Continuing with the theme of comfort foods us college kids can’t live without, let’s talk french fries. I’ve often wished they were somehow not cooked in artery-clogging oil and magically counted as a hearty serving of vegetables—enter: the sweet potato.
For a long time I was adamantly opposed to eating the potato’s awkward orange cousin. I used to turn my nose up at the marshmallow-covered dish of mashed sweet potatoes as it was passed around the Thanksgiving dinner table. I refused to select “baked sweet potato” from my list of sides to choose from at restaurants and demanded my potatoes be of the mashed red skin variety…until I tried sweet potato fries.
It’s no secret that Seva probably does them best, but after a little experimenting I found they’re pretty easy to make. More importantly, they are infinitely better for you than the greasey fare you’ll find at Micky-D’s (and their flavor has so much more dimension, if you ask me!). Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin C, potassium, fiber and a bag of them will only set you back a few bucks.
Once I agreed to try sweet potatoes in fry form I was hooked. Now I make sure to always have some on hand as an option for a quick and healthy side dish (if you aren’t in the mood for fries, wash one, poke a few air holes in it, toss it in the microwave for 4-6 minutes and you’re done!).
This is my go-to recipe when I’m fancying fries; it doesn’t take much time and is pretty difficult to mess up.
[10 mins prep time, 20-24 mins cook time]
What you’ll need:
1 medium sweet potato
Olive oil
Spices (cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, or your favorite spice—any combo is great)
Preheat oven to 425°
Cut the sweet potato in half length-wise and then into sections. Slice thicker sections if you prefer steak-style fries or thinner if shoelace fries are your thing.
Cut the potato to your desired thickness
Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread the fries out in a single layer. Lightly coat the fries with olive oil and sprinkle with your spice selection. Bake for 10-12 mins.
Remove from oven and flip fries over. Add another light covering of olive oil and spices. Cook for 10-12 more minutes (the thinner you cut the fries the less time they will take to bake).
Pair the fries with a black bean burger and dinner's done!
These fries are a great example of how fast food can be done at home and on the cheap, even by college standards. Now I find myself scoffing at wimpy looking regular fries at restaurants and opting for the sweet potato variety instead.
College Kid Tip #1: these fries are the perfect accompaniment to those black bean burgers you now have in your freezer. Season them with chili powder and cumin to match the spicy zip of the burger.
No More Ramen: A college student's culinary adventure 
I always wondered if I could make fried foods without a fryer. I don’t normally like potatoes, but I do love french fries. I’m tempted to try out these sweet potato fries. They look yummy!
I agree–it’s really hard to get the “crispy” aspect. Though these have some crunch, they’re definitely not as crunchy as fast food fries. I try to go really light on the oil, but the more you add the more crunch you get. If you try them, I’d love to know what you think!
Mmm, sweet potato fries…I’ll always order them whenever I have the chance to. That’s a great tip with the extra oil; more often than not the ones I’ve made have come out on the less crunchy side. I’ll definitely keep that in mind for next time.
Also, what spice combo do you like to go with when making these?
Lately I’ve been doing cumin and chili powder–delicious!! Garlic powder by itself is really good too. I usually end up with only semi-crunchy fries because though more oil gets the job done, it brings down the healthiness factor a bit–but these are still much healthier than regular fries!!
Pingback: keep calm and eat chili | No More Ramen: A college student's culinary adventure