This Air Fryer Roasted Sweet Potatoes recipe will give you perfectly roasted, melt-in-your-mouth sweet potatoes. Seasoning with chili powder, paprika, and salt produces a simple, yet complementary peppery flavor profile that plays beautifully with sweet potatoes.
If you’re looking for sweet potatoes with a guaranteed crispy exterior, this isn’t that recipe. Because this recipe produces perfectly roasted, melt-in-your-mouth cubes of sweet potato.
Keys to this lovely, roast-y outcome include 1) cutting the sweet potato into similar-sized cubes so that they cook evenly, 2) giving the sweet potato cubes a quick water rinse to remove excess starch before air frying, and 3) spreading the cubes evenly across a baking sheet during air frying.
I like to keep the seasonings simple when roasting sweet potatoes, but there's no denying that sweet potatoes and chiles belong together. I recommend adding chili powder, paprika, and salt to create a simple, yet complementary peppery flavor profile that plays beautifully with sweet potatoes.
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Why You'll Love This Air Fryer Sweet Potato Recipe
- Quick & Easy Side Dish – Since there's no need to wait to preheat an oven, the air fryer gets these sweet potatoes roasted quickly! While some models of air fryer require a short 90-second preheat, this is still substantially better than waiting for the oven.
- Great Side Dish – This sweet potato dish pairs well with just about anything: grilled meats, tacos, grain bowls, eggs, and so much more! Try it alongside Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas (for a sweet + heat balance) or this Turkey Breast made in the Instant Pot (unbelievably moist turkey and sweet potatoes are great together!).
- Customizable – You can easily change up the seasonings here, from the prescribed savory/spicy mix. For instance, you could lean into the natural sweetness with cinnamon and maple syrup or go savory with garlic and smoked paprika.
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes - Cut them into similar-sized cubes for this recipe.
- Extra virgin olive oil - For coating the sweet potato cubes and help the seasonings stick. Try canola or vegetable oil instead if you prefer.
- Seasonings (including chili powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper) - I prefer to keep the seasonings simple and savory. Okay to leave out the cayenne pepper if you'd rather avoid any heat, but a few restrained dashes add a lovely spice.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below - keep scrolling!
Air Fried Sweet Potatoes - Directions
Peel the sweet potatoes.
Slice and cube the potatoes into approximately ½” pieces; this will ensure even cooking.
Rinse with cold water and strain. I SWEAR by this step.
Pat the rinsed sweet potato cubes dry with a towel. Add the sweet potatoes to a baking sheet and toss with olive oil.
Add salt, chili powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper (optional) to a bowl and stir to combine. Sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the top of the sweet potatoes, and mix for a minute to distribute the season evenly.
Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Once preheated, place the baking sheet of sweet potatoes in the air fryer and cook at 400°F for 12-14 minutes. You can flip halfway through, but it's not necessary.
Once finished cooking, remove from oven and season with additional salt, if desired.
Top Tip for the BEST Air Fryer Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Did I mention not to skip the rinse with water before cooking step? If you don’t rinse them the exteriors turn a touch wrinkly and get just the slightest bit tough. Whereas the rinsed ones keep a pleasantly soft exterior.
Equipment
Air fryer. I used a Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 Smart XL Air Fry Oven.
A note on air fryer cooking. This Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes recipe will also work with basket-style air fryers, although you may have to adjust the amount of sweet potatoes you can cook at once (depending on the capacity of your air fryer).
Baking sheets. These fit well in the Ninja Foodi Air Fry Oven XL.
Storage
Store any leftover Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes in a lidded container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I like to add leftover sweet potato cubes to rice bowls and salads.
Recipe FAQs
Answers vary to this question, but I say yes. I am pro rinse your sweet potatoes with running water before you air fry. Why? To get rid of excess starch. I’ve tested air frying sweet potato cubes with and without rinsing, holding all other conditions constant (cooking temperature, cooking time, amount of olive oil used, seasonings). The results are subtle, but telling. If you don’t give them a rinse beforehand I have found that the exteriors get wrinkly looking and tend to toughen a bit. Rinsing beforehand results in smooth, melt-in-your-mouth, perfectly roasted sweet potato cubes from exterior to interior.
I find that air frying at 400 is the sweet spot to achieve those perfectly roasted sweet potato cubes, which takes around 12-14 minutes.
I’m using Jewel sweet potatoes, but you can also use Red Garnet, Covington, and Beauregard. I have not tried this recipe with white sweet potato varieties.
I have been on team air fryer for years and have a bunch of great recipes for you to try! Like this Air Fryer Naan Pizza - which is super easy to make, and is easy to customize by mixing up the toppings. Or this Air Fryer Tortilla Pizza is even easier to make.
Perfect Pairings
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Roasted Sweet Potatoes. And this Chicken Picadillo.
If you tried this Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes recipe (or any other recipe on Midwexican), please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it turned out in the 📝 comments below!
Air Fryer Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes (about 1 pound) peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1-2 dashes cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Peel the sweet potatoes. Slice and cube the potatoes into approximately ½” pieces; this will ensure even cooking.2 large sweet potatoes (about 1 pound)
- Rinse with cold water and strain. I SWEAR by this step. If you don’t rinse them the exteriors turn a touch wrinkly and get just the slightest bit tough. Whereas the rinsed ones keep a pleasantly soft exterior.
- Pat the rinsed sweet potato cubes dry with a towel. Add the sweet potatoes to a baking sheet and toss with olive oil.1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Add salt, chili powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper (optional) to a bowl and stir to combine.teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, 1-2 dashes cayenne pepper
- Sprinkle the seasoning evenly over the top of the sweet potatoes, and mix for a minute to distribute the season evenly.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Once preheated, place the baking sheet of sweet potatoes in the air fryer and cook at 400°F for approximately 12-14 minutes. You can flip halfway through if you’d like, but it's not necessary.
- Once finished cooking, remove from oven and season with additional salt, if desired.
Holly
My favorite way to fix sweet potatoes. I even like the leftovers cold on a salad!