It’s a lifelong (okay adulthood anyway) quest that’s taken me to many a restaurant in search of the most delicious of crispy sweet potato fries. Easily achieved, albeit less heart healthy, when dipped in vats of boiling hot vegetable oil. It was with this realization that I let myself become defeated and settled on always having a slightly soggy at-home version of my favourite burger side dish.
Well no more my loyal readers!
I have finally devised a way to make these flavourful, vitamin packed delights remain that way and still come out crispy and tasty. It’s taken a few years of experimenting and a lot of taste testing, though all that hard work was definitely worth it. Please, spare the accolades, I am simply a humble cook. Remember to mention me though when your family is swooning over their favourite “guilty” side dish, unaware that they are truly fat free and healthy. *Insert evil cackle here*
Today’s recipes are also a completely vegetarian meal, although there is a somewhat gaping hole where protein would normally be save for a small addition of almonds. The crisy, delicious Sweet Potato Fries are served alongside a dish my mother often made when I was a child. Tender crowns of broccoli were pan roasted with garlic and sliced almonds until tender crisp and then quickly sprinkled with finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano and served immediately. Always a favourite, I decided to figure out the recipe for myself. My parents are currently on their 6 month annual sojourn in Mexico at the moment and are nearly impossible to contact on the fly, so I had to make due with a slightly foggy memory, though I think I got it pretty much perfect.
Served alongside a small serving of fish or chicken, this would be a perfectly balanced meal!
Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
3-4 small sweet potatoes (orange flesh)
2 egg whites
2-3 Tbsp all purpose flour
1-2 Tbsp of spices (Any combination of curry, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, seasoning salt, etc.)
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a large (or two smaller ones) oven safe cooling rack with baking spray and set on top of a baking tray.
2. Cut washed, unpeeled sweet potatoes into fries about 3/4 cm x 3/4 cm or slightly larger than shoestring size.
3. Soak in a large bowl of cold water for 10-20 minutes. Remove to kitchen towels and pat dry or allow to air dry and then pat dry to make sure there is very little moisture left.
4. In large deep bowl, whisk egg whites until very frothy, almost to soft peaks. Toss cut, dried fries into egg whites until fully coated. Add flour one tablespoon at a time to coat and then spices. Be sure to fully coat and distribute. You will have very coated fries at this point, which is fine. A thick coating means crispy fries!
5. Lay on greased rack in one layer, do not allow fries to touch or become crowded. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until lightly browned on ends and crispy. Begin checking fries after 30 minutes and continue to check every couple of minutes or so to ensure they do not burn.
6. Serve with side of Curried Aïoli (recipe follows).
Curried Aïoli
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp curry powder
2 Tbsp buttermilk
1. Roughly chop garlic and place in mortar. Grind garlic, unsing the pestle, until it becomes a paste.
2. Add in mayonnaise, curry and buttermilk (to thin out consistency).
3. Set aside until needed.
Pan Roasted Broccoli with Almonds
1 large head broccoli (or three smaller heads), stalks peeled and diced, florets chopped
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 clove garlic, grated or minced
1/3 cup sliced almonds
salt and pepper
1/3-1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1. Heat oil on medium high in heavy bottomed pan (cast iron works great here). Add almonds and allow to brown slightly.
2. Add in broccoli and garlic and stir for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add in 1/4 cup of water and place lid on pan. Cook for about 5 minutes and then remove lid and allow water to cook off. Continue to sauté until broccoli is becoming tender but still crisp and beginning to brown slightly on edges.
4. Add in Parmesan just before removing from heat, allowing it to brown slightly.
5. Serve immediately.
I’m really looking forward to trying your fries! I’ve actually NEVER made them (I know – what the heck is wrong with me 😉 but have always wanted to. Have a great day, Elizabeth!
.-= the wicked noodle´s last blog ..guinness corned beef and cabbage =-.
These are incredible. Hoping to try this soon. 😀
Those both look awesome!
.-= Jillian´s last blog ..Sugar Free Butterscotch Cheesecake =-.
Thank you! I’m a big fry fan. I’m going to try this with russet and Yukon Gold too. Yum!
.-= Kristi Rimkus´s last blog ..Happy Hour Friday! Tangy Blue Cheese Fruit and Nut Appetizers =-.
Beautiful! I love it. Love the sweet pottao fries….mmmm
.-= MaryMoh´s last blog ..Sweet Potato And Cajun Roast Stir Fry =-.
Can’t wait to try these sweet potato fries!!! I LOVES SWEET POTATOES (roasted, as fries, whatever…so tasty!!)
Was in the mood for them last night, but too lazy to roast any, so I shredded 1 sweet potato in my food processor and then skillet fried it with some good evoo, sea salt and pepper. They were pretty tasty!!
Thanks for sharing….I’m bookmarking these now! 😉
.-= Denise @ Creative Kitchen´s last blog ..Disney, birthdays & bruschetta =-.
Oh lordy – these sides look finger lickin good 🙂
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You got the broccoli perfect my Dear, now I’m looking forward to having these sweet potatoes fries when I get home. Hard to do any of this without an oven. Plus, thanks for the Fat Book. Your Dad and I are now on a low calorie, low fat diet. I’m using lots of your veggie recipes
I could eat these two things for dinner without any protein. They look so good, and the fries really do look crispy. This is really a feat in and of itself as even most restaurants serve greasy, poorly executed sweet potato fries. Nice!
I’ll tell you a secret Stella, that is what we had for dinner. I was quite satisfied, then again I had a not insignificant amount of chocolate for dessert to make up for any lack of protein. Chocolate has protein right?
