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Make crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries tossed in olive oil and Herbes de Provence seasoning. This is an easy gluten-free side dish or appetizer that’s ready in just 30 minutes. These seasoned oven fries are quick enough for family meals and fancy enough for entertaining!
Table of Contents
- Crispy Sweet Potato Fries Seasoned With Herbs
- Is Baking Healthier Than Frying?
- What You’ll Need
- How to Make Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Can I Make These In the Air Fryer Instead?
- Tips for Success
- Variation Ideas
- Make It a Meal
- Storing and Reheating Homemade Fries
- Can I Freeze Sweet Potato Fries?
- Get the Recipe
Crispy Sweet Potato Fries Seasoned With Herbs
Put on your best French accent, because today we’re taking our stretchy pants to the south of France. Ok, so not really. But, we are making these crispy Herbes de Provence baked sweet potato fries, which is about as close as I’ll get.
These are a variation of my Italian Herb Oven Fries, made with sweet potatoes and Herbes de Provence instead of Italian seasoning (there is a difference, see the Ingredients below for details).
This flavorful French herb blend adds a lovely flavor against the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. The insides of the fries get all tender and caramelized in the oven, while the outsides crisp up deliciously golden. You only need 3 ingredients and about 30 minutes, and you can make perfect oven-baked sweet potato fries that all but transport you to the Riviera.
Is Baking Healthier Than Frying?
Yes, oven-baked sweet potatoes are a much healthier option than fried sweet potatoes. Deep-frying in oil can nearly double the number of calories, fats, and carbs per serving! Baking your sweet potatoes following the method below lets them retain their nutritional value and still come out crispy and delicious.
Not only does baking save you the hassle and clean-up of deep-frying, but it’s also better for you.
What You’ll Need
You need only 3 ingredients to make these perfectly crispy and flavorful baked sweet potato fries (plus salt and pepper, of course). Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need. Remember to refer to the recipe card for the full details:
- Sweet Potatoes: You’ll need around 1 pound of sweet potatoes. This is about 2 large sweet potatoes or 3 medium-sized ones. You can opt to peel them or leave the skins on, this is up to you.
- Olive Oil: Good-quality extra virgin olive oil helps the fries bake up nice and crispy, and also prevents sticking.
- Herbes de Provence: You can find this popular French herb blend in the spice aisle of most major grocery store chains, or online. If you can’t find it, you can still make this recipe using a combination of dried herbs (see below).
- Salt and Pepper
Is Herbes de Provence the Same as Italian Seasoning?
Herbes de Provence is an herb blend from the south of France, whereas Italian seasoning is (spoiler alert) actually an American invention. They contain similar dried herbs, but they aren’t the same thing.
Herbes de Provence can be substituted at home with a mixture of dried thyme, basil, savory, rosemary, and oregano.
If you don’t have all of these hanging around in your spice rack, you can use any combination of the above. You can also substitute Italian seasoning in a pinch, as I use in my Italian Seasoned Oven French Fries.
Really, these sweet potato fries can be seasoned however you’d like. See the section later on with easy variation ideas.
How to Make Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Put the words “Herbes de Provence” in front of anything, and it immediately sounds fancy. But I promise you, these sweet potato oven fries couldn’t be more simple to make:
- Cut: First, you’ll cut up your sweet potatoes into “fries.” I usually aim for about a half-inch wide by 3-4 inches long.
- Prep: While the oven preheats, coat a baking sheet with a bit of olive oil.
- Toss: Add the cut sweet potatoes to a bowl with olive oil and the seasonings, then toss to coat.
- Bake: Arrange the fries on your prepared baking sheet. Make sure to lay them in a single layer, with space between each fry. Next, pop your sweet potatoes into the oven at 450ºF for about 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway through. Keep an eye on them, and when they’re golden and crispy, it’s time to come out.
Can I Make These In the Air Fryer Instead?
Yes! If you have an air fryer, you can definitely make air fryer sweet potato fries instead. All you do is prepare the sweet potato fries as directed, and then follow the instructions for my Air Fryer French Fries when it comes time to cook them. They’ll be gloriously crispy, no oven needed.
Tips for Success
Making homemade fries in the oven isn’t complicated. But a few helpful tips can’t hurt! Below are some final pointers for achieving the best baked sweet potato fries:
- Cut the fries evenly. Cut your sweet potatoes into fries that are as close to the same size as possible, this way they’ll bake up evenly.
