My favorite restaurant side just got better with this HEALTHY HOMEMADE recipe for AIR FRYER SWEET POTATO FRIES. And they’re everything I want—super crispy outside, tender inside, with a little spice to complement the natural sweetness. It’s so much fun to make sweet potato fries because their sweet/savory flavor is made for getting creative with dips.
While these sweet potato fries taste and feel indulgent, the Air Fryer lets me enjoy this delicious treat guilt-free. Air frying eliminates all the things I don’t want—NO deep or shallow frying, NO refined oils, NO mess, NO greasy oil-soaked fries, NO regret!
If you’ve never tried dusting potatoes with cornstarch before air frying, it’s time to give it a try. Cornstarch helps fries get nice and crispy so skipping the traditional frying method doesn’t mean sacrificing texture. These homemade fries come out like…..fries!
The seasoning on these Sweet Potato Fries (salt, garlic, and cayenne pepper) means they’re really tasty as-is out of the Air Fryer. But we’re dip people in my family and we like to switch it up! Ketchup, green chutney, sriracha mayo, curry mayo, tamarind chutney, and buffalo sauce + sour cream are a few of the different pairings we’ve enjoyed. Hungry yet?!
Sweet potatoes are full of nutrients with many health benefits. However, deep frying adds a significant amount of calories to a low-calorie food. Also, the oil used for frying is usually low-quality refined oil which can be inflammatory for many people. That’s why I’m so happy to share this Airfryer recipe!
Health Benefits
Here are a few health benefits from making sweet potatoes part of your diet. Sweet Potatoes are an amazing source of:
- Potassium - regulates fluid in the body’s cells, helps control muscle contractions, and helps prevent bone loss and kidney stones, and may help lower blood pressure.
- Beta Carotene/Vitamin A - Beta Carotene which gives the sweet potato its orange color, is converted to Vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is responsible for eye health, vision, and also a well-functioning immune system. With the skin on, sweet potato contains more than 400% of the daily recommended amount of Vitamin A.
- Vitamin C - helps the body fight infections, supports the immune system, aids the body in absorbing iron, and is needed for the formation of collagen.
- Dietary Fiber - flesh of the sweet potato is loaded with soluble fiber which promotes good gut health, a well-functioning digestive system, and is linked to improving cardiovascular health.
Tips
- To Peel Or Not To Peel - This comes down to personal preference. If you do leave the skin on, you’ll be seriously upping your insoluble fiber intake which is great for gut health and the skin itself contains antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Removing the skin does not remove all of the nutrients
- If leaving the skin on, try to buy organic sweet potatoes and scrub, scrub, scrub under cool water with a vegetable brush
Instructions
Here is a step-by-step recipe showing how to make the best homemade sweet potato fries. Note: printable recipe card with ingredients is at the end of this post.
- Cut each potato into even ¼ inch thick sticks.
- Add potatoes to cold water and allow to soak for 15 minutes.
- Drain out all of the water and place the potato wedges on a kitchen towel.
- Dry them well and place in a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle over the cornstarch
- Toss or mix with a spatula so that the potatoes get evenly coated
- Add olive oil, salt, garlic powder, cayenne and black pepper
- Mix well
- Add the fries to the air fryer basket and air fry at 400°F for 12 mins
- Shake halfway through. Add 2 minutes in the end for extra crispy fries
Serving Ideas
- Sprinkle with chopped chives
- Serve with a dip, here are a few suggestions: ketchup, green chutney, sriracha mayo, curry mayo, tamarind chutney, or buffalo sauce mixed sour cream
- We love to serve theses sweet potato fries with Black Bean Burgers, Chicken Burgers or Salmon Burgers
Storing
Air fried sweet potatoes fries taste best fresh. You can always refrigerate any leftovers. To reheat simply pop them back in the air fryer and cook at 380 for 3 to 5 minutes or until they are hot and crispy.
Did you enjoy this easy air fryer side dish? Here are some more vegetarian recipes to try:
Air Frying Tips
- You may need to increase or decrease the air frying time depending on your air fryer. Check your food frequently to prevent it from burning. This is especially important during the last few minutes of cooking. Air fryers come in different sizes, so your food might not fit the same way that recipes online show.
- Do not use aerosol spray cans to apply the non-stick spray to the basket. Aerosol spray cans usually contain harsh ingredients that are known for causing chipping in air fryer baskets.
- Shake the basket during cooking times for smaller things like chicken wings, fries, and small veggies. Do this every few minutes or halfway through cooking.
- Be careful not to press the basket release button while you are carrying the baskets. This will cause the inner basket to pull out and the outer basket will drop, which might damage it.
- Do not place anything on top of your air fryer. This disrupts the airflow and will cause poor air frying results.
- If you air fry high-fat foods, pour out the fat droppings from under the inner basket. This will prevent excess smoke while it cooks next time.
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 small sweet potatoes scrubbed and rinsed well. Peeling is optional( 12 oz)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Cut each potato into even ¼ inch thick sticks. Add potatoes to cold water and allow to soak for 15 minutes.
- Drain out all of the water and place the potato wedges on a kitchen towel. Dry them well and place in a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle over the cornstarch and toss or mix with a spatula so that the potatoes get evenly coated. Toss with olive oil, salt, garlic powder, cayenne and black pepper.
- Add the fries to the air fryer basket and air fry at 400°F for 12 mins. Shake Half way through. Add 2 minutes in the end for extra crispy!
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