These Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes are so easy and are nutritious alternative to traditional home fries! They are perfectly roasted with garlic, onion and Italian herb seasoning. Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, they are the perfect side to any meal. Substitute them for your breakfast potatoes or any other side dish!
These air fryer sweet potatoes are my go to when I am craving french fries or any other potato junk. They are so delicious and satisfy my cravings as well! Plus they are a healthier choice to have around the house which i absolutely love. Check out the recipe below!
Table of contents
Highlights of this recipe
Taste: These air fryer herb roasted sweet potatoes absorb flavors extremely well. You can taste the herbs such as oregano, basil and rosemary along with hints of onion and garlic.
Texture: These air fryer sweet potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I pre-cook the potatoes by boiling them in hot water for 3-5 minutes to loosen up the starch. It allows the potato retain its firm outer layer while becoming slightly tender on the inside.
Why this recipe works
Fast & easy to make: This recipe can be done in 20 minutes and requires less than 10 ingredients. All it takes are a couple of sweet potatoes, any herbs and spices in your pantry and an air fryer.
Nutritious: These sweet potatoes can make a great substitute for traditional home fries or breakfast potatoes. Sweet potatoes are lower on glycemic index even when air fried compared to traditional yellow potatoes. This recipe also pre-cooks the potato by boiling them, which retains higher nutrient intake compared to oven baked potatoes.
Versatile: You can mix and match the seasonings based on what you have in your pantry! These potatoes absorb flavors really well so feel free to be generous with the spices you have at hand to make this recipe.
Here are a few seasoning ideas to switch things up:
- Sweet and Savory: Toss with cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup before cooking. Perfect for fall!
- Spicy: Add a dash of chili pepper and cumin for a southwestern twist.
Meal Prep Friendly: You can make ahead of time and store in batches for the work week. They still taste delicious for about 3-4 days after making them. You can alternate sides in your meals with these delicious sweet potatoes.
Ingredients for this recipe
This recipe has less than 10 ingredients and most of them are likely already readily available to you.
- Sweet Potatoes: I've used 2 medium sized purple sweet potatoes for this recipe. You can use mostly any variety of sweet potatoes that you find at your local grocery store. Just know that some varieties can be dryer than others - so depending on the variety you get, you can adjust how long you boil these spuds.
- Olive Oil or Butter: Olive oil or butter are perfectly good choices to coat your potatoes before tossing them into your fryer. I've used plant based butter (made with olive oil) for this recipe.
- Spices: Here is where you can get creative! This recipe mainly calls for onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, herb seasoning, paprika, salt and pepper for taste. If you want to crank up the heat on this, use chili powder. If you are not in the mood for Italian herbs, feel free to use curry powder, chipotle seasoning or any other seasoning mix you prefer.
Step-by-Step Guide to Making Perfect Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes
Step 1: Pre-cook your potatoes by boiling them in hot water for 3-5 minutes. The primary benefit for this is to loosen up the starch in the flesh so that when you air fry these potato cubes, you can still have a tender and soft interior in every bite.
Once boiled, take them out of the stove, allow them to cool or rinse them with cold water so that they come to room temperature before you begin dicing.
Step 2: Peel and cut your potatoes roughly into ½ inch cubes. This wiki page gives you a great tutorial of how to cut sweet potatoes. For a quick hack, use a vegetable chopper to get these potatoes right sized!
You will need to cut the potato into smaller pieces before loading them onto the chopper as they can still be too firm for the device even after boiling.
Regardless of how you end up dicing, make sure to have the cubes roughly around the same size as this will help cook the potatoes evenly across the fryer.
Step 3: Mix your cubed sweet potatoes with the seasoning and olive oil (or butter) before tossing them into the air fryer
Step 4: Toss the mixture into the air fryer and spread them evenly across the basket. Don't overcrowd the fryer - spreading them across will help cook the potatoes evenly across.