These are two of my favorite sides as well and my kids enjoy -hang on to your hat- BOTH of them! I will definitely have to try the aioli.
A superb supper!
.-= Aimee´s last blog ..Cooking School: Know Your Knives =-.
These look great, and I’d like to try them for dinner tomorrow. I’m just confused: did you dip them in egg whites, remove them, and then toss in flour? Or did you actually add the flour TO the egg whites? Thanks in advance!
Yes Jami! In a large bowl, add the egg whites, whisk until frothy, then add the fries and toss. Then sprinkle all of the fries with the flour and toss again. It should make a nice light coating on the fries. Hope that clears up the confusion!
Hum… egg whites. I’ve never tried something like this but it sounds like a great idea.
This looks so delicious and healthy!
.-= Amy Kelly´s last blog ..My Truffles =-.
I love sweet potato fries, but the ones I make at home *never* turn out crispy. When you say cooking rack, are you just referring to the wire racks that are usually used for cooling cookies, etc?
.-= Beatrice´s last blog ..Orzo and Vegetable Salad =-.
Beatrice,
Yes, just the regular cookie cooling rack is what I meant. Works great!
I’ve been discouraged in the past by the lack of crispiness in homemade baked sweet potato fries… I can’t wait to try these!!
.-= marguerite´s last blog ..Kale Soup =-.
O.M.Goodness. I have never thought of using egg whites! I can hardly contain my excitement of the prospect of not settling for slightly soggy discs of sweet potatoes! (Though, I adore those discs. But sometimes I girl just wants a little *crunch*.)
Thanks so much for sharing and I look forward to trying them!
.-= Tara @ Geek Baker´s last blog ..Upcoming posts…. =-.
These look Yummo (to steal a line from Rachel Ray)! I too have been in search of a good recipe for making sweet pots at home! Will def give this a try.
I am new to your blog, and wow…so beautiful and I just love the recipes!!! I can’t wait to read more and save more recipes to try! Keep up the good work! 🙂
Oh that looks soo good. I’m so ready for some egg whites experiments in the kitchen!
.-= Linn @ Swedish Home Cooking´s last blog ..Swedish Home Cooking "Swedish Meatballs" =-.
Yum… and Yum!! I adore sweet potato fries. The broccoli looks amazing, too. I’ll have this for dinner, please!
.-= Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction´s last blog ..Chicken Pasta Frittata =-.
Mmmmmm these look so nice! I usually make my sweet potatoes into chunky wedges, but will do it this way next time. Nice photography! 🙂
.-= Catherine´s last blog ..Mushroom Stuffed Chicken =-.
Catherine,
I’m guilty of the same thing! I love a good chunky fry, but Mr. Guilty likes the shoestring variety….so I caved!
Love the idea about egg whites. I’ve been doing homemade baked sweet potato fries for a while and they just aren’t as crispy as I’d like them to be. So thanks for the recipe. Love the pictures too.
.-= The Messy Chef´s last blog ..Apple Crumble (Pie), Revisited and Better Than Ever =-.
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Just so you know, Broccoli, Almonds and Sweet Potatoes all have plenty of protein to satisfy requirements. You don’t need meat for protein.
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Just made these tonight. AMAZING. I was a little concerned as I looked at the gooey flour covered potatoes, but just as the recipes says a thick coating means crispy fries… and they were super yummy and crispy. I cooked at 425 and broiled for the last 2 minutes. I subbed the curry aïoli for garlic aïoli.
Garlic Aïoli
3/4 cup Hellman’s (low fat) mayo
one clove minced garlic
fresh lemon juice (according to taste)
cayenne pepper (according to taste)
Sweet potato fries are heavenly. I wish all restaurants carried them in addition to regular fries!
Holy cow, you did it!!!! You achieved crispy sweet potato fries, and WITHOUT added fat! I was skeptical at first since I’ve tried so many different ways to get them crispy and none of them pan out, but THESE DID! I can hardly contain my excitement! Thank you so much for sharing this, I’ve already made them twice and I’m sure I’ll be making them often in the future!
Ha ha, thanks for trying the recipe! And thanks for letting me know how they turned out too! I love to hear feedback like this…:)
Delicious!!!
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Just made these for dinner. They were so delicious and better than what I ever would have imagined! I think they rival their fried counterparts.
Thanks for letting me know Angela!
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Wow! These are delicious. We made a little too many but I doubt there will be any complaints about that. I used cumin, salt, cinnamon and rainbow peppercorns (the latter of the two freshly ground) for my seasoning.
Thank you for the lighter way of making these. I love sweet potatoes when they are made into savory treats. Forget the sugar and marshmallows when it comes to these pre-sweetened orange gems!
I gotta agree Patty. I love the savory ways to make sweet potatoes a lot better.
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I am so excited I just found your website (I googled ‘crispy home made sweet potato fries’) One question for you. My cooling racks are cheap ones I got from the dollar store…they are very thing, and well cheap — I am half scared that they may even melt they are so thin (I got two for a dollar) — would I ruin it if I cooked them on cookie sheets? or I have read also that cooking on a pizza stone works. If you have any advice I would appreciate it. Thanks ;-0
I would try the pizza stone first. It is designed for making things crispy. Baking sheets are poorly designed for making crispy fries, though if you do go that route just make sure there are no overlapping bits. Good luck!
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Can they be made gluten free? without the flour?
Try using a gluten free flour, I think Chana (chick pea) would be great, or even rice flour.