The debate about which is healthier, regular potatoes or sweet potatoes, is hard to answer because both offer a variety of different nutrients. However, there is one thing that’s clear: A potato cooked in an air fryer will always be healthier than one that is dunked in oil and deep fried.
This, coupled with the countertop appliance’s versatility, is why the air fryer has become one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools. I’ve cooked just about everything in an air fryer, from chickpeas to chicken wings, and now, I’ve tried my hand at homemade sweet potato fries. While they weren’t as crispy as classic French fries, they still packed plenty of flavor and are now one of my favorite high-fiber, vitamin-rich side dishes.
Here’s everything you’ll need to make your own sweet potato fries and expand your repertoire of air fryer recipes.
Ingredients
- 2-3 sweet potatoes
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 1 tsp of paprika
- 1/4 tsp of garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp of onion powder
- Salt and pepper
How to make air fryer sweet potato fries
Step 1: Wash and peel the sweet potatoes, then chop them into long fry shapes.
Step 2: Toss the potatoes in a large bowl and drizzle them with olive oil. Then add the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder and a couple of cracks of fresh pepper and mix well until the fries have a slight red tint.
The potatoes will have a slight red tint from the paprika
Step 3: Place the fries in your air fryer basket in a single layer and cook them in batches if necessary, to avoid stacking the fries.
Cooking the potatoes in a single layer is the best way to avoid soggy fries.
Step 4: Cook at 370 degrees for 15 minutes. Halfway through cooking, shake the french fries in the air fryer basket. (If your fries are starting to brown on the edges, that’s OK and normal.)
Step 5: When the fries are done cooking, transfer them to a clean bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of salt, then serve immediately. (If you’d like them to be more crispy, you can cook them for an additional three or so minutes, but keep in mind that they will turn a bit more brown on the edges the longer they cook.)
Adding a few pinches of salt to the cooked sweet potato fries will help bring out even more flavor.
