Vegan Sweet Potato Wedges Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why are my sweet potato wedges not crispy? ›

Don't overcrowd the baking sheet!

This is an important one! If the baking sheet it too crowded, the sweet potatoes will not crisp.

The cold water bath helps rinse the starch off the sweet potatoes so they're a bit more crispy. That said, if you do not have the time, you can still get crispy baked sweet potato fries by using high heat and a little drizzle of olive oil.

3) Divide your fries between two pans and arrange them in even layers. Overcrowded fries steam each other and never get crispy! You can fit one pound of fries per pan. Be sure that each fry lies flush against the pan, not piled on top of other fries.

If possible, soak sliced potato wedges in cold water for at least 20 minutes (or even overnight). It's a way to rid them of excess starch. Starch makes things crumbly and soft. Removing starch by soaking and rinsing is a great way to yield the crispiest possible result.

Some recipes call for soaking the sweet potatoes in water before cooking them to help remove some of the starch and make them more crispy but have found that this step isn't necessary for sweet potatoes as they don't have as much starch as regular potatoes.

Soaking the sliced potatoes in water helps to draw out some of the starch from the middle of the potato, resulting in a sturdier, crispier French fry.

The secret to crispy (instead of soggy) sweet potato fries is to spread them out in an even layer with enough room so that they don't touch. This is especially important if you're making a big batch of fries. Instead of just piling more onto one baking pan, spread them out over two baking pans or cook them in batches.

Corn Starch: Adding a thin coating of corn starch to the potato fries before frying can help create a crispier exterior. When the corn starch comes into contact with the hot oil, it forms a barrier that traps moisture within the potato while also developing a crunchy crust.

Soaking potatoes in water helps remove excess starch. Excess starch can inhibit the potatoes from cooking evenly as well as creating a gummy or sticky texture on the outside of your potatoes. Cold water is used because hot water would react with the starch activating it, making it harder to separate from the potatoes.

The starch in potatoes is held together by pectin. When that pectin breaks down too quickly in the boiling process, mushy potatoes result. Adding vinegar to the water fixes that problem because, as López-Alt explains, “pectin breaks down much more slowly in acidic environments.”

Why add vinegar in water for French fries? ›

Parboiling the fries in a vinegar solution before frying slows the breakdown of pectin in the potatoes to yield fries with tiny, bubbly, blistered surfaces that stay crisp even when cool. It also rinses off excess sugars to prevent over-browning.

If you don't evenly space your sweet potatoes so they aren't touching, they will not turn out as well. They need the air flow between them to maximize crisp, and any surfaces that are touching won't get the air they need. Halfway through the cook time, take a minute or two and flip them all with tongs.

Potatoes have a fair amount of starch in them which can give them a gummy texture. Soaking the potato wedges draws out the starch, making the finished product extra crispy. When you drain the water, you can visually see the potato starch that collected at the bottom of the bowl.

Right amount of oil.

Too much and it actually makes them soggy. Too little and the seasoning doesn't stick on the wedges and the wedges stick to the baking tray.

This sure sounds a lot like potatoes that have been stored too long, in too cold of an environment before cooking. When potatoes are held below 41°F for too long a period, the starches convert to sugar and it changes the cooking chemistry.