This article was updated on 07/07/2023 for clarity.
Have a load of sweet potato fries that you didn’t manage to finish?
Well, the good news is that you can save them for later and reheat them to (nearly) their original texture.
I’ve experimented with several different sweet potato fry reheating methods, to find out which one delivered the crunchiest outside and the softest, fluffiest inside.
In a rush?
The best way to reheat sweet potato fries is in the oven. Preheat your oven to 425°F/220°C with an empty baking tray inside. Next, spritz your fries with oil and spread them out on the hot baking tray. Avoid too many overlapping fries. Reheat the fries in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until crispy.
How I tested reheating sweet potato fries
I cooked up a delicious batch of sweet potato fries and kept them in the refrigerator overnight. (Okay, maybe I ate a few in the process…).
The next day, I tested four different ways of reheating them:
- The oven (best for baked fries)
- The air fryer (a good option)
- Frying in a skillet (best for fried fries)
- The microwave (avoid)
Quick tips for reheating sweet potato fries
Thicker-cut fries tend to reheat better than thinner fries because there’s less risk of them drying out.
The most important thing to prevent soggy sweet potato fries is to avoid any touching during reheating. If the fries are touching, they’ll steam instead of bake or fry.
Lastly, avoid using too much oil when you’re reheating the fries because you don’t want them to be greasy.
How to reheat sweet potato fries in the oven
Time: 8-10 minutes
Rating: 8/10
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C), with an empty baking tray in the oven.
- Lightly spritz your fries with oil and shake them about so all the fries are covered. You can also add extra seasoning at this point if you want to.
- Spread your sweet potato fries out onto the hot baking tray, avoiding any overlapping.
- Heat the fries in the oven for 4-5 minutes. Then take the tray out and shake it to flip the fries over Heat the fries for another 4-5 minutes, or until they’re crispy.
For frozen fries you’ll need to double the reheating time, and hold off on the oil until half way through the reheating process.
The oil’s primary purpose is to aid in crisping up the sweet potato fries and it also helps the seasoning stick. If you want to skip the oil, that’s totally fine. Just be prepared for the fries to be slightly less crispy.
You can use a conventional oven or a toaster oven for this. Toaster ovens generally work better and faster because they’re smaller, and the heat can circulate more efficiently, which is essential for crisping the fries up.
Results: The sweet potato fries out of the oven were good. The skin had a slight crunch to it, and the potato inside was still moist. It was also super easy and great for heating a large number of fries at once.
How to reheat sweet potato fries in an air fryer
Time: 3-4 minutes
Rating: 9/10
- Preheat your air fryer to 400°F (200°C).
- Put your sweet potato fries in the air fryer basket, minimizing overlap.
- Spritz the fries with oil (optional).
- Heat them for 3-4 minutes, taking them out for a shake after a minute.
For frozen fries, increase the heating time to 7-10 minutes.
Be careful not to leave your fries in the air fryer too long, especially if you have thin fries. It’s easy to overcook stuff in the air fryer because it’s such a strong heating method.
Too many fries in the air fryer will inhibit the crisping up process, and the fries nearer the bottom will come out soggy. Try to keep it to a single layer in the basket. If you have lots of sweet potato fries, do them in batches (or use the oven).
Results: The air fryer was my personal favorite way to reheat sweet potato fries because it’s quicker than the oven, and the fries come out crispier. But not everyone has one (if this is you… this if your sign to get one!).
How to reheat sweet potato fries in a skillet
Time: 3-4 minutes
Rating: 8/10
- Cover the bottom of your pan with an oil that has a high smoke point (vegetable oil, canola oil, peanut oil, avocado oil).
- Heat the oil until it starts to shimmer.
- Throw your fries into the pan and spread them out so they’re in a single layer.
- Heat the fries for 2-3 minutes before flipping them over with a spatula and heating them for another minute.
- When the fries are piping hot and crispy, take them out and rest them on a paper towel for a minute to absorb excess grease.
