Crispy Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries Recipe

It's hard to remember life before the existence of air fryers. To get anything fried in your own kitchen meant vats of oil and grease, and either a heavy duty cast iron skillet or an actual fryer. Crispy fries felt like pipe dream. Now? We're easily whipping up sweet potato fries in less than 30 minutes, thanks to the magic of air frying, which also saves you some calories and fat.

This super easy air fryer sweet potato fries recipe from Susan Olayinka of The Flexible Fridge will make you wonder how you ever survived without that trusty air fryer. Could you make these fries in the oven? Probably. But Olayinka swears, "It's definitely worth doing these in an air fryer versus an oven because it's much quicker and ... more crispy."

This recipe will yield enough fries to feed two or three people, and the potatoes will pair great with a garlic dipping sauce, or plain ol' ketchup. Read on for details on how to make perfect, crispy, air fryer sweet potato fries.

Assemble all the ingredients for the air fryer sweet potato fries first. For this recipe, you just need three sweet potatoes, chili powder, paprika, salt, garlic powder, arrowroot powder, and extra-virgin olive oil.

You will also need a sharp knife, a potato or vegetable peeler, and parchment paper. Heads up: You can buy parchment paper specifically designed for air fryer baskets, which will make your life much easier for making things like fries. If you don't have parchment paper, just make sure you have plenty of nonstick cooking spray handy.

If you're gonna make fries at home, rather than grab them from a drive-thru line at a fast food restaurant, you're gonna have to do a little potato prep. It's worth the effort, we promise. Wash and scrub the potatoes, then use a peeler to take off that outer layer of skin. Next, use a sharp knife to cut the potatoes into spears. 

The degree of thickness of the spears is up to you, but somewhere between shoestring and steak fries would be our aim, as demonstrated in the photos. Again, this is personal preference but you will be turning the fries halfway through cooking each batch so giving yourself too many smaller ones to rotate creates more work (and potentially more mess in the air fryer).

After the potatoes have been peeled and cut, it's time to season them. Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl then coat them with the extra-virgin olive oil, chili powder, paprika, salt, garlic powder, and arrowroot powder. Use your hands or a spatula but make sure each fry is thoroughly and evenly coated. 

You have the option to combine all the spices with a whisk in a small bowl prior to this step, then toss them onto the potatoes all together, if you're concerned about getting an equal distribution of all the flavors onto each fry. It's a valid concern — if you are a homemade fry perfectionist, then you want to make sure each bite has the perfect amount of seasoning.

The potatoes are ready to go; now it's time to prepare the air fryer. The recipe suggests placing a parchment liner in the air fryer basket to prevent the sweet potato fries from sticking to the basket. As previously mentioned, be mindful of the type of parchment paper you're using. "My parchment paper was nonstick, thankfully, but I know that there are some parchment papers that you may need to spray before you put the food on it, so readers should watch out for this or else the sweet potato fries will stick," says Olayinka.

If you opt for no parchment at all, be prepared to spray both the basket and the fries prior to air frying and again as you turn the fries, and as you add new batches.

When the potatoes and air fryer basket are prepped, you can commence the cooking. Set the air fryer to 390 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the basket with potato spears in one layer. You will have to cook the sweet potato fries in batches in order to avoid overcrowding the basket. Plan to air fry each batch for 12 minutes, turning the fries halfway through cooking time. 

If you are not using parchment paper or if your parchment paper isn't nonstick, be prepared to spray both the basket and the sweet potato fries with cooking spray prior to adding each batch. This will keep the potatoes from clinging to the pan (basket).

The final step is to eat! Like all fries, these air fryer sweet potato fries taste best when you serve them as soon as they're done cooking — like, immediately, if you want that ideal warm, crispy fry taste. 

Serve them alongside a garlic dipping sauce or ketchup. They're a great pairing with burgers or steaks, or delicious as an appetizer all on their own. Olayinka raves, "I love to make these as a dinner option because it's quick and easy and great to make during the week." Quick, easy weeknight fries? Sign us up.