Truth be told I have always preferred good old Russet Potatoes over Sweet Potatoes. See, for me it is all about the crispy potato skin and while the I do love the inside of a sweet potato, the skin doesn’t really do it for me.
I even devoted an entire page to how to cook the Perfect Baked Potato in my eBook last year (Think Vegetables First) because I am into crispy baked potato skin like that.
However, as we discussed on Wednesday, our family is doing the #Whole30 (today is Day 5 and I would like a glass of wine thank you very much) and all potatoes except for sweet potatoes are out.
Since sweet potatoes are OK after a workout or occasionally (not intended to be an everyday food for the #Whole30), I thought we could use a little something crispy to get this weekend off to a good start.
Getting sweet potatoes crispy isn’t exactly easy. I decided to soak them to remove some of the starch, pat dry (really well!) and toss them in a coating of Old Bay and tapioca flour. Old Bay because, well seriously it just makes everything better. Tapioca flour because it is one of the few #Whole30 approved “flours” and my instinct was right that it would help the potatoes get crispier.
These Crispy Sweet Potatoes Fries do take a little bit of work but most of it is hands-off and totally worth it. They are crispy, a little spicy, a little sweet – and just all around good!
NOTES:
- Tapioca Flour a Gluten Free white flour that is made from the Cassava Plant. I found it at Whole Foods but have seen it at many other supermarkets as well as online.
- If you love Old Bay Seasoning like me, you may want to check out these shrimp, these shrimp and this chicken. I also have a recipe for Old Bay Parsnip Fries in my eBook – Vegetables First.
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Crispy sweet potato fries recipe
- 1 pound sweet potatoes
- warm water for soaking
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
- 2 teaspoons tapioca flour
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Wash sweet potatoes. Peel if desired. I prefer to leave the skin on because I like the taste and it is a time-saver. Trim ends and cut into evenly-sized french fries by slicing 1/4" thick lengthwise slices. Slice these 1/4" thick slices into long "fries".
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Place cut fries in large bowl of warm water and soak for 30 minutes.
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Here is a picture of how cloudy the water looks after 30 minutes - this is some of the starch releasing from the potatoes.
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Preheat oven to 450F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Drain potatoes well and pat dry between paper towels.
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Return dried potatoes to bowl you used for soaking (make sure the bowl is dry as well!) and add the olive oil. Mix well with your hands until evenly dispersed.
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Mix Old Bay and tapioca flour together in a gallon-size storage bag. Add oil-coated potatoes to bag, seal and shake until well coated.
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Place fries on baking sheets in one layer with ample room between each fry (or they won't get crispy!).
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Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully turn fries, rotate baking sheets and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until crispy but not burnt.
- Serve hot and Enjoy!
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Shared with Fight Back Fridays.
I tried this recipe and the parchment paper burned!!! I lost a pan of fries but rescued the others one by frying them.
Is the correct temperature for this recipe 450 degrees??
Hi Lakia,
That sucks! I suggest switching to tin foil or silpats if you have them. I have made this exact recipe no less than 10x with the parchment and never had an issue but it sounds like either your oven gets really hot or maybe your parchment is coated with something. sorry you lost so many fries!
My husband had little faith in me to make crispy sweet potatoes since I have tried numerous times. Dinner was served and he couldn’t stop raving about them! Tasty, crispy, soft in side and simply delicious!!! Thank you so very much 🙂
That is awesome Laurie!!!! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Tried these last night and they were delicious!! To save time, I had cut, soaked and dried the potatoes the night before and stored them in a sealed container until I was ready for them….I had forgotten to hunt down some tapioca flour, so subbed whole wheat flour, which seemed to work fine. Very crispy and a great use of Old Bay. Definitely going to be my go-to sweet potato recipe 🙂
Awesome!!! Love the idea of doing the potato prep the night before – smart!
yum yum yum yum yum! I LOVE baked sweet potato fries – I never thought about using old bay but I’ll have to try! I like them with chipotle powder and garlic salt. The inevitable burnt ends are delicious!
Chipotle powder is another good one. Try the Old Bay for sure!
I’m a serious sweet potato fry LOVER but I can see why you’d prefer the crispy exterior. I don’t know why it’s so much harder to get it on SP fries than it is on regular fries…but I’ll have to try your tapioca flour method!
I do love mashed sweet potatoes and all kinds of other sweet potato variations, it’s just when it comes to fries, I want them as crispy as possible 🙂
I love roast sweet potatoes! Never tried them with Old Bay, though – I’ll have to do that. Wonderful idea. And these really do seem extra crispy! Great stuff – thanks.
Definitely John 🙂
Alyssa,
Thank you so much for the great recipe and tips! I love Old Bay, and when I get inundated with sweet potatoes from the the CSA farm share it’s good to know that I can fix something the kids will like.
Appreciate it!
I love Old Bay so much – it is such a perfect fry coating!
I love sweet potato fries, great tips on how to get them crispy!
Sure Laura 🙂
Ooooh girl, I could eat the whole tray of these!
It was not easy only eating one serving I’ll tell you that!
Can I request these the next time I come over?
Definitely!
Those sweet potatoes sure look yummy. Perhaps if you use purple or white sweet potatoes (they have drier texture) you could skip the soaking.
Great idea Norma! I am going to try that next 🙂
I need to try the soaking technique. Looks so delish and I love old bay!!
Yes, it really does help the fries crisp up 🙂
French fries really are fabulous, especially homemade ones. I love all the tips for crispy baked fries you share here (the soaking method makes so much sense) and I can’t wait to make a batch. Your photos are making me quite hungry!
Thanks Hannah – I am a sucker for Fries of any kind!
Yum!! Funny, I posted fries too! I usually opt for sweet potatoes for health reasons, but I can’t resist regular ole french fry potatoes. Someone else mentioned soaking before baking, I will have to try that. We love Old Bay in our house!
The soaking before baking is even better with Russet’s Aggie!