Sweet Potato Fries

By Mark Bittman

Updated Feb. 3, 2025

Sweet Potato Fries
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(6,949)
Comments
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These addictive seasoned "fries" from Mark Bittman are actually baked, but we promise you won't miss the grease. The spice mix – garlic powder, paprika, salt and black pepper – can be used on regular potatoes as well (you'll just need to increase the baking time a bit).

Featured in: Yes, Healthful Fast Food Is Possible. But Edible?

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 2pounds sweet potatoes, peeled
  • 2tablespoons olive oil
  • 1teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1teaspoon paprika
  • 1teaspoon salt
  • ½teaspoon black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

173 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 365 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 400.

  2. Step 2

    Cut the sweet potatoes into sticks ¼ to ½ inch wide and 3 inches long, and toss them with the oil.

  3. Step 3

    Mix the spices, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and toss them with the sweet potatoes. Spread them out on 2 rimmed baking sheets.

  4. Step 4

    Bake until brown and crisp on the bottom, about 15 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is crisp, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
6,949 user ratings
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Comments

Patrick

I find using parchment paper helps with the crisping. And sliding parchment paper onto a pre-heated stone rather than a sheet pan yielded the crispiest (but keep an eye on them, they cooked a bit faster this way). Lastly, thinner cuts = crispier.

Rosemarywc

great seasoning! to make the fries crispier, I heated the baking sheets until a drop OF water bounced on them then tossed the fries on - cooked till crisp then turned. Preheating the sheets really helps the crisping.

Jen

Soaking them in water beforehand to reduce starchiness (a few to several hours is good), slicing them thinly, and lastly, using 1-2 teaspoons of corn starch (use tea towel to dry first, put in ziplock bag with the corn starch and shake, then add oil and seasonings) will increase the crispiness of your sweet potato fries. My two kids can polish off three sweet potatoes by themselves this way!

Wickford Matt

Adults thought it was great. I might separate it into two batches next time as the kids found it a little "spicy". And just make them baked sweet potato fries with salt and shake cheese.

Laura

Made as described, and while delicious, the fries weren't crisp at all. I even tried adding 7minutes in the convection oven at 500° with very little improvement.

KitchenWitchoftheWest

I followed most of the suggestions -- thinly cut, soaked, dried, spread on parchment, hotter oven. They looked like the photo but came out floppy. But delicious. I'll try again; I did forget to preheat the oven baking trays, so ya'll don't forget! (Am I the only one who wonders why Bittman's recipes seem always to need significant technique adjustments?)

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