Sweet Potato Fries

By Mark Bittman

Updated April 15, 2026

Sweet Potato Fries
Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(7,352)
Comments
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These addictive seasoned "fries" from Mark Bittman are actually baked, but we promise you won't miss the grease. The spice mix – garlic powder, paprika, salt and black pepper – can be used on regular potatoes as well (you'll just need to increase the baking time a bit).

Featured in: Yes, Healthful Fast Food Is Possible. But Edible?

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 2pounds sweet potatoes, peeled
  • 2tablespoons olive oil
  • 1teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1teaspoon paprika
  • 1teaspoon salt
  • ½teaspoon black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

173 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 365 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 400.

  2. Step 2

    Cut the sweet potatoes into sticks ¼ to ½ inch wide and 3 inches long, and toss them with the oil.

  3. Step 3

    Mix the spices, salt and pepper in a small bowl, and toss them with the sweet potatoes. Spread them out on 2 rimmed baking sheets.

  4. Step 4

    Bake until brown and crisp on the bottom, about 15 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is crisp, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
7,352 user ratings
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Comments

Patrick

I find using parchment paper helps with the crisping. And sliding parchment paper onto a pre-heated stone rather than a sheet pan yielded the crispiest (but keep an eye on them, they cooked a bit faster this way). Lastly, thinner cuts = crispier.

Rosemarywc

great seasoning! to make the fries crispier, I heated the baking sheets until a drop OF water bounced on them then tossed the fries on - cooked till crisp then turned. Preheating the sheets really helps the crisping.

Jen

Soaking them in water beforehand to reduce starchiness (a few to several hours is good), slicing them thinly, and lastly, using 1-2 teaspoons of corn starch (use tea towel to dry first, put in ziplock bag with the corn starch and shake, then add oil and seasonings) will increase the crispiness of your sweet potato fries. My two kids can polish off three sweet potatoes by themselves this way!

Dianne

The dip served alongside looks so good in the picture......what is is?

GreenSageSJ

3 test batches w/ 2 spuds: 1)As written; 2)soaked for 1 hr, drained, dried, then as written w/o seasoning; 3)soaked in very lightly salted water (1 tsp/gal) 2 hrs, tossed in EVOO + 1 tsp corn starch, baked on speed convection at 450º for 20 mins, flip 10 mins in, seasoned after. Used pre-heated sheet pan w/ layer of well-spaced fries on parchment for all 3. #1 was a bit "wormy," seasoning muted. #2 seasoned better after, but not ideally crisp. #3 by far best. Lightly crisp, tender inside. YUM!

deedubsf

My mom hated cooking but her version always succeeded, so I couldn't bring myself to do anything fancy. I just chopped them up randomly, tossed them with olive oil, paprika and pepper. They came out fine, crispy and nostalgic.

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