Baked Sweet Potato Chips are paper-thin rounds of sweet potato tossed in olive oil, sprinkled with kosher salt and baked until they are light, crisp and golden at the edges, with a salty-sweet flavor. Make a batch for a party snack bowl, for lunchboxes, or as a side for burgers and sandwiches. It takes three ingredients and serves 8.
How to make baked sweet potato chips: Slice the sweet potatoes paper-thin, toss them in olive oil, lay them in a single layer and bake at 300°F for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp and golden around the edges.
Why You’ll Love It
- Three ingredients: sweet potatoes, olive oil and kosher salt.
- No deep frying: the chips crisp on sheet pans in the oven, with no pot of hot oil to watch.
- Made your way: you decide how thick the chips are, how much oil goes on and how they are seasoned.
- Ready in about 40 minutes: a little slicing, a short bake and 5 minutes of cooling.
Ingredient Notes
Sweet potatoes: 1 1/2 pounds, and you can make as many or as few chips as you like. There is no need to peel them. Rinse and scrub them well, dry them, and leave the skins on for extra texture; peeled sweet potatoes work too.
Olive oil: 1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil covers the whole 1 1/2 pounds of slices.
Kosher salt: A coarse salt such as kosher or sea salt. Sprinkle it on lightly before the chips go into the oven.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt, for sprinkling
How to Make Baked Sweet Potato Chips
1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 300°F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Slice paper-thin. Scrub the sweet potatoes and slice them into paper-thin rounds on a mandoline set to its thinnest setting.
3. Toss with oil. Pile the rounds into a large bowl, pour the olive oil over the top and gently toss until every slice is coated on both sides.
4. Spread and salt. Lay the rounds on the baking sheets in a single layer and sprinkle them lightly with kosher salt.
5. Bake. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp and golden around the edges. Start watching at the 20-minute mark and take them out when they look about 90% crisp; they go from perfect to burnt very quickly.
6. Cool. Let the chips cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes; they keep crisping as they cool. If a few still have soft centers, return them to the oven for about 5 minutes, then move the chips to a bowl.
How to Get Sweet Potato Chips Crisp, Not Soggy
Baked chips go wrong in one of two ways: they stay soft in the middle, or they burn and turn dark before the rest of the batch is ready. Slicing, spacing and the right heat fix both.
Slice thin and even
Aim for paper-thin, about 1/16 to 1/8 inch. Chips that are thicker in spots won’t crisp all the way; they still taste good, just without the snap of a real chip. Uneven rounds are also what makes one chip burn while the one next to it stays soft, so a mandoline on its thinnest setting is the easiest way to get every slice the same.
Give every slice room
Keep the rounds in a single layer with a little space around each one. When a sheet is crowded, the heat gets trapped under the food and makes steam, and the slices turn tender instead of crisp. If the rounds start to overlap, spread them onto another sheet.
How long should you cook sweet potato chips in the oven?
It depends on the heat you choose and how thick your slices are. The recipe above bakes at 300°F, but there are two other ways to get them crisp:
| Oven | Time | Flip | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300°F (recipe above) | 20 to 25 minutes | No | Start checking at 20 minutes |
| 250°F, center rack | 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes | Once, halfway; turn the pan around too | Check every 10 minutes during the second hour |
| 400°F, middle rack | 10 to 12 minutes per side | Once | Take them out as soon as they are golden |
The low 250°F oven takes about 2 hours in all, but the gentle heat lets the chips crisp more evenly. Flipping once at the halfway point makes sure they crisp on both sides. At 400°F they can burn easily, so stay close and give them a couple of minutes more or less, depending on how thick they are and how strong your oven runs.
Tips for Success
Why did my chips burn before the time was up?
Your oven may run hot. Oven thermostats often run 10 to 30 degrees too hot or too cool, especially when the broiler or the self-cleaning setting gets a lot of use. Hang an oven thermometer from the middle rack, and once the oven is preheated, adjust the dial until it reads right.
Can I bake two sheets at once?
You can, but each pan takes longer when the oven is full, and more than one pan at a time gives the chips more chance to bake unevenly. For the most even batch, bake one sheet at a time and turn it around partway through.
Why are my chips greasy and limp?
Too much oil. Use just enough to coat each slice lightly, because extra oil can leave the chips soggy instead of crisp. For a smaller batch, cut the oil down too: 2 tablespoons lightly coats 2 sweet potatoes of about 150 grams each.
Variations
- Rosemary and pepper: stir 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper into the oil before you toss the slices, in place of the kosher salt sprinkle.
- Cinnamon and honey: for a sweet batch made from 2 large sweet potatoes, mix 1 tablespoon honey with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and drizzle it over the baked chips, then sprinkle them with another 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
- Smoky: add paprika and garlic powder for a smoky, savory and sweet chip.
- Spice blends: Cajun seasoning for a spicy kick, Italian seasoning for an herby one, or lemon pepper for something bright and zesty.
Storage & Reheating
Store the cooled chips in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to one week. They are at their crispest the day you bake them. If a few start to soften, crisp them up again in the oven or an air fryer for a few minutes. Once the chips are topped with cheese for nachos or set out next to a creamy dip, treat the platter as perishable: USDA FSIS says not to leave perishable food at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour when it is above 90°F.
What to Serve With It
Serve the chips as a side with burgers and sandwiches, like patty melts with secret sauce or slow cooker Amish beef sloppy joes, or next to a bowl of Wendy’s chili. For a snack spread, set them out with white queso dip and a tray of baked zucchini fries. And if you can’t get enough sweet potatoes, try sweet potatoes with marshmallows.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why won’t my sweet potato fries get crispy in the oven?
Give them room and cut them thin. Spread the fries on an ungreased baking sheet with space between them so they crisp, flip them after about 10 minutes, and broil them for the last 3 minutes for extra crunch. Thicker fries baked for less time come out softer.
Can I use a knife instead of a mandoline?
Yes. Use a very sharp knife and aim for slices about 1/8 inch thick; it just takes longer. A vegetable peeler also makes very thin, even slices, though knife-cut chips have a more satisfying bite.
Can I make nachos with sweet potato chips?
Yes. Pile the chips on a platter and top them with black beans, salsa and cheese. They also add crunch tucked into a sandwich.
What dips go with sweet potato chips?
Try smoked paprika aioli, maple mustard sauce, chipotle lime dip, taco dip or Southern comeback sauce.
Final Notes
Taste a chip while the batch is still warm and add a pinch more salt if it needs it. If you have a question or make these, tell me how they turned out in the comments.
Baked Sweet Potato Chips
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Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes scrubbed; peeling is optional
- 1/3 cup olive oil extra-virgin
- kosher salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 300°F. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scrub the sweet potatoes and slice them into paper-thin rounds on a mandoline set to its thinnest setting.
- Pile the rounds into a large bowl, pour the olive oil over the top and gently toss until every slice is coated on both sides.
- Lay the rounds on the baking sheets in a single layer and sprinkle them lightly with kosher salt.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp and golden around the edges. Start watching at the 20-minute mark and take them out when they look about 90% crisp; they go from perfect to burnt very quickly.
- Let the chips cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes; they keep crisping as they cool. If a few still have soft centers, return them to the oven for about 5 minutes, then move the chips to a bowl.
