Crispy Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries – Vegan No Oil Recipe

When eating a whole food, plant based diet and you have a craving for crispy oven baked sweet potato fries, but don’t want to use oil or salt when roasting. Then this baked sweet potato fries recipe will make you not miss the oil and salt at all.

Since I have been eating plant based the last year, I have grown very fond of Farmer’s Markets where you can get locally-grown produce that is fresh and vibrant.

a variety of tomatoes at the farmers market

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It is also where I find new to me fruits and veggies to try.

Farmer's Market stalls

When eating a plant based diet, I keep these 3 words in mind… Eat the Rainbow every single day.

At a Farmer’s Market last fall, I came across something that I hadn’t eaten before. They caught my eye because they were purple.

Since I don’t eat a lot of purple foods, except for red cabbage and grapes, adding the purple sweet potatoes into my diet was a good thing.

purple sweet potato sliced on cutting board.

Aren’t they pretty?

What is even better… they taste amazing and can be used just as you would any potato or sweet potato.

I prepare them in a few ways. One way is to bake them whole. Once soft, cut and mash up with a drizzle of dressing.

Crispy No Oil Sweet Potato Fries on a plate with dipping sauce on the side.

But my favorite way to eat them is making them into crispy oven baked sweet potato fries.

Baked purple sweet potato fries on a parchment lined baking sheet.

I like my sweet potato fries crispy and this recipe delivers without the need of oil.

I keep the skin on the sweet potatoes as it helps to make them crispy, but you can remove it first with a potato peeler before making the recipe.

Purple sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin C and anthocyanin, the type of flavonoid that provides many plants, such as cherries, grapes, and strawberries, with their natural red, purple, and blue coloring.

purple sweet potato recipes healthy

You can eat them right out of the oven plain…

Dipping a baked purple sweet potato fry into malt vinegar.

…or dip them in malt vinegar, ketchup or your favorite no-oil dressing.

How to Make the Sweet Potato Fries Crispy With No Oil?

Close up of a baked sweet potato fry ready to be dipped in malt vinegar.

What makes the sliced sweet potatoes crispy without the need of oil, is corn meal. It adds a delicious flavor and texture to each slice.

To get crispier fries, slice the sweet potato thin. If you like them a little soft, slice them into thicker wedges.

How to Make Purple Sweet Potato Baked Fries

I like using purple sweet potatoes to make these crispy oven baked fries, but you can use regular sweet potatoes, Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes.

For a dipping sauce, the recipe calls for malt vinegar, but I also like to use this ketchup that I buy at Whole Foods. It has no sugar or oil in it and tastes good.

I have made my own WFPB ketchup, but when I can find ready made items that are WFPB with no oil, I buy them as it is one less thing for me to make from scratch.

Baked Purple Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes bake up beautifully, but when you use purple sweet potatoes you also get an unexpected pop of vibrant color on your plate.
These roasted sweet potatoes are made even more flavorful with the addition of malt vinegar, cornmeal and a few spices.
If you can't find purple sweet potatoes? Use orange sweet potatoes, Russet, red or yellow potatoes, yams or parsnips to create healthy oil-free baked fries!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine: American, Plant Based, Whole Food
Keyword: baked fries, Sweet potatoes, purple potato recipe,, Whole food, plant based – no oil
Servings: 4
Calories: 220kcal
Cost: $6

Equipment

  • Baking sheet
  • Parchment paper or Silicone baking mat

Ingredients

  • 3 purple sweet potatoes, or any type potato
  • 1/3 cup malt vinegar, plus more when serving. Can use apple cider vinegar also.
  • 1/3 cup blue or yellow corn meal
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp sage, ground
  • 3 shallots, sliced thin lengthwise, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425°F.
    Line a large baking sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  • Cut each sweet potato lengthwise into 1/4" – 1/2" thick slices and then place in a bowl.
  • Pour the vinegar onto the cut sweet potatoes and toss to coat well.
  • In a small bowl, combine the cornmeal, smoked paprika and sage. Mix well, and then sprinkle the seasoning mixture onto the sweet potatoes. Toss gently until evenly coated.
  • Arrange the sweet potato slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet pan, then if using, sprinkle the chopped shallots evenly over the potatoes.
  • Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until soft and lightly browned, turning over the sweet potatoes after 15 minutes, then continuing to bake.
  • Serve immediately and serve with a small malt vinegar or ketsup filled ramekin for dipping.