Step 5: Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Shake the basket half way through as this helps the sweet potatoes get the crispy coating all across the sides. Make sure to pre-heat the air fryer before tossing in the mixture.
And you are done! Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
Cooking tips to achieve best results
To get the crispiest air fryer sweet potatoes, try these tips:
- Cut sweet potatoes evenly: Cut the potatoes into even pieces. You can also use the vegetable chopper to dice your sweet potatoes. Using the chopper gets you nice and even cubed pieces so you are not left wondering if you cut them correctly! Because the sweet potatoes are firm, you will need to cut them into smaller chunks before loading them into the chopper.
- Don't crowd the air fryer basket: Avoid overcrowding the air fryer basket; cook in batches if necessary. For each subsequent round, reduce the time by 1 minute as the air fryer is already hot.
- Shake the basket halfway: This will help cook the sweet potatoes evenly, so that all sides get crispy.
Serving Suggestions and Pairings
These air fryer sweet potato cubes go perfectly as a side dish to your breakfast or your main meal!
Serve with dipping sauces like garlic aioli, or as a side with dishes like burgers or eggs and toast.Here are some pairing suggestions that are excellent with this recipe:
- Cheesy Vegan Tofu Scramble
- Vegan Eggs Benedict
- Vegan Breakfast Sandwich
- Copycat Chili's Black Bean Burger
- Buffalo Chickpea Burger
Storing And Reheating
Got leftovers? no problem - store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, pop them back in the air fryer at 400°F for 3-5 minutes to regain their crispiness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the skin is easier to come off once you boil the potatoes. Depending on how long you boil them, you may still need to use a peeler to get the skin off the potato.
Yes, you can soak the sweet potatoes for 1-2 hours before peeling them. This will allow for enough moisture to be absorbed by the potato. However, I recommend boiling as it is much faster, and can achieve the same effect in less than 5 minutes!
Boiling sweet potatoes for a long time can cause them to become soggy. Try to boil them for 3-5 minutes. In addition, be sure to spread the cubes across the air fryer evenly. Uneven or overlapping cubes can also cause the potatoes to not be cooked properly.
Yes, you can use frozen sweet potatoes in the air fryer. If you are using sweet potato cubes, air fry them for 13-15 minutes at 400 degrees. Shake the basket halfway through. Check out our air fryer frozen sweet potato fries recipe if you are using the Alexia brand!
Yes, you can make these in the oven as well. Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees and cook them for 12-14 minutes. Check in on them halfway and give them a good mix so they cook evenly across.
Final thoughts
Hope you found this recipe helpful and let us know how it turns out! If you have any additional tips or want to provide feedback, we'd love to hear from you! Let us know if the comment section below. For more potato related recipes and resources, check out the links below:
- Air Fryer Frozen Sweet Potato Fries
- Air Fryer Home Fries
- Vegan Potato Salad
- How long do potatoes last?
Recipe Card
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer (I've used Gourmia Air Fryer)
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes medium sized
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika Option to use chili powder for more spice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Boil your sweet potatoes for 3-5 minutes. They should still be firm, but slightly softer than when you put them in.
- Allow your sweet potatoes to come to room temperature by rinsing them in cold water. Peel and dice the potatoes roughly into ½ inch cubes
- Add seasoning and oil to your cubed sweet potatoes. Mix well
- Add the mix to air fryer
- Pre-heat your air fryer for 400 degrees. Cook for 10 minutes. Shake the basket half way through.
- Garnish, serve and enjoy
Notes
- Dice your sweet potatoes so that they are roughly the same size. ½ inch cubed pieces work well with this air fryer recipe
- Spread the mixture across the air fryer evenly. This helps cook all pieces across the air fryer
- Shake the basket half way through. This will allow the sweet potatoes to get crispy across all sides
- If making larger batches, reduce air fryer time by 1 minute as the device is already hot and running.
- Add an additional minute to the air fryer time to get your roasted sweet potatoes extra crispy
Sara
These are not greasy and a great alternative to traditional home fries!