Easy Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries with Garlic Aioli
Cinnamon spice and everything nice…and a little bit of heat. These sweet potato fries are the perfect mix of sweet and heat. Eat them alone or have them as a side. Either way, you won’t regret it!
If you’re craving something a bit different from your everyday fries, try sweet potato fries. Sweet potatoes have many purported health benefits, as described in this article by Web MD; and they are actually a sweet root that is part of the morning glory family and not a potato. I did not know that. Now that’s something we both know.
Sweet potatoes are also considered a potential crop for space missions due to their high nutritional value and easy growth, and also ‘because of the distinct lack of grocery stores in outer space.’ Lol!
Ingredients
There really isn’t much to making these sweet potato fries-just sweet potatoes (orange, purple, or white), spices, and olive oil. The spices I used are:
- Cinnamon
- Chili pepper
- Cumin
I love the mixture of these three spices. The earthiness of the cinnamon, the heat from the chili pepper, and a bit of lemony flavor from the cumin, and of course, the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. The flavors work so well together.
Let’s Make This
It was easy to make these fries with just a few simple ingredients- sweet potatoes, olive oil, cinnamon, chili powder and salt. To make them, I chopped the sweet potato in half length wise first, then chopped them into the classic “fry” shape we all know. Sweet potatoes are surprisingly tougher to cut than a regular potato. Be careful not to cut yourself when cutting them.
I added the chopped sweet potatoes to a bowl then added the oil and spices on top, using a spoon to mix the spices all over the sweet potatoes. From there, I added them to the tinfoil lined pans of the air fryer and popped them in said air fryer after it had preheated. They baked to a delicious, slightly more golden color than they already are, a little bit crispy and perfectly soft. Sweet potatoes do not cook up as crispy as regular fries.
Just look how yummy and crispy they look! I love the slightly blackened bits and the parts where the cinnamon and chili powder are concentrated.
For a dipping sauce, I made a classic garlic aioli. I blended together mayonnaise, garlic powder, and a little bit of jalapeno brine to make an outstanding sauce to dip these babies into. It was delicious! You know what would also be a delicious dip? My Homemade 1000 Island Dressing.
These fries would go perfectly with my Reuben sandwich, or even the Cubano. Sounds so good just thinking about it!
Other recipes to try
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Recipe Notes
If for some reason, you magically have some left, store in an airtight container for up to three days. You can reheat in the air fryer at 425 about 5 minutes. You could also microwave them for a few minutes, but the air fryer will give better reheating results.
The orange-fleshed sweet potatoes with bright orange skin are found in all most major grocery stores. To find the other varieties, such as the purple sweet potato, you will probably have to go to a specialty grocery store.
Though sweet potatoes are often called “yams”, they are not the same thing. A yam is a tuber vegetable, much like the potato, and a lot starchier than a sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are actually part of the morning glory family.
Easy Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Garlic Aioli
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon jalapeno brine, lemon juice or vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
Instructions
- Depending on what type of air fryer you have, you may have to line the trays with tin foil. This is what I do when I use my air fryer.
- Slice the sweet potatoes up into strips. Ideally, you want them to be thinner rather than thicker. Be careful when you slice the sweet potatoes so as not to cut yourself. They are much firmer than a regular potato, making them more difficult to cut.
- Add the sliced sweet potatoes to a large bowl. Add the olive oil and spices and mix with a spoon so the sweet potatoes are as evenly covered as possible. Add them to the foil lined trays, if this is what your air fryer has. If you have the basket type, just add them into the basket.
- Preheat your air fryer to 425 degrees.
- Because each air fryer is different, yours may cook differently than mine. You will want to refer to the instructions included with your air fryer for more information.
- Once the air fryer has pre-heated, add the sweet potatoes and cook for 25 minutes. They may need a few more minutes, so be sure to check they are done. When you can stick a fork in the thickest potato and it goes in easily, they are done. I like it when the smaller ones get a bit crispier.
- As the sweet potatoes are cooking, blend the 1/4 cup of mayo, 1 tablespoon of jalapeno brine or lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon garlic powder in a blender or food processor.
- When the sweet potatoes are done cooking, remove them from the air fryer. I like to line a small baking pan with parchment paper and transfer the fries to this pan.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days. You can reheat in the air fryer at 425 about 5 minutes. You could also microwave them for a few minutes, but the air fryer will give better reheating results.
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