Smoky Sweet Potato Fries

Hello, friends! With sweltering heat a faint memory lately, it’s been way more fun to explore in the kitchen. First up this week it’s smoky sweet potato fries. For a while there, it seemed even too hot to cut, chop, or stir. Now, I look at my oven with eagerness and the family is pretty happy about it.

I consider sweet potatoes a serious superfood, and have served them up in many sweet ways, including…

Autumn Harvest Chili
(an amazingly flavorful chili with sweet potato and pumpkin and NO BEANS)
Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Mexican Beef and Vegetable Stewand now…

Smoky Sweet Potato Fries
OH. MY.Hold onto your hats! These are so easy and — would you believe it — EVERYBODY at the table loved them!!

The ‘smoky’ part in these Smoky Sweet Potato Fries comes from my fave chili ingredient – smoked paprika. If you’ve never had the pleasure, I recommend you spend the couple of bucks on this mildly intoxicating spice. Tons of smoky rich aroma without any kick. Perfect for chili, meat rubs, and roasted veggies.

The process for these amazing “fries” is simple. Just peel and slice the sweet potatoes, then toss them in the rest of the ingredients. Roast them in a piping hot oven until they are browned up to your liking. As you can see from these photos, I come from the Dark Side, and prefer my potatoes as such as well 😉

Whip these up quick, before Mother Nature realizes it is STILL AUGUST!

Next up this week? A cool carrot salad for somebunny special 😉

Smoky Sweet Potato Oven Fries
Serves 6

Prep time: 15 minutes     Cook time: 22-25 minutes

2 pounds sweet potatoes (5 small potatoes)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
sea salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare two baking sheets with spray oil and set inside the oven to preheat.

Peel the sweet potatoes, and slice into similarly sized large strips (like steak fries). In a large bowl toss the potatoes with the olive oil, mixing thoroughly with your hands to ensure each strip is lightly oiled. sprinkle the garlic powder and smoked paprika over the potatoes, and toss again.

Carefully remove the preheated pans from the oven, and divide the potatoes among them. The potatoes should all be touching the surface of the pan (not overlapping each other). this will ensure even roasting through the cooking process.

Set both pans in the oven (one on each rack is fine). Total cooking time should be about 22-25 minutes, depending on your oven. At around the half-way mark (though sooner if your oven runs hot), remove the pans, turn the potatoes over once, and return to oven on opposite racks. Continue roasting until they are browned and the potatoes are pierced easily with a fork. Remove from oven and sprinkle as desired with sea salt and ground black pepper. Serve hot.

ENJOY!