The Best Vegan Baked Sweet Potato Fries
These baked vegan sweet potato fries come together in less than 35 minutes, and make the perfect side to any meal. They’re soft, have a hint of heat, and they give any restaurant sweet potato fry a run for its money.
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Introduction
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I’ll take sweet potato fries over regular fries any day. That being said, they have to be done right. Undercooked, and you’re left with a chewy, starchy fry - and now you’re wishing you ordered the house salad. Overcooked, and those burnt bits overpower everything. I’m here to show you how to find that perfect (baked) happy medium.
Baked is the way to go - it’s much healthier, but most importantly, you get more flavour out of a baked sweet potato. The heat from the oven brings out the moisture in the sweet potato and intensifying the flavour. Not to mention, they won’t be dripping with oil like they would be if we were to deep-fry them.
The secret is routine flipping. When we cook each side evenly, we wind up with perfect, golden brown edges, without the burns. When we near the end of the bake, turn on your oven light, or pull the tray out every once in a while to make sure everything is looking good. If one or two of the fries are starting to turn a bit dark, either take them out while the rest of them finishing cooking, or give them a flip to a less-cooked side.
You’ll notice in the Before we Get Started section that I’ve left the cooking time open. These usually take around 25 minutes, but they might need an extra 5-10 minutes to really bring out those crispy edges.
Toss them in a few spices beforehand. The collection of spices you use is up to you. I’ve listed my favourites down below in the ingredients section, but I also love to use curry powder, chili powder, paprika, and turmeric. Give them a toss with olive oil to coat, and you’ve taken your sweet potato fry game up a whole new level.
Check out the spruce it up section for ideas on how to really make these sweet potatoes shine.
Before we Get Started
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 25-30 minutes
Total Time: 30-35 minutes
Ingredients
2 medium Sweet Potatoes
2 tbsp. Corn Starch
1 tsp. Cayenne Powder
1 tbsp. Cumin
1.5 tbsp, Salt
Olive oil
1 tbsp. Ground Black Pepper
Method
Preheat your oven to 400º F.
Cut off the top and bottom of the sweet potato. Then, stand the potato up, and slice down each side of the sweet potato (known as “squaring”), so that you have four flat sides, and a flat top and bottom.
The sides don’t have to be perfectly straight or flat. You just want to be able to rest it on the cutting board without it wobbling.
Lay the sweet potato down, and slice into slabs by cutting the sweet potato from top to bottom. Try to make each slab the same thickness. I try for about 1 cm.
Slice each slab into fries by cutting from top to bottom, aiming for the same thickness as you did before.
Repeat steps 1-3 for the second sweet potato.
Place your fries into a bowl, drizzle a fair amount of olive oil over top, and add your spices and cornstarch. Toss to make sure the fries are evenly coated.
Place your fries onto a foil-lined or oiled baking tray, and place into the oven once it’s come to temperature.
Bake for 10 minutes, remove the tray from the oven and flip the fries. Place them back in the oven, and continue to rotate the fries every five minutes until your desired crispiness is reached.
Use your judgement.
Once baked, take the sweet potatoes out of the oven, and place on a paper toil. Pat dry any excess oil, and sprinkle with salt again if needed.
Enjoy.
Spruce it Up
Try dipping in a vegan garlic aioli, or a dipping sauce of your choice.
Pair these with a veggie burger to make a perfect summer lunch or dinner.
Place the cooked fries into a bowl, add some cilantro or parsley, as well as some lime juice, and give them a good toss.