Sweet Potato Chips

Sweet potato chips are great in salad, but not only for salad! This is how to do it right.

Ever since we became big fans of Aunt Ruchy’s Sweet Potato Chip Salad, frying sweet potato strips became an essential part of our Pesach prep.

Once we had these sweet potato chips in our freezer, though, we realized that they became useful for way more than just giving a great crunch (and a gorgeous look) to our salad. 

They became the perfect way to garnish a (very brown) piece of meat–they have that great punch of color. And who doesn’t love eating some chips? Same goes with the soup that needed that little something to make it look a little more appealing (but not until right, right before serving). 

They also make a restaurant-esque side dish. Add a green salad along with your protein and you have a great plate. And, unlike many other sides, these can be made ahead and frozen. Just pull them out when you want to use them, they thaw immediately. 

I found, though, that many people were scared of the frying aspect. How do they know when the chips are ready? Can they use a pot? And all that…and so, we’re going to walk you through it!

First, peel your potatoes. Use a regular Swiss peeler and try to peel the strips as thick as possible–see? They’ll shrink a lot when they fry. Rather than peeling all from one side, rotate the sweet potato around and peel from all four sides evenly. Two large sweet potatoes will yield two containers of sweet potato strips, which I find is a good amount for two meals (of course, it depends on your crowd size and what you’re using them for).

Heat up your oil and once hot (the first chip you add will bubble), add your strips.

I like to use a small pot because I don’t want to be left with tons of oil.

I’ll fry these in small batches while I’m cooking other things–always remembering to keep a close eye on them.

Take them out when they look like they’re firm and curly. They will continue to crisp up as they cool. If they’re not crisping up even after they cool, it means you didn’t leave them in long enough.

But be careful not to leave them in too long! Above you can compare perfect sweet potato strips (top) to ones that got overdone (bottom). If they’re starting to get brown while in the oil, you’re a little too late. You’ll get the hang of recognizing the right moment.

This is perhaps the most important tip. They must be absolutely cool and completely dry before freezing. If you freeze them while they are still warm, you will end up with soggy chips. 

I freeze in regular plastic containers and take them out right before I want to use them.