I would have called these Spicy Sweet Potato Fries except two things: they’re not fried and they’re not crispy like fries. What they ARE is good. They are also a perfect side dish to many lunches or dinners, including the Sausage Po Boy’s that I made this weekend. Infact, the meal as a whole was so enticing and I was so eager to eat it up that I forgot to snap some pictures of the Sweet Potato Stix by themselves… so I’m recycling some of the Po Boy pics. Sorry about that.

Anyway, I used Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning to flavor the stix. Tony’s can be found in the spice aisle of many grocery stores across the country but if you can’t find it, try sprinkling a mix of garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper and salt… and maybe a little cumin if you’d like. This recipe is totally flexible so use whatever spices you like!

Total Recipe cost: $2.81
Servings Per Recipe: 4
Cost per serving: $0.70
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 45 min. Total: 55 min.

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes, wash them with cool water then cut into 1/2 inch thick “stix.” Cut them as evenly as possible so they cook at an even rate.

STEP 2: Place the stix in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning. Use your hands to mix the ingredients until the sweet potato stix are evenly covered with oil and seasoning.

STEP 3: Line a baking sheet (or two) with either parchment paper or foil. Spread the stix out on the baking sheet(s) so they are in a single layer. I had to use two sheets to make sure they were in one layer. Bake for about 45 minutes or until they are golden brown on the edges. Stir/flip the stix half way through so the under sides get exposed to the hot dry air.

STEP 4: Add more seasoning, if necessary, after cooking.

Step By Step Photos

These are the sweet potatoes I used. When buying your sweet potatoes, look for ones that have an even surface because they are easier to peel. Lots of convolutions in the shape are difficult to get your peeler in. Raw sweet potatoes are really hard and can be difficult to get a knife through so I always buy them on the smaller size. I’ve gotten many knives stuck while trying to cut the larger ones in half… which can be very very very dangerous.

Peel the sweet potatoes then wash them off with cool water. Do your best to cut them into even, thin “fry” shapes. The larger the chunks, the longer they’ll take to cook.

Place the stix in a bowl and toss with olive oil and seasoning until they are completely coated.

Place them on a lined baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes. Flip the stix half way through cooking so the under side also gets exposed to the heat.

YUM

Keep any leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge. They make a tasty cold snack!

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