- The secret to crispy fries is to space them out in a single layer, making sure the fries don’t touch each other. Airflow is key to getting the outside of the sweet potatoes crisp.
- Work in batches if needed. For the reason mentioned above, if you’re making a lot of sweet potato fries, I recommend baking them in batches or spreading them out over two sheets.
- Soak the unbaked sweet potato fries. If you have the time, soaking the unbaked fries for a couple of hours ahead of time is a handy trick for extra crispy oven fries. You can even do this overnight in the fridge so that the fries are ready to bake the next day.
- Serve right away. I say this about all my homemade French fries recipes, but fries taste the best when they’re hot and fresh!
Variation Ideas
There are SO many ways you can change up your baked sweet potato fries with different flavors and seasonings. Here are some ideas:
- Garlic and Herb: Add a pinch of garlic powder to the Herbes de Provence seasoning for some tasty garlic herb fries.
- Cajun: What spice lover can resist the zingy kick of Cajun fries? Try tossing your fries in my homemade Blackened Seasoning for a Creole twist.
- Truffle Oil: Take notes from my Truffle Fries recipe and drizzle these sweet potato fries with some gourmet truffle oil.
- Parmesan: Freshly grated parmesan makes an easy seasoning.
- Toppings: Try loading your fries up with toppings, like these Buffalo Chicken Loaded Sweet Potato Fries or my BBQ Pulled Pork Loaded Fries.
Make It a Meal
Healthy baked sweet potato fries are the perfect gluten-free side dish or appetizer, whether I make them for a weeknight dinner or when we entertain. I love them dipped in my favorite homemade Balsamic Ketchup, but I’ll never run out of new ways to serve them.
Try these other homemade sweet potato fries dipping sauces:
For a family meal, we’ll enjoy these Herbes de Provence baked sweet potato fries with Classic Meatloaf or Air Fryer Burgers. On meatless Monday, we’ll have them with homemade Black Bean Quinoa Burgers.
They also pair great with French Onion Meatballs and a side of Air Fryer Green Beans.
For a kid-friendly meal, serve these oven fries with Gluten Free Air Fryer Chicken Nuggets and your favorite dipping sauces (or, choose from the ones above!).
Storing and Reheating Homemade Fries
After the sweet potato fries have cooled to room temperature, store them airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat the fries in a 450ºF oven or in your air fryer until warmed through.
Can I Freeze Sweet Potato Fries?
You can! These seasoned sweet potato fries can be baked as directed, and then left on the baking sheet to cool completely. Afterward, pop the whole baking sheet into the freezer to flash-freeze, before transferring the frozen fries to a freezer bag or container.
Freeze the sweet potato fries for up to 3-4 months and reheat them in the oven at 450ºF directly from frozen.
Herbes de Provence Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet potatoes (about)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for pan
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence or a mixture of dried thyme, basil, savory, lavender, and/or fennel, or other dried herbs
Instructions
- Cut potatoes into about ½ in. wide and 3-4 in. long “fries”.
- Preheat oven to 450°F, and coat a baking sheet with olive oil or cooking spray.
- Toss the potatoes in the olive oil, salt & pepper, and herbs, and lay on the baking sheet in a single layer.
- Bake for 10 minutes, flip the fries, and bake for about another 10-15 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
Hooray for the sweet potato – a fav in our house. Looking forward to your ketchup recipe.
We love sweet potatoes!! And ketchup 🙂 New recipe coming tomorrow.
Brianne, I don’t know whether the terrible twos or the teenage years are worse! But I’m certain your little guy will outgrow this stage…and till then, at least he’ll eat sweet potato fries. I’m going to try some herbes de Provence on my next batch 🙂
Haha, I am sure teenage years with two boys will be its own adventure!
Absolutely be aware of it all the time and do not give up or give in. He is probably not growing right now so he is less hungry. The hunger will return. My daughter-in-law and son are very vigilant about the manners thing and the children are a delight. They are happy and well-liked by peers and adults and ADORED by their grandparents. They are 5 and almost 4, girl and boy, please and thank you.
Thanks! We have god days and bad days, which I guess is to be expected for a 2 year old.
Herbs de provence sounds delicious on sweet potatoes!
~Connie
Thanks! We love herbs with things like sweet potatoes and butternut squash to balance the natural sweetness.