Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Here I’ll give you some simple tips and tricks to getting delicious baked sweet potatoes that are actually crispy!

Ever wondered how to get restaurants style sweet potato wedges without the deep fat fryer? Yep, it is possible to make oven baked sweet potatoes wedges that aren’t soft and mushy. Follow me…

How to make sweet potato wedges crispy (6 steps)

1. How to cut sweet potato wedges

Starting right at the very beginning of the prep, there’s a couple of things you can do to increase your chances of crispy wedges. Right off the bat I can say with confidence that in general the skinner the wedge the crispier it will be. Big, fat thick sweet potato wedges just simply won’t go crispy. The potato itself is packed with too much moisture/starch.

Another thing to take into consideration is ensuring to cut the wedges to uniformed size. This will ensure the wedges cook at an even rate.

Skin on or off?

Skin on – always. It adds flavour, goes nice and crispy and I’ve heard through the grapevine it’s nutritious – not that I can pretend to be concerned about that on this blog 😂 If they’re dirty just give them a good scrub before hand.

2. Soak in cold water

Once you’ve cut the sweet potatoes into wedges, an absolutely crucial step is soaking them in cold water. By soaking the wedges you draw out the starch from the potato. The starch is what causes the insides of wedges to go gloppy when they bake, and by removing the starch you increase the chances of them coming out light and fluffy in the centre.

How long should I soak for?

I recommend an absolute minimum of 30mins, but realistically the longer the better. You’ll see the starch begin to form at the bottom of the bowl.

3. Remove Moisture

Once you’ve soaked the wedges it’s important to remove the moisture. Excess moisture on the wedges will cause the wedges to steam in the oven and in turn make them go soggy. To dry them just grab a clean tea towel and dry like you’ve never dried before. Seriously, get that water away from those wedges.

4. Coat in Cornstarch/Cornflour

So after pulling out the starch from the centre, you’ve increased the chances of the insides turning out soft. But we also want them crispy. As such you’ll want to apply a thin layer of starch to the OUTSIDE of the wedges. In this case, cornstarch. Grab a zip lock bag and coat the wedges with the cornstarch until you see a very light coating evenly distributed.

What do you season sweet potato wedges with?

Here I’ve gone for a combination of chipotle powder, paprika and garlic powder. In reality you can use whatever you fancy though. Chilli powder and smoked paprika work great, as do rosemary and thyme.

5. Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Time to bake those babies! When baking it’s important to space the wedges out. If you pile them on top of each other they’ll simply steam and go soggy. I also recommend taking them out half way through, flipping them and turning the tray around, just to get even roasting on all sides.

6. Salt

You’ll notice we didn’t salt them before baking, and that’s for a good reason. I find that if you salt the wedges before they bake they tend to wrinkle up. By salting the wedges AFTER baking you pull out the final bit of moisture resting on the skin, resulting in a final attempt at crisping up the wedges. Plus sweet potato without salt is a criminal offence worthy of jail.

Serving Sweet Potato Wedges

From there, I’d tuck in pretty quick before they start going limp. These work nicely with pretty much sandwich to turn it into a main meal, but they also work great by themselves dunked into some pesto mayo 😋

They’re also great with sandwiches that are spicy, just to balance out with some sweetness.

Crazy about potato wedges? Check out my Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potato Wedges and Spicy Potato Wedges!

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these crispy sweet potato wedges shall we?!

How to make Sweet Potato Wedges (Full Recipe & Video)

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Here I'll give you some simple tips and tricks to getting delicious baked sweet potatoes that are actually crispy!

4.67 from 9 votes

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Western

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Soaking Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings (click & slide): 4

Calories per serving: 298kcal

Author: Chris

Cost per serving: £1 / $1

Equipment

• Large Sheet Pan (or 2 if needed)
• Large Zip Lock Bag (for coating)
• Large Bowl (for soaking)
• Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
• Clean Tea Towel
• Spatula/Turner

Ingredients

• 2lb / 1kg small Sweet Potatoes, scrubbed if needed
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp Cornstarch/Cornflour
• 1 tsp Chipotle Powder (can sub Chilli Powder, spice level to preference)
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• Salt, to taste

Instructions

• Slice a sweet potato in half, then divide those halves into 2 or 3 wedges. You don't want massive wedges, skinnier ones will crisp up better. Repeat with all potatoes.
• Place all your wedges into a bowl of cold water, give them a swish around with your hand and allow them to soak for at least 30mins, but the longer the better. This will pull out the starch from the potato and prevent them from going gloopy in the centre once baked.
• Drain away water and thoroughly dry the wedges. If you have the time/patience I recommend doing this one by one to really ensure they dry. This is a crucial step - if the wedges are at all wet they will steam in the oven and come out soggy.
• Place wedges in a large zip lock bag and add 1 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour. Zip the bag up and give it a mix around to completely and evenly coat the wedges. Shake out excess cornstarch/cornflour (should only be a very thin coating). Zip open then add 3 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp chipotle (or chilli) powder, paprika and garlic powder. Give them another mix around and ensure they're evenly coated. Don't add salt at this point.
• Evenly space them out on a large sheet pan (make sure it is greaseproof, or lightly oiled sprayed or lined with heavy duty foil - just so they don't stick to the tray). It's important they're spaced out and not touching otherwise they steam and go soggy. Use two trays if you have to.
• Pop in the oven at 205C/400F for 40mins, or until soft through the centre and crispy on the outside. Ensure you take the tray out half way, flip the wedges and turn the tray around. All ovens are different and cooking times will depend on the size of your wedges so just be vigilant throughout.
• Take out the oven and toss through a good pinch of salt. This will draw out the final bit of moisture. Enjoy with your favourite sandwich!

Quick Demo

Notes

a) Wedge Size - As mentioned in the method, skinner wedges will crisp up better. In all cases it's important you make sure the wedges are all uniformed size, just so they cook at an even rate.

b) Oven Tray - I rarely have an issue with these sticking, but sometimes when I use an older, more worn out tray they do stick a little. Just ensure your tray is greaseproof or lined with greaseproof paper.

c) Fresh Potatoes - Aim to get to get the freshest sweet potato you can find. Leave the soft one knocking about at the back of your cupboards for some mash a different day.

d) Calories - Based on sharing between 4 people:

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Nutrition:

Nutrition Facts

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

Amount Per Serving

Calories 298 Calories from Fat 93

% Daily Value*

Fat 10.33g16%

Saturated Fat 1.455g9%

Trans Fat 0.005g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.146g

Monounsaturated Fat 7.402g

Sodium 126mg5%

Potassium 793mg23%

Carbohydrates 48.81g16%

Fiber 7.2g30%

Sugar 9.6g11%

Protein 3.84g8%

Vitamin A 32459IU649%

Vitamin C 5.6mg7%

Calcium 72mg7%

Iron 1.64mg9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

*Nutrition is based on the absence of salt unless stated as a measurement in the ingredients. Cost is worked out based on ingredients bought from UK supermarkets, then divided by the number of servings. In both instances these values are just for guidance. Please check out my FAQ Page for more info.

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