Gluten-free oven-baked sweet potato fries

Gluten-free oven-baked sweet potato fries: crisp outside, soft inside – with sweet potatoes, cornflour, paprika, garlic powder and sea salt.

At a glance

• Serves 2
• Prep time: 20 min
• Cooking time: 30 min
• Total time: 50 min
• Calories: 260 kcal per serving
• Protein: 3 g
• Fat: 8 g
• Carbs: 42 g

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes (about 600g)
• 2 heaped tbsp fine cornflour
• Coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Method

You’ll need: oven · baking tray · chopping board · knife · sieve

1. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into even sticks and soak them in ice-cold water. This helps loosen excess starch from the surface.
2. Drain the sweet potato sticks and pat them thoroughly dry. The drier they are, the better the cornflour sticks.
3. Preheat the oven to 220 °C (200 °C fan) with an empty baking tray inside. Toss the sweet potatoes with the cornflour, then mix with olive oil, paprika and garlic powder.
4. Line the hot tray with baking paper and spread the fries out on it without crowding them. That way they brown better in the oven.
5. Bake the sweet potato fries at 220 °C for 25–30 min, turning once, until the edges are golden brown. Then let them steam dry briefly.
6. To finish, toss the hot fries with coarse sea salt and bring them straight to the table.

Good to know

When sweet potato fries turn out well, they're delicately crisp outside and soft inside. That's exactly what this oven version is for – simple, honest and very easy for every day.

Swaps

Fine cornflour → tapioca starch (similarly crisp, and gluten-free) Fine cornflour → gram flour (more protein and fibre) Coarse sea salt → a potassium-based salt substitute (less sodium) Paprika → turmeric + a little black pepper (a warmer, earthier flavour)

Allergens

The recipe is naturally gluten-free as long as the cornflour is labelled accordingly; it contains none of the typical major allergens, can be seasoned mildly for children and is generally fine in pregnancy if the sweet potatoes are cooked through.

Frequently asked questions

What's in sweet potatoes nutritionally?

Sweet potatoes mainly provide carbohydrates, fibre and beta-carotene, plus smaller amounts of vitamin C, potassium and manganese.

Is the beta-carotene in sweet potatoes heat-stable?

Some of it survives baking, although the amount can vary with storage and heat. Beta-carotene is also what gives the flesh its deep orange colour.

Does everyone get on with garlic powder?

It varies from person to person. Some people are fine with small amounts, others are sensitive to garlic, especially with a sensitive stomach or if high-FODMAP foods don't agree with them.

What makes paprika interesting in terms of what it contains?

Paprika contains colour pigments from the carotenoid group and, depending on quality, small amounts of vitamin E. The exact content depends heavily on the variety, drying and storage.

Is cornflour suitable if you have a sensitive stomach?

Cornflour is usually neutral and small amounts are often fine. It provides hardly any fibre and is used here mainly for texture, not for its nutrients.

Dairy-free recipes