Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes

These Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes are crispy on the outside, fluffy and tender on the inside, and seasoned to your liking. This recipe makes a quick and easy side dish that can also be transformed into a main course with a variety of simple homemade toppings.

If you ‘re looking for more air fryer recipes, be sure to try these Air Fryer Onion Rings. They’re so crispy and fun to make in the air fryer! These Air Fryer Red Potatoes are a hit and of course, our favorite Air Fryer Baked Potatoes too.

Easy Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes

Sure, you can bake sweet potatoes the old-fashioned way in an oven.  But if you own an air fryer, we highly recommend this method.  Air frying has a way of cooking any type of potato to complete and utter perfection.  

The high-speed circulating heat cooks the skins so that they get nice and crispy – almost as if they were fried.  However, the air fryer only needs a minimal amount of oil so it’s far healthier.  Meanwhile, the insides turn soft and creamy, just how a baked sweet potato should be.

Another bonus with the air fryer is that it is just so dang quick!  While oven-baked sweet potatoes will take about an hour, the air fryer will cut that down to about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of each potato.  

If you’re looking for some main dish recipes to serve with these sweet potatoes, try our Air Fryer Chicken Tenders or our Parmesan Wings. And if you’re looking for something a little more light, try these Frozen Fish Fillets in the air fryer.

How to Serve Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes

For a tasty side dish, we suggest topping your crispy baked sweet potatoes with honey (or even The Most Amazing Honey Butter), butter and mini marshmallows.  Marshmallows and sweet potatoes are a classic combo, but they are also completely optional.  

If you want to turn these Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes into a main course, here are some delicious toppings that will do the trick:

• Crockpot Ranch Chicken with BBQ sauce
• Easy Chili
• Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, or Crockpot Mississippi Pork Roast
• Diced Candied Bacon and sour cream

Ingredients You Will Need

• Sweet Potatoes – you’ll want to choose sweet potatoes that are roughly the same size so that they will take the same amount of time to cook.
• Avocado Oil – you can substitute a variety of other cooking oils, keeping in mind that it’s best to choose an oil with a high smoking point, such as canola oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil or grapeseed oil.  We recommend avoiding extra virgin olive oil.
• Sea Salt
• Honey – any kind of honey will taste great.
• Butter – you can use salted or unsalted butter.
• Mini Marshmallows – this is optional but tastes amazing!

How To Cook Sweet Potatoes in an Air Fryer

1. Preheat air fryer, if needed, to 400 degrees F.
2. Wash and dry each potato, then poke 4-5 holes, about 1/2″ deep, on all sides.
3. Place sweet potatoes and avocado oil into a large ziplock bag. Seal the bag and roll the potatoes around inside until they are completely covered in oil.
4. Remove sweet potatoes from the bag, then season with sea salt and place the potatoes into your air fryer basket.  Cook in the preheated air fryer for 30-45 minutes, or until fork tender.
5. Once cooked, remove the sweet potatoes from the air fryer and let cool for 5 minutes.  Slice each potato open with a knife and use a fork to lightly fluff the insides.  Top each sweet potato with about 1/2 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon of honey.  

Adding Marshmallows

If you choose to add the mini marshmallows, preheat your oven broiler, then top each potato with about 1/4 cup, making sure to spread them out evenly across the sliced top. Place under the broiler for about 1-2 minutes, or until the marshmallows have softened and are golden brown.  Enjoy!

Tips for Making Baked Sweet Potatoes in an Air Fryer

• Don’t overcrowd your air fryer basket.  If only 3 will fit, then only cook 3!
• The cook time will vary depending on the size of your potatoes, so be sure to keep an eye on them while they cook.  The best way to know if they are done is to stick a fork or toothpick into the center and if the potato doesn’t stick, it’s good to go.
• You can eat these as a side dish, or else dice or mash them to use in all sorts of other recipes (sweet potato pie, anyone?).
• If you don’t have an air fryer, you can bake these the traditional way, in a 400 degree oven.  You’ll want to wrap each potato in foil and place on a baking sheet if you cook them this way.  They will also take closer to an hour to cook completely. 

Recipe Variations

• Twice-Baked Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes – to make twice-baked sweet potatoes in the air fryer, bake as directed, but after they have cooked, cut each potato completely in half.  Scoop the insides out into a large bowl and mix in a bit of shredded cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper.  Scoop the mixture back into each potato half, top with a bit more shredded cheese, then return the halves to the air fryer for about 4 more minutes, or until the tops have turned golden brown.
• Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries (or chips or wedges) – cut each sweet potato into pinky finger sized sticks, then toss them in a large bowl with a touch of avocado oil, salt and pepper.  Cook in a preheated 400 degree air fryer for about 10 minutes, tossing the basket halfway through.  

How to Store Leftover Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes will hold up very well if stored properly.  They will reheat best if they haven’t been topped with anything yet (although butter and honey would reheat fine).  So, if you know you’ll have some left over, it’s a good idea to cook them, let them cool completely, and then store them immediately.

All you need to do is wrap it well in foil, or place in an airtight container, and store it for up to 4 days in the fridge.  To reheat, you can either microwave or warm in a 320-degree oven for about 25 minutes, or until warmed through.  Once reheated, you can top however you’d like!

Here are some other sweet potato recipes that we love!

• The Best Sweet Potato Fries
• Roasted Sweet Potato with Lime and Chipotle
• Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole
• Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Crumble
• Chili Spiced Sweet Potato Chunks
• More Potato Recipes

More Air Fryer Recipes

• Air Fryer Squash
• Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
• Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
• Air Fryer Red Potatoes

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These Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes have the most fluffy, tender insides with perfectly crispy skin.  They make a quick and easy side dish that tastes great topped with butter, honey and mini marshmallows.