Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges
Air fryer sweet potato wedges are the ULTIMATE side dish. Just make them and come back here and thank me later. There is nothing better than sweet potato fries and the air fryer lets you make them in just 15 minutes!
Soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, sweet potato fries are the perfect side dish for burgers, sandwiches, chicken nuggets or well just about anything. I love making these along with a salad and calling it a meal.
The air fryer really shines when making potatoes, it cuts the cooking time down by 10-20 minutes and the potatoes come out perfectly every time. If you love using your air fryer too, you have to try air fried sweet potato cubes (these are so good on salads or in grain bowls), air fryer sweet potato toast (with avocado and everything bagel seasoning on top -YUM!!!) or air fried baby potatoes (the best side dish).
You only need 3 ingredients and about 15 minutes to make these sweet potato wedges in the air fryer. The hardest part of this recipe is cutting the sweet potato into wedges.
I like to keep it simple, but you could also add your favorite spices to change up the flavor of the wedges – add some heat with cayenne or sweetness with cinnamon. It’s up to you to make these your own.
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes – you want to look for sweet potatoes that are not too thick or too long.
- Avocado oil spray – I like avocado oil because it has a high smoke point (so it won’t oxidize when heated at high temperatures). You could also use melted coconut oil or ghee.
- Salt – because all fries need salt!
How to make sweet potato fries in air fryer
Cut the potato into wedges: Wash the potato then cut into wedges.
- First cut the ends off the potato.
- Then cut the potato in half lengthwise.
- Then cut each half in half lengthwise.
- From here depending on how thick the potato was, you will either cut each half in half or in 3 pieces. You should have between 8 and 12 fries from each sweet potato.
Cook the sweet potatoes: Add the wedges to air fryer basket and spray with avocado oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss with your hands to ensure the oil and salt are coating the sweet potato wedges. Turn air fryer on 375F for 15 minutes.
Pause and shake: After 8 minutes, pause the air fryer and shake the basket. Turn the air fryer back on. Shake the basket 1-2 more times during the last 7 minutes of cooking to ensure no wedges burn.
Serve immediately or move to a warm oven to keep hot.
Top tips
- Use a sharp knife – Using a dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp knife since you have to apply more force and pressure when a knife is dull.
- If you see very thin edges on the wedges, cut them off before air frying, they will burn.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket – The air fryer needs air to circulate to ensure that crispy crunch on the outside. The fries will steam and be mushy if the basket is overcrowded.
- Shake the basket – shaking the basket 2-3 times during cooking helps to ensure that the sweet potato wedge are cooking evenly in the air fryer.
- Be sure to use avocado oil or olive oil spray without propellent. Things like Pam and other non-stick sprays actually damage the coating on the air fryer basket (the only ingredient should be avocado oil or olive oil). Otherwise, toss the wedges in avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil instead of spraying them.
- Change up your seasonings – use salt, the special sweet potato seasoning or any of the spice combinations below to change things up so you never get bored!
Other spice combinations
Instead of simply using salt, you can instead use any of these combinations of spices. For any of these recipes, omit the salt in the original recipe.
- Special sweet potato seasoning: ½ teaspoon smoked paprika + ½ teaspoon garlic powder + ½ teaspoon salt + 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes – the combination of these spices creates a smoky, savory, slightly spicy sweet potato wedge that is irresistible!
- Cinnamon Sugar Seasoning: 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 2 teaspoons coconut sugar or brown sugar + 1/8 teaspoon salt.
- Cajun seasoning: 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt (plus more at the end depending on how salty your cajun seasoning is).
- Taco seasoning: 2 teaspoons taco seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt (plus more at the end depending on how salty your taco seasoning is).
- Curry: 1 teaspoon curry powder + ½ teaspoon ground cumin + ½ teaspoon salt.
Drizzle the wedges with olive oil or avocado oil before adding any of these spices to help ensure they stick to the wedges.
Note: To ensure the spices are evenly coating the potatoes, you will want to toss the wedges in a large bowl with avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil instead of simply adding the wedges to the air fryer basket and spraying them with avocado oil spray.
