Tender and golden and perfectly dippable, these baked sweet potato fries are a winner!
Several years ago, a friend introduced me to a concept called “the French fry feeling.” Basically, it’s a feeling you get after talking too much, often about somebody else, possibly in not such a nice way – you know, gossiping. And then realizing you probably shouldn’t have gossiped quite so … enthusiastically. Which, strangely enough, is very similar to the feeling one might get after wolfing down a giant portion of French fries.
Well, the beauty of this spicy baked sweet potato fries recipe is that you don’t get the French fry feeling after eating them. Unless you gossiped with a friend while doing so.
I will say that these baked sweet potato fries are very easy to wolf down. I’ve used many tricks in the book to help make these guys as crisp as possible – not easy with baked sweet potato fries. The most important? Use corn starch! Tossing sweet potato fries in corn starch after cutting them helps them to crisp up nicely in the oven. Feels weird to do but totally, totally worth it. (I did some research to try to pinpoint the first online source to publish this trick, and as far as I can tell, it came from The Art of Doing Stuff. Lots of brilliant crisp sweet potato fry tips here!)
If you’re not sure about the “spicy” part of this recipe, just leave off the spices and go with a little salt and pepper. Still delish. But if you do go with the spices, be sure to whip up some of the cool Greek yogurt ranch to serve alongside. It cools the bit of fire – and sweet potato fries + ranch are a match made in heaven. Trust.
5 from 1 vote
Spicy Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Cool Greek Yogurt Ranch
These addicting baked sweet potato fries crisp up nicely in the oven. Dip them in a healthy garlicky dill ranch and you’re good to go. Just reduce or leave out the sugar and spices if you prefer a less-spicy version.
1/4teaspoonkosher salt or fine-grain sea salt + more to taste
Cool Greek Yogurt Ranch:
3/4cupGreek yogurt(I use full-fat)
2teaspoonswhite wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
1-2garlic cloves(smashed and finely minced (about 2 heaping teaspoons))
2tablespoonsfinely chopped onion
1tablespoonfresh minced dill
1/2teaspoonkosher salt(plus more to taste)
1/4teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper(plus more to taste)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Scrub sweet potatoes or peel off the skin, if you desire (I like to leave it on). Cut sweet potatoes into approx. 1/4-inch matchsticks. Put sweet potatoes into a large bowl and sprinkle the cornstarch over the top. Toss with your clean hands until all of the fries are coated. Drizzle with olive oil and toss again. Add maple syrup or brown sugar, chili powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and salt. Toss until all of the fries are coated.
Lay fries on a baking sheet, making sure there is a little space around each fry – don’t crowd or pile them! Depending on the size of your baking sheet, you may need to use two (I do).
Place in oven and bake until golden brown and many are crisp, about 25 minutes, turning carefully at right around the 15 minute mark. Remove fries from oven and let cool a bit.
While the fries are baking, make your ranch dip. In a small bowl, stir together all of the dip ingredients. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired.
Add more salt to the fries if you like. Serve warm with the ranch dip.