Crispy Sweet Potato Fries Recipe: Delicious Sweet Potato | So Good (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my sweet potato fries get crispy? ›

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

Sweet Potato Fries -- Good to Eat and Good for You. Lately, many restaurants have taken the French fry to new level of tastiness by substituting sweet potatoes for the usual russet baking potatoes. I have enjoyed them immensely, but I also feel a bit guilty knowing how much oil is used to fry them.

I'm serious! They are salty-sweet, crunchy, and spicy if you wish. Baked sweet potato fries have been one of my favorite snacks since I first shared the recipe eight years ago.

Why Are Sweet Potatoes Sweet? When you heat a sweet potato, an enzyme starts breaking down it's starch into a sugar called maltose. Maltose is made up of two glucose molecules bound together, and tastes about a third as sweet as regular table sugar, also known as sucrose. Maltose contains no fructose.

Sweet potatoes have a higher sugar/starch content than regular potatoes, which causes the outside of the potato to brown or burn much more quickly, preventing the French fry from obtaining as crispy of a shell.

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

Sweet potatoes contain about 15 grams more carbohydrates per serving, but that's no reason to pass on these tubers; they can also make super-tasty and healthy baked fries. The same 3-ounce serving of frozen sweet potato fries contains 140 calories, 5 grams of fat and typically less sodium than the regular fries.

Though they can both be part of a healthy diet, sweet potatoes are generally healthier than regular potatoes, partly because of their incredibly high vitamin A content. Sweet potatoes are also lower on the glycemic index, meaning that they are less likely than regular potatoes to make your blood sugar spike.

You can still eat sweet potatoes if you have diabetes, assures Huff. The fiber content in sweet potatoes, especially if you consume them with the skin on, can help reduce spikes in your blood sugar. Plus, how you cook your sweet potatoes can also help reduce the extent to which your blood sugar rises.

The most versatile and sweetest variation of sweet potatoes is the Beauregard. Throughout the United States, you will see this species stacked high in the grocery stores during the holiday season. Beauregard's have a bit of a stringy texture, but they stay soft: this is what makes them so popular.

Why are my fried sweet potato fries soggy? ›

Don't try frying just once (or if you do… fry them starting off in cold oil). Sogginess is caused by moisture. You want to drive off the moisture from the outside but the inside also contains moisture which will turn to steam and evaporate through the crispy crust of the potato, turning it soggy again.

Sometimes it's caused by specific varieties of sweet potatoes that naturally have a slightly bitter flavor, while other times, bitterness can occur if the sweet potato wasn't fresh or if it's been stored for too long, leading to changes in its taste profile.

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

Just one sweet potato gives you 102% of the vitamin A you need each day. This helps keep your eyes healthy as well as your immune system, your body's defense against germs. It's also good for your reproductive system and organs like your heart and kidneys.

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

Don't overcrowd the baking sheet!

This is an important one! If the baking sheet it too crowded, the sweet potatoes will not crisp. You should provide optimal space for air to flow through, and the sweet potatoes shouldn't be touching.

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

Parboil them first if you're going to bake them

This can happen because the insides aren't quite cooked enough, but the outsides are beginning to dry out. Don't worry, sweet tuber lovers; there is a solution! This tip is a need-to-know to get the crispiest potato fries ever.