Make restaurant style sweet potato fries in the oven with my super crispy baked sweet potato fries with garlic herb butter and parmesan cheese! These come together easily and everyone loves them so they won't last long.
I live for a sweet potato fry that's tender on the inside and crisp on the outside and am spilling my top secrets to getting just that so let's get into the delicious details!
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Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simple and Quick - This recipe uses everyday ingredients you probably have on hand to make magic in under an hour!
Oven Baked - Use my top tips to turn sweet potatoes into perfectly crisp fries in the oven with no special tools or appliances needed.
Restaurant Quality - These oven roasted sweet potato fries taste just as good as anything you can get at your favorite restaurant--maybe even better. And they pair perfectly with my Hamburger Salad Bowls or Hawaiian Turkey Burger Sliders.
What does it taste like?
These homemade sweet potato fries are tossed in herbs and garlic butter so they taste fresh and savory. You'll also taste warm spices and a little tangy richness from parmesan cheese that really elevates basic oven sweet potato fries.
Try my Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes for similar flavor profile!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Sweet Potatoes - Use fresh Jewel or Garnet sweet potatoes here and grab those that are elongated rather than perfectly round.
Garlic ups the flavor factor and I like to use fresh garlic and garlic powder to layer the slightly different flavors and add a little texture. You can use pre-minced garlic or run fresh cloves through a garlic press.
Butter + Avocado Oil help the sweet potato fries crisp in the oven and carry the garlic and herbs as the finishing touch. You can use olive oil instead of avocado oil, if needed.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Cheese - If you don't have parmesan cheese, you can substitute with pecorino romano or asiago cheese. Be sure to grab the grated kind or else you can grate it yourself.
Herbs - I use parsley in this recipe but you can replace it with other herbs like rosemary or even use multiple herbs here. If fresh parsley is not available, dried parsley can work in a pinch. Just use one third the amount.
Spices - These are simply seasoned sweet potato fries with smoked paprika, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper. But you can mix things up to your liking with cinnamon, chili powder, cayenne, or whatever you enjoy!
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll also love my Smoky Baked Breakfast Potatoes!
How to Make Crispy Roasted Sweet Potato Fries
Step One: Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into matchsticks.
Step Two: Make sure each fry is about ⅓ to ½ inch thick. Length is not a big deal but cutting them too thin will result in burnt fries. Too thick and they won't cook through evenly.
Step Three: Soak the sweet potato fries in cold water for at least 30 minutes.
Step Four: Rinse the sweet potato matchsticks and thoroughly pat them dry then toss in olive oil, cornstarch, and spices.
Pro Tip: Soaking sweet potato fries is optional but helps release some of the starch that can result in soggy fries. If you want the best chance at crispy homemade sweet potatoes, don't skip this step!
Step Five: Spread the fries out on a sheet pan with at least half an inch between each fry and bake for about 20 minutes, flipping the fries halfway through.
Step Six: Meanwhile, mix up the garlic herb butter and set. itaside.
Pro Tip: Line the sheet pan with parchment paper. This ensures that the fries won't stick to the pan, which is key to being able to flip them and get every side crispy.
Step Seven: Allow baked fries to rest for a few minutes then toss in the garlic herb butter until evenly coated.
Step Eight: Toss the fries with grated parmesan cheese and you're ready to serve.
Pro Tip: I add the sea salt to the garlic herb butter instead of the spice mixture that goes on the fries before baking because salt draws out moisture and we don't want that for crispy oven fries!
Top 12 Tips for Getting Sweet Potato Fries Crispy in the Oven
You can make super crispy oven sweet potato fries easy with my top tips. Apply all of them for the best crispy sweet potato fry recipe!
- Peel the sweet potatoes. Sweet potato skin doesn't crisp up the way the beautiful orange flesh does so I recommend peeling them. You can leave the skin on the tips, though, if you like.
- Cut the right size. Each sweet potato matchstick should be ⅓ to ½ inch thick. Too thin and they will burn. Too thick and they won't cook through to the middle evenly.
- Soak your matchstick sweet potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes to remove excess starch. Make sure you thoroughly dry them afterward because any water hanging around will steam the sweet potatoes in the oven, resulting in soggy texture.
- Don't salt the sweet potatoes before baking. This draws out moisture and we want to keep any moisture inside the sweet potatoes so they'll be tender in the middle and crisp on the outside. Don't worry, these fries get plenty seasoned before going into the oven. We just reserve the salt til afterward.
- Toss the sweet potatoes in cornstarch because it helps develop a crunchy crust AND creates a barrier that traps moisture inside of the sweet potatoes. Remember that moisture isn't our friend here! If you want to make sweet potatoes without cornstarch, be sure to follow all the other tips here for the best results.
- Use parchment paper. This keeps the sweet potato fries from sticking to the pan so that you can easily flip them and get every side crunchy.
- Space out the sweet potato pieces on the sheet pan. Leave at least half an inch between each fry so that all sides get exposed to the oven's heat evenly and any moisture the fries might release doesn't get trapped in a cluster of fries and steam them.
- Bake at high heat, which will cook the outside of the sweet tater fries faster than the inside, resulting in crispy outside and tender middles.
- Bake on the top oven rack. This applies the highest temperature to the tops of the fries for faster crisping.
- Flip the sweet potato fries halfway through baking for even crispiness on all sides.
- Let the sweet potato fries rest near the oven (on the stove, for example) for a few minutes before tossing in the herbed butter. This helps the skin crisp even more.
- Eat these while warm as they will get softer once reheated. They're still absolutely delicious, though!
Frequently Asked Questions
Bake at high heat for about 20 minutes total, flipping the fries halfway through so that they cook and crisp evenly.
You're likely baking at too low heat, not removing excess moisture from the sweet potatoes, and/or crowding the pan.
Store these fries in an airtight container and refrigerate. They will keep for up to five days.
More Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Now that you know how to make crispy sweet potato fries that are baked and not fried, I hope you'll enjoy them soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Crispy Garlic Herb Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 bowl
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound sweet potatoes
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ¼ cup parsley
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Peel and cut sweet potatoes into ⅓ to ½-inch thick matchsticks.
- Place the matchsticks into a bowl and cover with cold water. Soak for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degree Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Mix up cornstarch, garlic powder, black pepper, and smoked paprika.
- Drain and rinse sweet potatoes to remove excess starch. Thoroughly pat sweet potatoes dry then toss with avocado oil and cornstarch mix until evenly coated.
- Spread sweet potatoes out on prepared sheet pan, leaving at least half an inch between each fry. If necessary, bake in batches or on separate pans to provide enough space.
- Place pan on top oven rack and bake for 10-12 minutes then flip the fries and return to oven for 8-10 more minutes.
- While the fries bake, prepare the garlic herb butter: Stir together the melted butter, parsley, garlic, and sea salt. Set aside.
- Remove pan from oven and allow fries to rest for about 5 minutes then toss in the garlic herb butter and again in grated parmesan. Serve warm.
Krysten says
I made these the other day for my son (he loves french fries, but they're usually so unhealthy). We both loved this recipe; next time I'll have to double the batch!
Raquel Seymone says
These were really easy to make and delicious! No more buying the frozen kind.
Jazz says
Yaaaasss so glad you enjoyed, Raquel!