Becky Excell’s Air Fryer Sweet Potato 3 Ways
Make the perfect air fryer sweet potato fries, sweet potato fritters and hot honey sweet potato cubes with these easy-to-follow recipes from Becky Excell.
Introduction
Welcome to my three go-to ways to serve sweet potatoes, all of which I will never be making in the oven again! The inclusion of gluten-free flour in each of these variations plays an important role in ensuring a crisp finish (as well as binding in the fritters) as sweet potatoes just don’t crisp up like potatoes do. You’ll only need to peel the sweet potatoes to make fritters, otherwise it’s totally up to you whether you leave the skin on or not – I usually leave it on for added texture and flavour.
Ingredients
| 3 (700g/1lb 8½oz in total) | medium-sized sweet potatoes |
| vegetable oil in a spray bottle, for greasing | |
| For the sweet potato fries: | |
|---|---|
| 3 tbsp | vegetable or olive oil |
| 1 tbsp | smoked paprika |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| ½ tsp | ground black pepper |
| 4 tbsp | gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour or cornflour (cornstarch) |
| For the hot honey sweet potato cubes: | |
| 3 tbsp | vegetable or olive oil |
| 3 tbsp | honey |
| 1 tsp | dried chilli flakes, plus a little extra to serve |
| 2 tsp | apple cider vinegar |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| 4 tbsp | gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour or cornflour (cornstarch) |
| For the sweet potato fritters: | |
| 200g (7oz) | feta, crumbled |
| 2 tbsp | smoked paprika |
| Large handful of chives, finely chopped | |
| 2 tsp | salt |
| 1 tsp | ground black pepper |
| 4 | medium eggs |
| 100g (¾ cup) | gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour |
| Lime wedges, for squeezing (optional) |
Essential kit
You will need an air fryer.
Method
For fries: Cut the sweet potatoes into strips 1cm (½ inch) wide and 5mm (¼ inch) thick. Add the fries to a medium bowl, followed by the oil, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Mix until well coated, then add the flour and mix once more.
For cubes: Chop the sweet potato into 2cm (¾ inch) cubes and transfer to a medium bowl. Add the oil, honey, chilli flakes, vinegar and salt. Mix until well coated, then add the flour and mix once more.
Heat or preheat the air fryer to 200°C/400°F. Generously grease the base of the air fryer basket or crisping tray by spraying it with oil.
Place the fries or cubes in the air fryer basket (making sure they’re touching as little as possible) and spray once more with oil. Air fry for 18–20 minutes until browned at the edges, turning over halfway through or shaking 3 or 4 times if particularly piled up.
For fritters: Peel and grate the sweet potato; a food processor with the grating attachment can massively speed up this process! Squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the grated sweet potato if it’s particularly soggy and place in a large bowl.
Add the feta, paprika, chives, salt, pepper and eggs, then mix well. Add the flour and mix once more until fully combined and the flour disappears. Use your hands to form patties and place them on a board or large plate.
Heat or preheat the air fryer to 180°C/350°F. Generously grease the base of the air fryer basket or crisping tray by spraying it with oil. Transfer as many patties into the air fryer as will comfortably fit without touching, then spray each with oil.
Air fry for 12–14 minutes until they have a crisp exterior and are cooked through, flipping over and spraying with a little more oil halfway through.
Serve your fries/cubes/fritters with lime wedges for squeezing (if you like) alongside your favourite dinners from Gluten Free Air Fryer, such as my fish cakes (page 85), chicken wings (page 59), salmon (page 62) or turkey dinosaurs (page 103).
TIP: The more spread out your sweet potato fries or cubes are in the air fryer (and the less they’re touching), the easier it is to achieve that crispy finish. If you have an air fryer with two drawers, I’d highly recommend splitting them between both. Or simply cook in batches.
Dairy free: Fritters: use a dairy-free alternative to feta.
Low FODMAP: Ensure a serving size of no more than 75g (2½oz) per person. Cubes: use maple syrup instead of honey.
Vegan: Make only the Fries or Cubes, using maple syrup instead of honey.
Freezer friendly: Once the Fries or Cubes are chopped and coated, freeze for up to 3 months, then air fry from frozen using the recipe temp/timings, cooking for an extra 3–4 minutes. Once the Fritters are cooked and cooled, freeze for up to 3 months, then air fry from frozen at 180°C/350°F for 7–8 minutes, or until crisp.
