You know that guilty pleasure of eating delicious golden french fries that offer crunch on the outside and starchy softness on the inside? What if you could get all that minus the guilt? Having tasted a version of sweet potato fries just once two years ago, we were torn between trying to recreate them and trying to reinvent them. So we decided to do a little of both and ended up with Baked Sweet Potato Fries two ways. One, a herbed delicate delight and the other, redolent with spices and absolutely perfect.

The herbed fries taste wholesome and mild while the spiced fries taste sweet, tangy and just a little phenomenal. One of our favorite ingredients, onion seeds, works its magic in this version. Here are both these relatively healthy recipes for you to try out. Hard not to love a snack food that isn’t deep fried but satisfies like it is.

Spiced Sweet Potato Fries

1 medium Sweet Potato, cut into slim batons
1 small Onion, minced
1 tsp Nigella Seeds (aka Onion Seeds)
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
Pinch of Coriander powder
1 tsp Salt or to taste
1 tbs Olive Oil
1 1/2 tbs Lemon juice

Preheat oven to 220°C. Toss all your ingredients together and lay them on a baking tray. Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned and a little crusty around the edges.

Herbed Sweet Potato Fries

1 medium Sweet Potato, cut into slim batons
1 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp dried Thyme
1 tsp Salt or to taste
1 tbs Olive Oil
1 1/2 tbs Lemon juice

Preheat oven to 220°C. Toss all your ingredients together and lay them on a baking tray. Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned and a little crusty around the edges.

Note: We haven’t tried it but something tells us this could work with potatoes, carrots, parsnips and maybe even pumpkin.