Crispy baked sweet potato fries

“Hey Kylee, do you want sweet potato fries?” “Yes, yes I do. Thank you for asking.” ß My response to anyone ever who asks me if I want sweet potato fries. I love sweet potato fries so much. So so so much. It really is hard to fully express my love for them. They’re salty and a little bit sweet.

Most sweet potato fries are fried (hence the name). But these particular fries are baked because 1) I don’t own a fryer and 2) If I ate them fried I would weigh 300 pounds because I eat a lot of them and I can’t stop. But don’t worry, I promise you will not miss out on the fried part! In fact, I’m going to go as far to say I doubt you would notice the difference! That’s because I have found a way to make these un-fried fries crispy!

Three tips to crispy un-fried fries

1. Toss in cornstarch beforehand! Just a little teeny bit of cornstarch gives the heat something to grab onto and crisp up!
2. Do not overcrowd baking sheet; if you overcrowd that baking sheet the fries will not get the same amount of direct heat and will steam instead of getting crispy.
3. After baking, turn off the oven, open the oven door halfway, and let them cool until you’re ready to serve or up to 30 minutes. Sweet potatoes are naturally moist, so this extra step helps take out the last bit of moisture! Obviously, be careful with this step if you have small children or dogs.

Now that you know those top-secret extra-special tips, here’s a list of why you should eat sweet potato un-fried fries! It is in list for because I am getting tired of writing paragraphs.

Why you should eat sweet potatoes

• Sweet potatoes provide more than 400% of your daily requirement of vitamin A
• Sweet potatoes are packed with fiber which slows digestion and helps manage weight
• Sweet potatoes contain a lot of calcium and magnesium which is great for bone health
• Beta carotene! It’s a powerful antioxidant that decreases risk of cardio-vascular disease as well as oral cavity, and lung cancers.

(Info from Cleveland Clinic)

Baked sweet potato fries

Ingredients

• One sweet potato per person
• One teaspoon cornstarch per sweet potato
• 1/2 teaspoon salt per sweet potato
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder per sweet potato
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne per sweet potato
• 2 teaspoons olive oil per sweet potato

*Make this recipe with as many sweet potatoes as you want, multiply ingredient by how many sweet potatoes you use.

Directions

1. Wash and peel the sweet potato. Cut into 1/4 inch strips.
2. Soak the sweet potato pieces in a bowl of cold water for at least 30 minutes. This removes the starchy surface coating from the potato and allows it to get more crispy when baking.
3. Once you finish soaking the potato, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Thoroughly dry the sweet potato pieces and toss in bowl with olive oil before transferring to Ziploc bag with cornstarch, salt, garlic powder, and cayenne.
5. Once sweet potato pieces are coated in seasoning, line them on baking sheet, making sure to not overlap. 
6. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven, turn baking sheet around, flip fries to other side, and place back in oven for 10 minutes.
7. Turn the oven off, crack the oven door halfway open, and and keep the fries inside until you’re ready to serve or up to 30 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction