Freezer Sweet Potato Fries
These freezer sweet potato fries are made with whole food ingredients but are still just as convenient store-bought! You can make a bulk batch in an afternoon and have sweet potato fries ready on a moments notice whenever you need them.
We love to plant sweet potatoes in the garden! We start them by growing sweet potato slips. Over the years, we’ve learned how to grow massive sweet potatoes, some are close to 10lbs! It really helps to live in the southern US but for best flavor they are better picked earlier than a gargantuan size.
So as long as I harvest the sweet potatoes at the right time and cure them, we start with some amazing sweet potatoes even before they get cooked.
These are really my new favorite way to preserve sweet potatoes. To be honest, this is one veggie that really doesn’t even need preservation because it lasts so long in the pantry. But there are times when a bumper crop needs to be preserved for years when maybe the harvest isn’t as good.
Aside from freezing sweet potato fries, I’ve also made my fair share of freeze dried sweet potato chips. They are tasty for a few weeks to months depending on how they are stored. However, they lose a little bit of the fresh and delicious flavor with time, so I’ll stick to freezer sweet potato fries for now!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fast and Easy It’s way simpler than you think to make sweet potato fries. Listen to a book, talk to a friend, or watch a movie while you peel and cut and it’s an enjoyable prep experience.
- Convenient Once they are all prepped, they cook up in 15 minutes if you have an air fryer! In an oven, it’s only 25 minutes.
- Flavorful and Adaptable I make a seasoning mix that makes them crispy and adds flavor. You can make a big batch of this sweet potato fry seasoning mix if you choose and add more or less seasoning to taste.
Ingredients
Sweet Potatoes: Choose firm, cured sweet potatoes for this recipe.
Cornstarch: This helps the fries get even more crispy in texture. Substitutions include tapioca flour or arrowroot powder
Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Paprika, and Cayenne Pepper Powder: These seasonings add flavor. Feel free to omit the cayenne pepper if you want less spicy flavor.
Freezer Sweet Potato fries: Step by Step Instructions
STEP 1 In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder.
STEP 2 Peel and cut sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch thick fries.
STEP 3 Prepare a pot of boiling water. It needs to be at a full rolling boil. Add the sweet potato fries to the boiling water and start a 3 minute timer. As long as the water was boiling hard before adding the sweet potatoes, you can start the timer right away before it returns to a boil.
STEP 4 Drain sweet potatoes and place immediately in ice water.
STEP 5 Drain sweet potatoes from the ice water and place on a towel, drying completely.
STEP 6 Once dry, place the cut sweet potatoes in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Toss to coat.
STEP 7 Add the sweet potato seasoning mix. Toss to coat.
STEP 8 Place parchment paper on baking sheets and then lay fries out in an even layer. Don’t stack them if you can help it. Place in the freezer.
STEP 9 An hour or two after freezing, move the sweet potatoes around so none of them are sticking to each other. Then allow to freeze completely. Store in ziplock bags in the freezer for 3-6 months.
STEP 10 Cook in an air fryer at 375ºF for 12-20 minutes or in a 425ºF oven for 25-30 minutes. Watch them closely. Since they are sweet they can scorch easily. After cooking sprinkle with salt to taste.
Storage & Supplies
The shelf life for frozen sweet potato fries is 3-6 months. They can last longer but after a few months fries will start to get freezer burn if packaged in ziplock bags with air.
You could potentially vacuum seal them but run the risk of them freezing together in a solid block .
Frequently Asked Questions
No, sweet potato fries need to be blanched first to preserve the best texture and flavor. This is NOT a vegetable that you cut and put in the freezer with no cooking. It’s imperative you partially cook them first.
First, Remove the starch. This can be done by soaking in ice water or blanching. Second, use an air frier or air frier setting in an oven to circulate the air and crisp up the outside of the sweet potato fries. Third, choose a sweet potato variety bred for crispy fries like Bayou Belle.
Tips & Tricks
- Start your 3 minute timer right away when blanching the sweet potatoes. Sometimes when blanching foods, they say to wait to start the timer until it’s boiling again. I find that can often make foods over cook and get mushy.
- Dry sweet potatoes completely after blanching. This helps the oil stick and then the seasoning sticks better too. A towel and/or a fan on the potatoes helps speed up the process of drying them.
- Only use sweet potatoes that have fully cured. If you harvest your own sweet potatoes, the best to use are ones that have cured for at least one month. You could still use them but they’ll be more starchy and less sweet.
If you made these Freezer Sweet Potato Fries or any other recipe on my blog please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Freezer Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
- 2 lbs sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
Seasoning Mix
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste after cooking if desired
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground if possible
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder.
- Peel and cut sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch thick fries.
- Prepare a pot of boiling water. It needs to be at a full rolling boil. Add the sweet potato fries to the boiling water and start a 3 minute timer. As long as the water was boiling hard before adding the sweet potatoes, you can start the timer right away before it returns to a boil.
- Drain sweet potatoes and place immediately in ice water.
- Drain sweet potatoes from the ice water and place on a towel, drying completely.
- Once dry, place the cut sweet potatoes in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Toss to coat.
- Add the sweet potato seasoning mix. Toss to coat.
- Place parchment paper on baking sheets and then lay fries out in an even layer. Don’t stack them if you can help it. Place in the freezer.
- An hour or two after freezing, move the sweet potatoes around so none of them are sticking to each other. Then allow it to freeze completely. Store in ziplock bags in the freezer for 3-6 months.
- Cook in an air fryer at 375ºF for 15-20 minutes or in a 425ºF oven for 25-30 minutes. For both the air fryer and the oven, flip fries half way through cooking. WATCH THEM CLOSELY! Since they are sweet they can scorch easily. After cooking, sprinkle fries with salt to taste.
Notes
- CUT FRIES 1/2 INCH THICK. Any smaller or larger and the times and temperatures suggested for cooking will no longer be accurate.
- The range on cooking time for the air fryer is because we found when the air fryer was warm and preheated, the fries cooked faster. If the fries thaw even a little they will also cook faster. The moral of the story here is keep a close eye on your fries. There is no way for us to give a perfect cooking time for everyone.
- We have a video accompanying this recipe and we mention adding 1 tablespoon of sweet potato seasoning mix. This is an error. The correct amount should be about 2 tablespoons of seasoning mix for 2 pounds of potatoes. I plan on sharing the bulk mix recipe soon. But for now, if you follow the seasoning mix amounts on this recipe, add the whole amount. It’s correct.
