Ok, so they're not the prettiest things ever...but they sure do taste great! I've been making oven baked sweet potato fries for a long time. One thing's for sure--it's nearly impossible to get them crispy, but I have learned a few things:
a) They get crispier if you don't use foil. They just stick to foil, so use an oiled rimmed baking sheet.
b) Don't try to cook them on parchment (and this is probably the only time I'll say something negative about my beloved parchment paper). They end up as nothing but a soggy mess, lying in puddles of sweet potato juice. Nothing you'll want to eat, trust me.
c) The broiler helps, but you've got to watch them carefully. After the cooking time is up, I usually switch the broiler on to low, and give them a few minutes. This helps.
The method I usually use is to season them first with cumin, chili powder, garlic and onion powder, and sometimes, some adobo. Always coarse salt and pepper, but you decide--it's all up to you.
Toss them with olive oil and all the spices, then bake them. Good stuff.
But last week, I read Lori's post at Made Healthier, about Baked Garlic Fries. What? Toss them in oil and garlic after cooking? Genius! So naturally, I wanted to try it with sweet potatoes. Me likey! It worked great, like I knew it would! Here's my take on her recipe:
Oven Baked Sweet Potato Garlic Fries
Preheat oven to 400°.
You can either peel your potatoes, or give them a good scrubbing, which is what I did. Oh, and I used 3 sweet potatoes this time.
Cut them into wedges or like fries.
Put them on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive or vegetable oil, coarse salt and pepper.
Bake for about 40-50 minutes, flipping the fries over at the halfway point. When time is up, see if you want to turn the broiler on for a few minutes, but watch them carefully if you do.
About 10 minutes or so before they're done, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil over low to medium heat.
When the oil is hot, add in about 3 (or more or less, depending on what you like) garlic cloves that you've chopped. Be careful not to burn the garlic, you just want to soften it, take the raw "edge" off, and flavor the oil.
Toss the baked fries with the garlic and the olive oil, and add more salt to taste.
Serve them now!
See? They won't win any awards for being beautiful, but they are delicious just the same.
14 comments:
Have you been hacking into our kitchen? Haha. I just made baked sweet potato using Ellie K's recipe and I was so disappointed because it didn't turn out crispy at all. :( I'm desperate to find something that would make it crispy without frying.
I always replace fries with sweet potato fries if possible when eating out. I will have to try making these at home. They look really tasty!
Hi Elle!
I always make sweet potato fries too. They are great. Next time I will try your seasoning combination and skip the foil. Thanks for the tips!
Hi Elle,
I'm really glad the garlic oil technique worked out for you. And I love your take on it using sweet potatoes!
Joy--crispy is so difficult for sweet potatoes without deep frying, isn't it? They're still not entirely crispy this way, and I love crispy fries. I like to ask for my fries "a bit overcooked" to get them just right, and even then, that doesn't always work. I'll keep trying until I find out how to get them to crisp up w/out frying. Will keep you posted!
Kevin--they are really tasty! And they make a great side to a lot of different things.
wgg--Thanks for your comment! I hope you like them!
Lori--we LOVED the garlic and oil on these. My husband just dove right in and started eating them. It's a great addition, for sure! Thank you!
I find that even when out of a deep fryer, sweet potatoes just dont get very crispy. Leaving the skins on does help though.
These look delicious, I have never tried them with garlic.
Hi Kitty--I'm on a mission, hehe. Somehow, I'll figure it out.
Those look great! I have tried making oven fries on foil before... it was a mess. A soggy mess. These tips are great. Hopefully my fires will turn out better next time!
I've never had these, but would like to try them out - Thanks for the recipe & tip about the foil (I probably would have used it)!
Hi Caroline! Thanks for the nice comment--I like your blog!
I take a whole bowl of these with a chilled beer please! :-)
I bet they are yummy!
Oh, man. I think I'm in love. I love sweet potato fries. And with garlic and oil?! WOW!
You are so right about getting them crispy.
Zen, I've got the beer! Pop in anytime!
Emiline, thanks for stopping by--I love your blog!
Hey!!! For crispy fries you need to use stoneware. I bought mine through the pampered chef. I placed the fries on the the large bar pan at 425 degrees for about 45 min turning half way. (Yes tossed in some olive oil.) Perfect! Crispy and delicious!!
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