My healthy Vegan Spicy Turmeric Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries is an easy recipe to make with only 7 healthy, clean ingredients and is ready to enjoy in about 30 minutes. They're a plant-based snack or side dish with a twist from plain sweet potato fries that everyone will love!
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Table of Contents
Here's Why This Recipe Works
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- They're Oven-Baked and Not Fried!
- Can Be Made with Sweet Potatoes or Regular Potatoes!
- Made with Only 7 Healthy, Clean Ingredients!
If you're looking for a new twist on sweet potato fries, then you'll love my new spicy plant-based version which is the perfect alternative to boring sweet potatoes.
I made these sweet potato fries unique by adding turmeric and spicing them up with cayenne + black pepper.
My healthy sweet potato recipe is plant-based, gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, egg-free, nut-free, oven-baked, lectin-free (see FAQ below), paleo-friendly and Medical Medium® Compliant* (with substitutions).
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the healthy, clean ingredients I used to make this recipe. Try to buy organic if possible.
- Sweet Potatoes
- Avocado Oil
- Turmeric Powder
- Nutritional Yeast
- Cayenne Pepper
- Ground Black Pepper
- Himalayan Pink Salt
That's it! My Spicy Turmeric Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries are super easy to make!
How To Make This Recipe: Step-by-Step Instructions
This is an easy plant-based snack recipe that takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and I'll show you how with step-by-step instructions below.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and set aside.
Step 1: Prepare the Sweet Potato
First, peel the sweet potato and then cut the ends off.
Cut the sweet potato in half from the top to bottom so the fries will be the perfect length.
Next, cut the sweet potato into long, thin "french fry" pieces.
If you use a large sweet potato, you should get about 50-60 fries.
Transfer the cut sweet potato fries to a large mixing bowl.
Step 2: Add the Avocado Oil
Second, add the avocado oil and toss the sweet potato fries until they are evenly coated.
Step 3: Add the Seasonings
Third, add the seasonings to the sweet potato fries, but add one seasoning at a time, and add the nutritional yeast last.
Toss the sweet potatoes after adding each seasoning to make sure the seasoning is evenly distributed.
Step 4: Bake the Sweet Potato Fries
Lastly, transfer the seasoned sweet potato fries to the prepared cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for approximately 15-20 minutes.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven, toss the fries and return to the oven to bake for an additional 5-10 minutes more.
Keep a close eye on them so they don't burn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes!
You can make this recipe with either sweet potatoes or regular white potatoes following the same recipe.
Yes!
I'm adding a screenshot from Dr. Gundry’s Twitter page where he gives cayenne pepper the “ok” as a lectin-approved ingredient, which is why I included it in my recipe and classified the recipe as “Lectin-Free”.
The amount used in the entire recipe is ½ teaspoon and it yields approximately (4) servings, so the amount per serving is less than ⅛ teaspoon and is minimal.
However, a person who needs to avoid nightshades in general, for reasons other than lectin-related, would need to just omit the cayenne pepper from the recipe.
The only ingredient in this recipe that is not Medical Medium® Compliant is the nutritional yeast, which can be omitted.
My favorite healthy, vegan dip to pair with this recipe is my cool and tangy Lemon Dill Avocado Dressing (shown in the photos).
It's made with only 6 clean, real food ingredients and can be ready in about 5 minutes!
Karielyn's Expert Tips + Ingredient Substitutions
Seasonings. The secret to making these oven-baked fries flavorful is in the order of adding the seasonings.
- Toss the sweet potato fries in avocado oil
- Add each seasoning one at a time and toss in between
- After that, add the nutritional yeast last
And don't forget, you can always adjust the amount of seasonings to your preference!
Cayenne Pepper. There seems to be confusion as to whether cayenne pepper is a lectin-free approved ingredient. After carefully researching this, I found a source, directly from Dr. Gundry himself, stating "cayenne is fine". Please see the screenshot below*.
Nutritional Yeast. You will need to omit this ingredient if you need the recipe to be 100% Medical Medium compliant.
Avocado Oil. I always use avocado oil whenever I bake something in the oven at high heat. However, you can substitute this with organic extra-virgin olive oil.
Himalayan Pink Salt. This is my salt of preference, but you can always substitute with sea salt.
Order Recipe Ingredients
Shop for ingredients to make this recipe and my favorite kitchen tools all in one place!
Vegan Spicy Turmeric Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
- 1 large organic sweet potato
- 1 tablespoon 100% pure avocado oil
For the seasoning:
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast*
- ½ teaspoon organic turmeric powder
- ⅛ teaspoon organic cayenne pepper**
- ½ teaspoon organic ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and set aside.
Prepare the sweet potato:
- Peel the skin off the sweet potato. Cut the ends off then slice it down the middle from top to bottom.
- Cut the potato into long "french fry" pieces. You should have approximately 50-60 from a large sweet potato.
Assembly:
- Add the cut sweet potato pieces to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the avocado oil and toss the sweet potatoes until the avocado oil is evenly distributed and all pieces are covered.
- Add each of the ingredients for the seasoning to the bowl of cut sweet potatoes one at a time (add the nutritional yeast last) and toss each time making sure the seasonings are evenly distributed and all pieces are covered before adding the next seasoning.
- Adjust the amount of seasonings to your preference.
- Place the seasoned sweet potato pieces onto the prepared cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for approximately 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven, flip over all the fries and return the pan to the oven for approximately 5-10 more minutes. Oven times will vary, but you want them to be slightly crisp and take care not to burn them.
- Best served hot from the oven.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The notes, instructions, and photographs for this recipe are copyrighted material and are protected under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA). They cannot be used legally without my written permission.
More Healthy Vegan Sweet Potato Recipes
- Sweet Potato Hummus
- Sweet Potato and Cilantro Dip
- Rosemary and Garlic Sweet Potato Medallions
- or my Real Food Vegan™ 14-Day Meal Plan Program with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
David Walker says
Great recipe. I use fresh turmeric daily and Do so because “it is good for me” but in this recipe it is delicious. I didn’t have any dried hot pepper but I served them with Cholula . Delicious! Thank you.
David
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there David! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! I, too, don't particularly love the taste of turmeric but use it because "it's good for me" - just like you said!
Thank you for trying out the recipe and for taking the time to let me know you liked it...I sincerely appreciate it! 🙂
Nancy says
I’m going to try this in air fryer. Can I use olive oil instead of avocado oil? Finally, is that just avocado/guacamole dip in pic? Thank you!
Karielyn says
Hi Nancy! In this recipe, you can definitely substitute olive oil for avocado oil. It is just my personal preference to use avocado oil when I bake, roast or saute' anything at high heat.
I'd love to know how the fries turn out in the air-fryer too!
Yes, the dip in the photo is an avocado-based recipe from here: https://thehealthyfamilyandhome.com/lectin-free-vegan-lemon-dill-avocado-dressing/, but a regular guacamole recipe would be good too.
Thanks for your question and I hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
Abbe says
Just a note, cayenne pepper is a lectin (nightshade). Made without and very yummy!
Karielyn says
Hi there Abbe! Actually, cayenne pepper is lectin-approved - per Dr. Gundry 🙂
I am going to add a screenshot to my post from Dr. Gundry's Twitter page where he gives cayenne pepper the "ok" as a lectin-approved ingredient, which is why I included it in my recipe and classified the recipe as "Lectin-Free".
However, a person who needs to avoid nightshades in general, for reasons other than lectin related, would need to just omit the cayenne pepper from the recipe as you did 🙂
Thanks the feedback and for trying out the recipe...glad to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