Oven – How to get crispy vegetables chips/fries without frying

chipsfryerovenvegetables

Specifically for sweet potatoes, I'd like to get crispy fries via the oven rather than a fryer. Here are some pointers I've read in other recipes:

  • Cuts must be as equal as possible to ensure even cooking
  • Wash off excess starch / let raw fries sit in a bowl of cold water to remove excess starch

Also, I just purchased a mandolin so I'd like to hear any techniques/advice on getting crispy vegetable chips.

Thanks in advance for the help.

— Edit 1 —

Unfortunately, my results have been disappointing and inconsistent. With the thinnest setting on my mandolin, I sliced up some sweet potatoes and beets. I've tried some of the tips mention on the Chowhound. I've tried a variety of heat settings but I haven't found the sweet spot of heat and time just yet. With those two variables I really don't want to perform 10-30 trial runs but it's looking like I need to if I want to determine the best configuration. I'm going to try some other tips and report back.

Best Answer

There are lots of recipes for oven-"fried" sweet potato chips (crisps) and fries (chips) and I'll let you search that part. I've noticed a wide variation in recommended oven temperatures, from as low as 350 to as high as 450. Though I've never had great success with crispiness, my overall best results were with a temp of 425.

Crispiness with sweet potatoes is notoriously difficult due to the high water and sugar content (which will caramelize and make them appear and to some extent taste burnt, usually long before they crisp up). There's some discussion of this on Chowhound.

Key points seem to be:

  • remove as much surface moisture as possible prior to cooking
  • avoid overcrowding the pans, especially when cooking thicker cuts
  • use a convection oven if possible

If you have success please report back and tell us what worked!

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