Sweet Potato Fries – Super Simple, Super Delicious!

A Google search for “sweet potato fries recipe” results in 575,000 hits. So this post may not be very original, but it is written with love and inspired by my beautiful friend Melissa.

Melissa loves sweet potato fries and enjoys them regularly at a local restaurant. However she was devastated when she learned how the fries were made by her favorite little café…let’s just say they were less than healthy. When I told her that she could make her own easily and deliciously, I could tell she was skeptical. So Melissa, this one’s for you girlfriend!

Let’s get started!

STEP ONE: Preheat your oven to 375 deg. F

STEP TWO: Get your supplies ready:

Sweet potato (or more if you will need to share!)
Sharp knife
Vegetable peeler
Cutting board
Large baking pan
Parchment paper (keeps your pan clean and prevents the fries from sticking!)
Extra virgin olive oil (optional!)
Himalayan sea salt
Black pepper

STEP THREE: Begin with an organic sweet potato – wash it well and peel it. [Yes, there is a difference between sweet potatoes and yams. We’ll save that for another conversation, but if you see “yams” in your local store, they will probably work just fine for this recipe!]

STEP FOUR: Cut the potato in half and then start cutting the “fries” from each of the halves (cut strips about ¼” wide).

Perfection isn’t the key, but try to make them uniform so that they cook properly – you want these golden gems to cook evenly!

Yep, I could (but reluctantly refrain from!) eat every one of these sensational sweet potato strips!

STEP FIVE: Prepare your pan and potatoes.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on the pan and put about 1 tablespoon of olive oil (if using) in the middle. Spread the fries on the pan and mix with the olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. You can get creative with spices – consider garlic powder, paprika, basil or whatever else you like to enjoy on fries!

NOTE: THESE FRIES NEED SPACE so be sure to spread them out on the pan!

For this batch, I put only 1/3 of the potatoes on the pan. The remaining raw potatoes will last for a few days in a Ziploc bag. This allows me to enjoy fresh sweet potato fries for 3 more dinners! YUMMY!

STEP SIX: Bake for 20 minutes in the pre-heated oven. Flip them half-way through baking to get them evenly baked. If you want them to be crisper, bake another 10 minutes! I forgot to flip them half-way through, but checked them after 20 minutes, flipped them and baked another 10 minutes. Let’s just say that I like crispy fries!