Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

Air fryer sweet potato fries that crisp instead of going limp. Why drying and cornflour matter, and why oil has to go on first.

Prep

10 min

Cook

25 min

Total

35 min

Serves

2

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 500g)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt, plus flaky salt to finish

Method

1. Peel the sweet potatoes, or leave the skin on, and cut them into fries at least 1cm thick.
2. Optional: soak them in cold water for 10-30 minutes to pull off surface starch.
3. Dry them thoroughly with kitchen paper. This matters more than anything else here.
4. Toss with the oil first, then with the cornflour, paprika and salt until lightly dusted all over.
5. Lay them in the air fryer basket in a single layer with gaps. Cook in batches if needed.
6. Air fry at 200°C (390°F), shaking every 8-10 minutes, until deep orange with browned edges: 10-12 minutes for a light load of thinner fries, up to 25 minutes for a full basket of thick ones.
7. Salt them the moment they come out.

Notes

• Sweet potato holds more water and sugar than ordinary potato, which is why it so often burns at the edges while staying soft. Drying it and dusting it in cornflour is what lets the outside dry out before the sugar scorches.
• Oil first, then cornflour. Cornflour on a dry fry just falls off; the oil gives it something to stick to.
• A single layer with gaps. Crowded sweet potato fries steam and go limp.
• Thicker than 1cm stays fluffy inside; much thinner and they burn before they crisp.
• Air fryer models vary. Treat the times as a guide, go by colour and crispness, and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

Watch it

More Air Fryer Potatoes & Chips

• Perfect Air Fryer Chips30 min · serves 3
• Frozen Chips in the Air Fryer19 min · serves 2
• Air Fryer Hasselback Potatoes50 min · serves 2
• Air Fryer Jacket Potato45 min · serves 2
• Air Fryer Roast Potatoes40 min · serves 4
• Air Fryer Potato Wedges30 min · serves 3

Air fryer models vary in power and basket size, so treat the times here as a guide — go by colour and crispness rather than the clock, and adjust the seasoning and glaze to your taste.

Recipe source: Method corroborated across published air-fryer sweet potato fry recipes: Tesco Real Food, Ocado and Sweet Potato Soul. Cut into fries at least 1cm thick, optionally soaked in cold water to remove surface starch, dried thoroughly, tossed in a little oil and then a light coating of cornflour with seasoning, and air fried at 200°C (390°F) in a single layer, shaken or turned partway. Times run from 10-12 minutes for thin fries in a light load to 25-30 minutes for a full basket of thick fries.