Air fryer sweet potato fries are crazy delicious and super simple to make.
I got a new air fryer this week (Amazon affiliate), and I needed to take it for a test run. What better to make than some delicious sweet potato fries?! Heck yeah!
Note: This post contains affiliate links. See my full affiliate disclosure policy here.
Y’all are already diggin’ my regular air fryer French fries recipe.😎👌🏻 So I thought I’d share this sweet potato version.
Side note: If you don’t have an air fryer, check out my oven baked sweet potato fries recipe.
You are going to want to start with one large sweet potato. Mine was sixteen ounces, weighed on a food scale. Food scales are so handy! If you don’t have one, I would recommend getting one. They are affordable and so worth it!
You can peel it if you want, and I sometimes do. But I did not peel this one. I tend to not peel when my potatoes are organic.
How to cut sweet potato fries
I slice up my sweet potato with a good sharp knife into fry pieces. I do this by cutting off the skinny ends, and then cutting the sweet potato in half, right through the thickest part of the potato in the middle.
Next, I sit one half up on the flat side, and I start cutting slices. I did four slices in this case. This can vary, based on the width of your potato.
Try to keep these around the same size. You can go thinner or fatter than I did, but just keep it semi-consistent. You gotta commit to your fry size, people. 😆🙃
Mine are about pinkie finger sized, between 1/4 in and 1/2 inch.
How to season sweet potato fries
I place my fry slices into a bowl, and I sprinkle them with salt, pepper and paprika. This is my go-to for sweet potatoes. Simple, flavorful and delicious!
Next, I add some oil on top. What kind of oil is best for air fryer sweet potato fries? I prefer avocado oil, since it has a high smoke point and is mild in flavor.
You could use any oil here. Or you could even use a cooking spray. If you use spray, I suggest spraying before you sprinkle the seasonings on.
Then just use a spoon, or even your hands, to just give everything a good toss to evenly distribute the oil and spices.
Some people even make oil free fries. Feel free to try that, but my family prefers a little oil. So that’s how we make them.
How to cook sweet potato fries in an air fryer
My new air fryer strongly recommends preheating first in the user manual. So I did that! I preheated to 380 degrees. I mixed everything up in the bowl, as described above, while the air fryer was preheating.
When it beeped to let me know it was up to temperature, I opened it up and removed the basket.
I sat it on a heat safe surface and carefully poured my seasoned fries into the basket. I gave it a little shake to make sure the fries were spread out and returned the basket to the air fryer.
I cooked them until they got crispy on the outside. I did shake the basket about half-way through, and then once again close to the end.
Tips for making air fryer sweet potato fries
Tip 1
You definitely want to be careful not to burn the fries. I love how easy it is to keep an eye on things with an air fryer.
It is also just as easy to put the tray back in and cook a little longer. So use your common sense and sound judgement, and cook those fries to your liking.
Tip 2
Don’t overcrowd the fryer basket. This recipe makes 2 servings, and this should work for most air fryers without issue.
If you want to make more, though, you’ll need to cook these in batches. When everything is cooked, you can dump everything back in the sir fryer basket for another minute or so to re-heat, just prior to serving.
Tip 3
Commit to your preferred fry size, and cut everything close to the same size. If you vary from this recipe, you may need to adjust cook time. E.g., skinnier fries need to cook less time, thicker fries need more time.
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries Recipe
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Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
Air fryer sweet potato fries are a crazy delicious side dish and are super simple to make.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces sweet potato (I used one large, weighed on my food scale. Between 14 - 16 ounces works)
- 1/2 teaspoon course sea salt (or more, to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil (or oil of choice)
Instructions
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Preheat your air fryer to 380 degrees.
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Slice up your sweet potato into pinkie finger sized sticks (mine are between 1/4 and 1/2 inch). I don't measure, and they don't have to be perfect, but try to keep the size fairly consistent.
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Place the potato slices in a mixing bowl, along with the oil, salt, pepper and paprika, and toss to coat.
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Transfer fry mixture to the air fryer, and cook until tender and crispy (about 20 minutes). Shake the basket a few times to rearrange the fries, and use a flipper to flip them. Use your own judgement, cooking longer or shorter, if needed, keeping an eye on the fries to make sure they don't burn.
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Taste test, and add more salt if needed.
Dee says
Used Coconut oil spray and a dusting of potato starch. Turned out awesome! So nice to eat something with ingredients that I’m not allergic to! Thanks for the recipe. Will be making these often.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
So glad you are enjoying them, Dee!🧡
Jennifer says
I used my brand new Instant vortex plus and followed the recipe exactly. I went to shake them halfway through and they were already way too overdone! Dried out and mostly dark brown. 😞 I’m new to air frying, any advice?
Jim says
It could have been the potato. Sweet potatoes are hard when fresh. I think any softness would have an effect on cooking time.
Vivienne Sorensen says
Exact same air fryer, exact same experience
Rachel says
So yummy and so easy! I used coconut oil and they have the fries a nice flavor!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Rachel!
Vicky says
These fries were awesome! Read through other reviews and cooked in the Foodie at 375 F for 15mins. Avacado Oil was used as the recipe suggested.
Vicky says
It wouldn’t let me click 5 stars the first time. Also my mom thinks reducing the pepper would be good.
