Crispy Air Fryer Sweet Potato (Printer-friendly)

Golden, crispy sweet potato fries with smoked paprika and garlic powder for a flavorful snack or side.

# What You'll Need:

→ Sweet Potatoes

01 - 2 large sweet potatoes (approximately 21 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch fries

→ Seasonings

02 - 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
03 - 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional, enhances crispiness)
04 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
05 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
06 - 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
07 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

→ Garnish (optional)

08 - Chopped fresh parsley
09 - Additional sea salt, to taste

# How to Prepare:

01 - Preheat the air fryer to 400°F for 3 minutes.
02 - In a large bowl, toss the sweet potato fries with olive oil until evenly coated.
03 - Sprinkle cornstarch over the fries and toss again to ensure uniform coating.
04 - Combine smoked paprika, garlic powder, sea salt, and black pepper with the fries and toss thoroughly.
05 - Place fries in a single layer in the air fryer basket, cooking in batches if necessary for optimal crispness.
06 - Cook for 15 to 18 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through, until fries are golden brown and crisp at the edges.
07 - Transfer fries to a serving dish, garnish with chopped parsley and additional sea salt if desired, and serve immediately.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They come out genuinely crispy without a single drop of deep-frying oil, which feels like a small miracle every time.
  • You can have them ready in under half an hour, start to finish, with almost no cleanup afterward.
  • The natural sweetness of the potatoes pairs beautifully with smoky paprika and garlic, making them hard to stop eating.
02 -
  • If you skip the cornstarch, the fries will still taste good but they won't get that shatteringly crisp texture—it's worth keeping a box in the pantry just for this.
  • Cutting the fries too thick means they'll be soft in the middle and never fully crisp, so aim for about a quarter inch and try to keep them uniform.
  • Don't skip shaking the basket halfway through; the fries on the bottom will burn while the ones on top stay pale if you leave them untouched.
03 -
  • Use a mandoline slicer if you have one—it makes cutting uniform fries so much faster and easier, and uniform fries cook more evenly.
  • Don't overload the basket even if you're tempted; airflow is everything in an air fryer, and crowding them guarantees sogginess.
  • If your air fryer runs hot, start checking at 15 minutes and pull them early if they're already golden—every machine is a little different.

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