaster oven?
I’ve never tried Rida, but I don’t see why not! ~ karen
Darn, I’ve tried twice to make these, because they look so amazing. Both times they stick like crazy to the pan and they don’t get crispy. So sad. I wonder if they don’t work at altitude, I’m at 7500ft. I’m going to try coconut oil next time, and maybe cooking them on a rack instead of on a plain flat pan. 🙁
Hi Shauna! If they’re sticking like crazy it sounds like your pan isn’t cooperating. I’m guessing it’s a fairly light coloured pan? Try using more oil. I would continue to use olive oil if you can. And don’t try to turn them until they’re good and brown. Kind of like a steak, that will release from a grill once it’s been browned, so will the fries. The other thing you can do is go to a secondhand store and get an old, used cookie sheet. One that’s nice and dark. They are great for browning things and having great non stick properties after all the years of baking on them. 🙂 ~ karen!
It’s a dark old pan. Thank you, Karen. I’ll try more oil and holding off on turning them.
Even though this is a relatively older post, I wanted to put my 2 cents in! I always read comments before I try recipes and hope that this will help someone. I tried this recipe last night and it was a success!! I cut my potatoes pretty close to what you have pictured and rinsed them twice before soaking for about 4 hours. I then drained the water and left the potatoes in the bowl until I was ready to fry them. I put some potatoes in a zip bag and sprinkled some cornstarch in there and shook it around. Then I fried my potatoes in vegetable oil in my fryer set at 400 degrees for 3 1/2 minutes per batch. They were perfect! Even my sweet potato-hating hubby said they were great!!
So … you followed the instructions. 😉 That really is the issue most people have even though they don’t realize it. They shorten or just plain skip some of the steps. Glad they worked for you and I hope you made the sauce! ~ karen
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I just found your blog yesterday. Found this recipe and laughed at all the comments and your replies! I laughed out loud at the “shove it” to the anonymous poster. Made the sweet potatoes tonight for dinner and they were pretty crispy. I know I could have gotten them crispier if I left them in a bit longer but I got impatient. I will make them again for sure.
And I totally remember you from your t.v. days! I’m glad I stumbled upon your website. Can’t wait to look around some more!
Mine were perfect, made in a gas oven here in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, using an OLD pan! Thanks for the GREAT recipe! I made a garlicky, hot spicy dip with greek yogurt and homemade mayo, yum! I also make yucca fries which I love with garlic mayo…
The title of this recipe desperately needs to be changed; you cannot claim to “guarantee” crispy sweet potato fries and then add a disclaimer at the end of the recipe to warn people that it may take many attempts to achieve the results this recipe originally “guaranteed.” If the recipe and instructions are so specific and approaches need to be modified several times in order to be successful, the results you’ve achieved are clearly highly unattainable for most people reading through this recipe. Attacks on individuals who find this method unsuccessful and comment on it also seem unnecessary. I followed this recipe perfectly and I think my fries turned out soggier than they ever have before. Disappointing.
Hi Gabi! Very brave of you to comment. Tt is not a magic recipe. It is a recipe that needs to be followed. When it’s followed, the fries are crispy. The results I’ve achieved are not clearly highly unattainable. ~ karen!
These looked so delicious that I admittedly was too impatient to soak for any amount of time as I had to leave shortly…. They still turned out amazing!!!! I love sweet potatoes but every time I have previously made fries they were dry or squishy. I did use a little more cornstarch than recommended , but they are crispy and yum!!!!!! Thanks
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