Notes

  • If you want to have a heavier coat of the corn meal/spice mixture on each potato, double the amount of the cornmeal and spice mixture.
  • Use your favorite spices to change up the flavor.  Try a herb blend, curry powder or nutritional yeast. You can also create a sweet version by tossing the cut potatoes in pure maple syrup and then sprinkling with cinnamon before baking. 
  • If you like softer fries, slice the potatoes into wedges or thicker slices. For crispy baked fries, slice the sweet potatoes very thin. 

Nutrition

Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 721mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 9g | Calcium: 70mg

During your next visit to the market, pay attention to all the different types of fruits, veggies, beans, lentils, grains, nuts and seeds and choose one or a few that look interesting and ones you have never eaten before.

Browse the plant based food blogs for ideas on how to prepare and cook what you have bought to come up with amazing new meal options.

So the next time you are at a farmer’s market or your supermarket, look around and see if you spot something a little different. If you are lucky enough to find purple sweet potatoes, don’t hesitate to buy a few.

Farmer’s Market Style


I enjoy going to the Farmer’s Market with the same excitement and anticipation I get when I go on “thrill of the hunt” shopping trips to antique flea markets.

I make sure I have my “shopping essentials” with me that turns shopping into a stylish event. I need my hat, tote to carry my purchases, and a cute outfit to wear to stroll the aisles.

Oh… and it is always nice to have a pretty way to display your fruits and veggies on your kitchen counter once you get home. :-)

Whole Food Plant Based no oil recipe for crispy sweet potato fries.

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12 Comments

  1. CHRISTINE ROPPEL says:

    Hi!
    Per your instructions below, do you coat the fries (per #4) while slices are in the bowl with the vinegar? Or, should they be drained, then coated?
    Thanks!

    3. Pour the vinegar onto the cut sweet potatoes and toss to coat well.
    4. In a small bowl, combine the cornmeal, smoked paprika and sage. Mix well, and then sprinkle the seasoning mixture onto the sweet potatoes. Toss gently until evenly coated.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Christine – Yes – sprinkle the vinegar over the fries first and mix. There should not be much leftover to drain. If there is any, you can drain it, but just make sure they cut potatoes soaked it up, before proceeding to mixing with the rest of the ingredients.

  2. Beth Kyle says:

    We lived in the Philippines for several years. We couldn’t find sweet potatoes or yams there, but they did have these purple potatoes called “ubi.” (oo’bee).
    They were a bit stringier than sweet potatoes, but they still made a powerful sweet potato casserole for our Thanksgiving dinners! The taste of home!

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Beth – The purple potatoes sound good. I will look them up, maybe even find one at an Asian grocery. Potatoes in general are so versatile. Using ones with color make them even more so as they add a pop of color.

  3. I have always enjoyed your blogs but today was very happy to see that your baking pan has had plenty of loving ,I watch cooking shows and they always use brand new everything to cook with,very disappointing. Thank you for showing me you are a REAL person

  4. Yummmm💜. Thanks for the recipe….I can’t wait to try these!

  5. I make fries all the time in my Breville Smart Oven Air. I air fry them for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. I will try this recipe tonight.

    I went to an incredible market last week on the other side of Atlanta from us. It was huge and had foods from all over the world. I saw herbs there that I had never heard of. I went there to get some soy curls. Have you ever heard of them? They are incredible little things. I made bbq with them last week, and this week I used them in a stir fry. The only ingredient is soy beans. You can order them right from the Butler company if you can’t find them locally.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Pam – I have heard of soy curls, but haven’t tried them yet. I will look for them next week when I get to go to the Farmer’s Market. Thanks for telling me, I am enjoying finding new healthy foods to enjoy. :-)

  6. These look good – last time I fixed purple sweet potatoes, I baked them. But they ended up tasting like beets, and that turned me off. HOWEVER, I do love regular sweet potatoes, and I can get a dash of purple by adding shredded purple cabbage to my chopped salads and I love that. I also love the idea of balsamic vinegar to dip with!

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Gina – I am not a beet fan either. They taste like dirt to me. :-) The purple sweet potatoes taste good to me though. The great thing about the recipe is that you can use any kind of potato to make the fries and cut them thin or thick to fit your taste.

  7. Patricia Burns says:

    Hi Diane: These purple sweet potatoes are readily available in our grocery stores. They are a favourite from people from the West Indies. They are delicious.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Patricia – I have been seeing them lately in supermarkets now also – which is a great thing so we can add more variety to the fruits and veggies we eat on a daily and weekly basis.