Maureen Bruno says
Outstanding made it exactly as recipe suggested, could eat them everyday! Thank you.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
So great to hear that, Maureen! Thanks for leaving a rating.💖
Deborah Wyman says
Any idea what the calories per seving would be for this?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Deborah! I am glad you said something because each recipe is supposed to have nutrition info, and it was messed up on this recipe. So the calorie count is now in the recipe card, and it’s 236 calories for 12 ounces (half the recipe).
Tracy says
If you are using a 16 ounce sweet potato, how can half a serving equal 12 ounces? Am I missing something in the process?
Diane says
My husband is on a salt-restricted diet, so I only used paprika and roasted garlic powder (and oil, of course). We used honey mustard as a dipping sauce. They were so delicious! It was a great side dish for our Old Bay steamed shrimp dinner.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad y’all enjoyed it, Diane!💖
Shelly says
These were so easy to make! I decided to make them today (the 4th of July)! They were amazing!! Thank you for the recipe! We loved them!
Crystal says
The taste was good but they weren’t crispy at all.
Taylor says
Loved the flavor of these! Mine came out not so crispy and I’m wondering what I could do to get the crisp.?
Ashleigh says
Try using cornstarch in the mixture! Just place the cut sweet potato in a bag with your seasoning of choice + a couple of tablespoons of corn starch and shake.
Becca says
I’ve had succes with tossing them with cornstarch to create a crispness along with soaking them in ice water for 30 min prior to frying.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Good to know, Becca👌🏻
Danielle says
You might’ve not put them in long enough! Try a little bit of a longer cooking time (23 min) next time!
Karen says
Neither were mine. They were soft and mushy. I put them in for another 10 minutes, still not crispy.
Kristen Thomas says
The fries were delicious!! Even my picky 8 year old enjoyed them. I used the same seasonings but used extra virgin olive oil instead of avocado oil. My air fryer is either 390 or 370 so I went with 390 and cooked for 15 minutes moving them around about every 5 minutes. Our only complaint is the skins, they were tough so next time I will peel my sweet potatoes first. The got a little burnt but that was ok, wish they would have been a little crispy but regardless…they were delicious! Thanks!!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad y’all enjoyed it, Kristen!
Bailey Quinn says
This is a great recipe! Not being a fan of fan of pepper, I used curry powder instead. The result was a lovely surprise. Still having trouble to get the fries to crisp though. Thoughts?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Glad you enjoyed it, Bailey! To get them crisper, you can either cook them longer or cut them a bit smaller next time.
anderson fields says
i loved it
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay!💖
Dawn says
I love this idea! I made these sweet potatoes fries. cooked them for 10 minutes, turning them every 3 minutes or so ohh my they came out so delicious! For the seasonings I did something a little different I went with a sweet and savory flavor… I will definitely be making these again! Thanks again 😊
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Dawn!
Leticia says
Cooked my for 12 min. at 380 degrees and they burned a to a charcoal crisp. Sad that I wasted food.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Bummer! You could try cutting them a little thicker, or cooking them for shorter, if you decide to try them again.
Jessica says
I saw the above comment and did them for a shorter amount of time and took them out because I didn’t know how much they’d crisp up 🤦🏻♀️ excited to try again though, they were so good!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay!🙌🏻
korey says
Those sweet potatoes can be pricey… 😑
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Korey! Really? Where are you? They are super cheap where I live (Alabama, USA). Even the organic ones are not too bad. Maybe that’s because they grow a lot of them around where I live, I guess.🤷🏼♀️
Mark W says
Had a chlorine taste to them. Used avacado oil and 350 degrees in a Ninja 101 air frier. At 380 they burned very easily. Any suggestions?
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Hi Mark! If they are burning, you have a couple options. (1) Cut them a little thicker. Or (2) Cut them the same, but cook them a little less time. Either option, I would still recommend checking them more often than you did the first time, and give the fryer basket a quick shake to rearrange everything. I am not sure about the chlorine taste.🤔 That likely has nothing to do with the recipe/ instructions. But I would suggest washing your air fryer really well, and making sure you scrub the potatoes before cooking them. Hope that helps!
Joanne says
Oh my. I loved these. I should have cooked sweet potatoes or yams a long time ago this way! I dipped them in plain yogurt with a bit of maple syrup. Cooked perfectly for me at 350 and 20 minutes. I used avocado oil.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
I am so glad you enjoyed it, Joanne!💖
Kenneth Landreth says
I used Zatarins creole seasoning; and blue cheese dip: great Gameday snack!
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
That sounds delicious! I am so glad you enjoyed it, Kenneth.🙌🏻
Carol says
OMG That sounds wonderful!
Pam Smith says
Delicious!! Thank you, really appreciate this recipe. love savory sweet potato fries. Timing does depend on thickness of fries, so I kept a close eye on them, as I turned them, and they came out perfect.
Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy says
Yay, Pam!💖 So true about keeping and eye on them.👌🏻 Thankfully, that is very easy to do with the air fryer.
Franny Wheatley says
The fries didn’t get crispy and they almost burned any suggestions
Sharon Rausch says
I learn so much from you as well! Thank you so much for sharing your helpful information.