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Air fryer loaded sweet potato fries

By: Emily Gussin
Food producer and sustainability lead, delicious.

Published: 12 Mar 24
Updated: 4 Apr 24

Cooking sweet potato in an air fryer is an energy efficient way to get perfectly crisp fries. Load them up with a black bean and jalapeño topping and you have a Tex-Mex-style dish that just happens to be vegan, too.

Find more air fryer recipes, from meatballs to jacket potatoes, here.

Easy
April 2024

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4 as a side (or 2 as a main)
Hands-on time 10 min, air frying time 16 min

Find more air fryer recipes, from meatballs to jacket potatoes, here.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 290kcals
Fat: 5.8g (0.9g saturated)
Protein: 13g
Carbohydrates: 40g (19g sugars)
Fibre: 12g
Salt: 0.7g

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Ingredients

4 sweet potatoes (about 600g), scrubbed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
150g silken tofu
Handful coriander, leaves picked and stems finely chopped
20g pickled sliced jalapeños, drained
1 lime
400g tin or 325g jar black beans, drained
200g tomatoes, finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped

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Method

Heat the airfryer to 200°C. Cut the sweet potatoes into 1cm thick chips, then put in a bowl with the cumin, paprika and oil. Season with salt and toss to coat in the spices. Cook in the airfryer for 12 minutes (do this in batches if you have a small airfryer, for maximum crispness – but you’ll lose some energy efficiency).
Meanwhile, put the tofu, the coriander stems and half the leaves, and most of the jalapeños in a blender. Zest in the lime, then whizz to a smooth green sauce and season with a pinch of salt. Cut the zested lime into wedges and set aside.
Once all the sweet potato fries are cooked and out of the airfryer, put a sheet of baking paper into the machine, large enough so it comes up the sides too. Spread the fries on top, then scatter with the black beans, tomatoes and onion. Season with salt, then cook in the airfryer for 4 minutes.

Lift out the fries onto a serving tray or platter using the paper. Drizzle with the green sauce, then top with the remaining jalapeños and coriander leaves. Serve in the centre of the table with lime wedges so everyone can dig in.

Recipe from April 2024 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 290kcals
Fat: 5.8g (0.9g saturated)
Protein: 13g
Carbohydrates: 40g (19g sugars)
Fibre: 12g
Salt: 0.7g

delicious. tips

An airfryer is like a small oven – it uses less energy, heats up quickly and cooks quickly. It cooks in less time than a large oven and draws less power, so it saves energy in two ways. It’s good for smaller amounts of food. It’s worth noting, though, that if you have a very small airfryer and need to cook the fries in 2 batches, you won’t be saving so much energy.

There’s no need to peel sweet potatoes when making fries – just give them a good scrub before chopping.
Silken tofu is great for creating creamy, mayo-like sauces – it doesn’t have much flavour of its own, so it’ll absorb anything you whizz it up with. Try mixing any leftovers with crushed garlic and salt for an instant aioli-like vegan dip.

No airfryer? Just bake the sweet potatoes in a (small)180°C fan/gas 6 oven for 25 minutes, then give them another 5 minutes when the toppings go on.