Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

You know what the Internet has a lot of?  Yes, cat memes, but also Sweet Potato fry recipes.  I think the moral of this story is it’s gonna be pretty hard to screw these up.  And, if they’re not to your liking try, try again…and perfect your less than perfect attempt by doing a little bit of this.

These are super versatile so get crazy.  Fat wedges, skinny matchsticks.  Sweet, spicy, smokey.  You can not go wrong here.  If they’re skinny reduce your cook time.  If they’re too spicy don’t share with the kids.  See, easy peasy.

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 15 min.

Cook Time: 50-30 min.

Total Time: 45 min.

Ingredients:

3 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2″ spears
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. chili powder (optional)
1 tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. cayenne, adjust to taste (optional)
1 Tbsp. salt of choice
½ tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. Herbes de Provence, or 1 Tbsp. each of rosemary & thyme

Recipe:

To achieve a crispier fry include the optional soak.  To do this, after you have chopped your sweet potato spears put them in a large bowl and top them with water.  Let them soak for at least an hour then discard the water and give them a rinse.  Proceed as below.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine oil, herbs, and spices.  Skip or reduce the optional items if you are worried about them being too spicy. Smother it on the sweet potato spears.

Lay out the spears on a baking sheet, or two – do not overlap.

Bake for 15 minutes then, carefully, flip the fries over.  Continue baking for another 10-15 minutes.  Watch for browning and doneness of your choosing.

Note: If you want your fries faster, cut them into thinner pieces, bump the oven up to 450 F and bake for 15-20 minutes.  Give the pan(s) a good shake or stir halfway through.

If you have oven safe cooling racks that will fit into your pan you can use those to lay the fries on and then you don’t have to flip them half way through.