You can’t reheat frozen fries this way, too much water would leak out, causing spitting and leaving you with soggy fries.
Make sure the oil is hot enough before you add any fries into the pan. Otherwise, they’ll soak up all the oil and taste greasy. You can always throw a test fry in and see if the oil sizzles before adding the rest of them.
You also need to make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan, because this will steam the fries instead of fry them. Work in batched if you need to, keeping the earlier batches warm in a 200°F (95°C) oven.
Results: This method definitely produced the crispiest sweet potato fries. I could even hear the crunch when I bit into the fry. But it’s not healthy and had the most washing up!
How to reheat sweet potato fries in the microwave
Time: 30-60 seconds
Rating: 3/10
- Line a microwave-safe plate with a paper towel.
- Spread the sweet potato fries out in a single layer on the plate, minimizing touching.
- Microwave the fries for 30 seconds, then check in 10 second intervals until they’re hot.
The paper towel helps to soak up any moisture that comes out. Without it, you risk the fries turning to total mush.
Once your fries are hot, try to eat them before they cool down because they’ll become pretty much like cardboard (due to moisture loss)!
Results: Any sign of crunch was gone from the sweet potato fries after the microwave, but the potato was still soft so they weren’t totally inedible.
Quick tip
I had pretty thick fries, so I haven’t tested how thinner fries would fare in the microwave. But from what I know about microwaves and reheating food, I have a sneaky feeling that the lower the ratio of crispy coating to soft potato, the worse the results will be.
How to store sweet potato fries
To store leftover sweet potato fries, wait for them to cool to room temperature, then put them in an airtight container lined with a paper towel. Keep the fries in the fridge for 3-5 days. The paper towel will soak up excess moisture and stop the fries from getting too soggy.
To keep the sweet potato fries as crispy as possible, arrange them so they’re not touching. You can separate extra layers with paper towels.
Always make sure the fries are completely cool before you store them. Any heat will lead to condensation forming in the airtight container, and the water will drip down onto the fries leaving them soggy.
Related: How To Store Cut Sweet Potatoes
How to freeze leftover sweet potato fries
To freeze leftover sweet potato fries, spread them out on a grease-proof paper lined baking tray and put them in the freezer for an hour. After an hour, they should be hard enough to transfer into a large freezer bag and not stick together. The fries will stay at best quality for up to three months.
If you have a lot of fries, you can save time during the flash freezing stage by layering them. Separate the layers with parchment paper.
Squeeze as much air as possible out of the bag when you transfer the fries. The more air there is in the bag, the more chance there is of the fries developing freezer burn.
Note that if you have a choice, it’s always better to freeze your sweet potato fries in a prepped but not cooked state because cooked fries can get pretty mushy in the freezer. You can salvage them by using a good reheating method, but you’ll never be able to recreate that just cooked texture.
To freeze uncooked sweet potato fries
You need to cut the sweet potato up into your desired shape and then blanch the sweet potato. To blanch sweet potato, boil it for 3 minutes before submerging it in ice water. You can then follow the freezing instructions above.
How to reheat frozen sweet potato fries
Reheat your frozen sweet potato fries in the oven at 425°F (220°C) for 10-15 minutes, or in the air fryer at 400°F (200°C) for 7-10 minutes.
There’s no need to thaw your sweet potato fries before you reheat them. In fact, it’s better not to. Thawing the fries before reheating them will leave you with soggy fries because of all the water that will leak out.
Read Next: Can You Reheat Potato Wedges?
The BEST Way To Reheat Sweet Potato Fries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 portion sweet potato fries baked or fried
- 1 spritz oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Lightly spritz your fries with oil and shake them about so all the fries are covered. You can also add extra seasoning at this point if you want to.
- Spread your sweet potato fries out on a parchment-paper lined baking tray, avoiding any overlapping.
- Heat the fries in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Then take the tray out and shake it to flip the fries over.
- Heat the fries for another 2-3 minutes or until they’re piping hot.
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