Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Here for the giveaway??? It's thatta way!


Truth be told I'm not a fan of potatoes. White potatoes have just always been ... blah. They're starchy and dry and boring and plain.

If my mom baked potatoes for us, she'd always throw a sweet potato or two in there and I'd opt for that instead. I love sweet potatoes, but I've only ever had them three ways: baked whole, mashed with brown sugar and marshmallows on top, or deep fried fries at a restaurant.

While passing the sweet potatoes at the grocery store they just called out to me. They looked so beautiful and vibrant, so I picked out two large ones and was on my merry way. I decided that they would become oven fries.

Biz of Biggest Diabetic Loser has perfected the Best Oven Fries Ever (the picture is proof enough)!! I decided to throw caution to the wind and use the same technique, but for sweet potatoes instead.

My version was:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" to 1/2" slices
~5 Tbsp vegetable oil
salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder

Preheat your oven to 475°. Then, peel and slice your sweet potatoes. Mine were very large so I cut the potatoes in half and then made strips. Be very careful cutting sweet potatoes! They're pretty resistant to a knife, so you have to use a little more muscle - you don't want that slipping and coming down on a finger!


Once the potatoes are sliced, soak them in water for about 10 minutes. I think this is key in successful oven fries because it'll help with getting them fully cooked in the beginning, leaving time for better browning in the end.


Prepare the baking pan by coating the bottom with about 4 Tbsp of the oil, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders. Pat the potatoes dry (I didn't, but I'm lazy!!) and toss with about 1 Tbsp of the oil. Lay the potato slices evenly on the baking pan.

Place the pan on the bottom rack of your oven, covered in foil, for 5 minutes. Again, this is key to the overall success. By being in the bottom of your oven, it is very close to the heating element, and by covering for the first five minutes you cook the potatoes through and can then start on the browning.

Remove the foil and then continue baking for 30 minutes. Every ten minutes remove the pan from the oven, flip the fries and then place it back in for another 10 minute round.

Mine were looking great until maybe the last 4 or 5 minutes, when I smelled that they were getting a little too dark. I think maybe because of their higher sugar content, they were more susceptible to burning. We happen to like the darker bits, but admittably some were a little charred.

I think this method would work perfectly for regular potatoes, but if using it to cook sweet potatoes keep a close watch on it the last 5 minutes! It happens fast and you'll want to catch them before they get black!

Overall, VERY delicious and easy to pop back into the oven and warm up leftovers. I dunked mine in ketchup, just as you would a "normal" fry. I look forward to cooking them with different spice experimenting in the future!

And, in other news, I successfully cleaned and cut my very first whole chicken all by myself! We made the Chicken Under a Brick again tonight with the jerk seasoning. Mmm good stuff and the 2nd Freezer Chicken used up!! I'm getting close to the end!!!

Mara of What's for Dinner is having the biggest giveaway I've ever seen! Go check it out!