Common questions
Do air fry sweet potato wedges get crispy like deep fried fries?
No. Air frying sweet potato wedges are not as crispy as deep frying sweet potato wedges.
Typically restaurant style sweet potato wedges are fried 2 times, once to get them cooked through and once to get them crispy on the outside. You will never get your sweet potato wedges as crispy as they are when they are deep fried.
Should you soak the sweet potatoes in water before baking?
No, there is no reason to soak these sweet potato wedges ahead of time.
I tested this method and did not notice the sweet potato wedges were any crispier by soaking them.
Should you coat the sweet potatoes in arrowroot or corn starch to make them crispy?
No. I tested out this method and didn’t notice the outside of the sweet potato any crispier when adding arrowroot powder on the outside. In fact, it almost made the air fryer sweet potato wedges taste like they were coated in flour or powder.
Will these stay crispy?
No. These sweet potato wedges are best right out of the air fryer. The longer they sit at room temperature, the softer they get.
If you want to keep these crispy, have the oven preheated to 250F and transfer the cooked wedges to the oven immediately to keep them crisp.
Can you make a double batch?
If you are hoping to make a double batch, I recommend making the sweet potato fries in the oven, then transferring them to the air fryer at the end to help crisp up the edges.
- Cut the potatoes down into wedges. Coat them in oil and spices then lay them flat on a baking sheet.
- Place in a 425F oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove from the oven and flip carefully. Cook 10 more minutes.
- After 10 minutes, transfer to air fryer and spray again with avocado oil. Cook at 375F for 5 minutes (you may need to work in batches).
Storing leftovers
- Fridge: Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350F air fryer for 5 minutes or in a 400F oven for 10 minutes.
- Freezer: I don’t recommend freezing these as they will get soggy when defrosting.
More fries to make in the air fryer
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges
$1.27 Recipe/$0.64 ServingIngredients
- 1 medium sweet potato - $0.99
- avocado oil spray or olive oil spray - $0.25
- 1/2 tsp sea salt - $0.03
Instructions
- Start by washing and cutting the sweet potato into wedges. First cut off the top and bottom of the sweet potato. Then cut in half lengthwise. Cut those 2 halves in half again lengthwise to make 4 parts. Cut those 4 parts into 2-3 wedges each by cutting them lengthwise into wedges. You should end with 8-12 fries.
- Next add sweet potato wedges to air fryer basket. Spray with avocado oil or olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Use your hands or tongs to toss them well.
- Turn on the air fryer to 375F for 15 minutes.
- After 8 minutes of cooking (the air fryer will have 7 minutes left), pause and shake the basket.
- Pause the air fryer to shake the basket again 1-2 more times in the last 7 minutes of cooking to ensure the potato wedges don't burn.
Equipment
Notes
- Be sure to have a sharp knife and choose sweet potatoes that are not too large to make cutting them into wedges easier.
- Trim away any thin edges of the wedges before cooking or they will burn.
- Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket or the sweet potato fries will steam instead of crisp up.
- Shake the basket – this helps everything cook evenly in the air fryer.
- Be sure to use avocado oil or olive oil spray without propellent as the propellants can wreck the coating on your air fryer basket.
- Change up your seasonings so you never get bored.
- Special sweet potato seasoning: ½ teaspoon smoked paprika + ½ teaspoon garlic powder + ½ teaspoon salt + 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes – the combination of these spices creates a smoky, savory, slightly spicy sweet potato wedge that is irresistible!
- Cinnamon Sugar Seasoning: 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 2 teaspoons coconut sugar or brown sugar + 1/8 teaspoon salt.
- Cajun seasoning: 2 teaspoons cajun seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt (plus more at the end depending on how salty your cajun seasoning is).
- Taco seasoning: 2 teaspoons taco seasoning, ¼ teaspoon salt (plus more at the end depending on how salty your taco seasoning is).
- Curry: 1 teaspoon curry powder + ½ teaspoon ground cumin + ½ teaspoon salt.
