Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes (Quick & Easy Recipe!)

by Kayla Berman on October 25, 2023 0 comments

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes are the perfect quick, easy, and healthy side dish! Made with olive oil and simple seasonings … these sweet potatoes are a little crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, and wonderfully sweet and savory. They’re great for meal prep, take just 10 minutes to whip up, and the whole family will love them!

Can’t get enough sweet potato? Check out my most popular blog post ever, Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Bake, or Sautéed Sweet Potatoes for a unique way to prepare the vegetable.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

If crispy on the outside, soft and tender in the middle, and wonderfully seasoned sweet and savory potato chunks made in the air fryer sound like your dream come true, you have to try this recipe. Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes are:

Super Quick: Say goodbye to your oven and it’s slow preheating times, and hello to you air fryer. It is my new best friend, and I highly recommend it becomes yours too. The trendy appliance cooks these sweet potato cubes perfectly in just about 10 minutes. It’s amazing and SO quick!
Affordable: We all know potatoes and sweet potatoes are one of the most affordable veggies (and foods) there is. All you need in addition to the root veggie is some pantry staples that you almost definitely already have on hand. No expensive grocery trip needed here for this simple recipe!
Nutritious: Sweet potatoes are a literal superfood. They are absolutely fabulous for you! All while being extremely delicious. It’s a win-win!
Customizable: My favorite thing about this recipe is how customizable it is. Toss the taters with the oil and seasonings of your choice and enjoy! Read on below for some of Recipe Variation ideas.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Air fryer sweet potato cubes are made with just a handful of simple ingredients! Just orange sweet potatoes and pantry staple seasonings.

Sweet Potato: This easy air fryer recipe of course calls for sweet potatoes! You can use any type you like.
Olive Oil: This healthy side dish requires just a bit of oil to crisp up beautifully. I use extra virgin olive oil. However, you can swap in a different oil of your choice. Perhaps avocado oil or coconut oil!
Seasonings: I used a delightful seasoning mix for these taters … onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. However, feel free to use any seasoning or spice that you enjoy! I’ve included some different ideas below.

Equipment

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Vegetable Peeler
Cutting Board & Chef Knife
Measuring Spoons
Large Mixing Bowl
Air Fryer – I use and love the Instant Slim 6QT Air Fryer Oven

How To Make This Recipe

Crispy air fryer sweet potato chunks are such an easy side dish! While you’re preheating the air fryer, you can chop the potatoes and mix them with a simple savory spice blend. Then once the air fryer is ready to go, so are you!

Throw in the potato cubes and they’ll be ready in just 10 minutes. It’s perfection!

Step 1: Season. Add the cubed sweet potatoes to a large bowl with the olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Combine until all the sweet potato chunks are thoroughly coated.

sweet potato chunks mixed with oil and seasonings

sweet potato cubes mixed with oil and seasonings

Step 2: Air Fry. Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Once preheated, add the sweet potatoes to the air fryer basket in an even, single layer. Air fry for 10-12 minutes.

Step 3: Serve and enjoy!

sweet potato chunks in an air fryer basket before cooking

sweet potato chunks in an air fryer basket after cooking

Recipe Variations

I think this sweet potato recipe is a perfect side dish for many reasons! But I think the main reason is that it is SO customizable. It is sort of a base recipe that you can adjust to your liking! Here are some of my ideas for variations:

Sweet: I love complimenting the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes here with even more sweetness. Perhaps light brown sugar or maple syrup! Ground cinnamon is a great addition for more warm flavor too. I love it in my Butternut Squash Chili.
Spicy: It is so easy to add some heat to these savory sweet potatoes. Just include a dash of cayenne pepper, chili powder, or red pepper flakes.
Seasoning Mixes: These potatoes would be a great base for different seasoning mixes! Like everything bagel, lemon pepper, or Italian seasoning.
Fresh Herbs: Fresh herbs make a fabulous garnish to this dish. They add both wonderful flavor and a great look! Try fresh parsley, rosemary, or thyme. Yum!

Expert Tips

Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket! This helps achieve tender air fryer potatoes with crispy edges. Which is what we are all going for right?

Cut the sweet potatoes uniformly! Cutting the orange root vegetable into about 1/2 inch cubes, makes sure that all the pieces cook evenly.

Season well! Seasoning is absolutely key here. I truly think that the reason why people are vegetable haters is because they do not season thoroughly enough.

Serve these air fried sweet potato cubes as soon as possible! They are simply best when fresh. They will lose their crisp as they sit.

Check throughout the cooking time! When trying a new air fryer recipe I always recommend checking on the food throughout the air frying process. Since every air fryer is slightly different, I find this to be important to make sure the food is cooking as expected. I also love to give the sweet potato cubes a little shake throughout!

Serving Suggestions

There are countless delicious ways to serve and enjoy these air fryer sweet potatoes cubes!

However, my personal favorite way at the moment is hot and fresh out of the air fryer with sea salt and a sprinkling of some fragrant fresh herbs. Ugh, it’s fabulous!

It works as a wonderful healthy side dish to any main protein option. Like my Romano Cheese Crusted Chicken Cutlets, Parmesan Crusted Cod, Crockpot Mississippi Chicken, or Maple Glazed Chicken.

Dipping Sauce: These sweet potato chunks made in the air fryer have such yummy sweet flavor that pairs absolutely deliciously with a savory dip or a favorite sauce. Basil cashew pesto, healthy tomato sauce, and cucumber dill tzatziki just to name a few!
Instead of Fries: I love fries with my whole heart! But if you need a healthier potato carb to swap in on the side of your chicken nuggets and burgers, try these sweet potato cubes.
Holiday Side Dish: My Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner table is always loaded with heavy, cheesy, and carb-filled dishes … like Au Gratin Potatoes or Truffle Mashed Potatoes. So I am always looking for something a little lighter to balance it all out! If you are too, these air fryer sweet potato chunks would be fabulous.
Breakfast: Air frying sweet potato cubes is not just great at lunch or dinner, it’s great at breakfast too. Throw them on a plate with some fried eggs or boiled eggs, chicken maple breakfast sausage, and fresh fruit. It’s perfect!
Loaded Bowl: These sweet potatoes would be perfect in a warm grain bowl or loaded salad. Like Sweetgreen at home!

Storing Suggestions

You can store these sweet potato leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will keep for 3-5 days!

Reheat in the air fryer or a hot pan on the stove for the best results. This will help liven up that crisp a bit!

FAQs

Are sweet potatoes good for you?

I am not a dietician or nutritionist, but yes sweet potatoes are very good for you! They have even earned the term “superfood’ for their amazing nutritional benefits.

They are an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber, and potassium. They’re low in calories and high in the antioxidant, beta carotene, too!

Sweet potatoes are also lower on the glycemic index, meaning they won’t spike your blood sugar in the same way that regular potatoes will.

Which sweet potatoes should I use?

You can use all the different varieties of sweet potatoes here! I used the classic orange potatoes, but the white potatoes or purple ones will work too.

You may just have to slightly adjust the cooking time, which should be no problem.

Which air fryer should I use?

I use and recommend using the Instant Slim 6QT Air Fryer Oven. I love it and find it works great for all sort of air fryer recipes.

Like my Air Fryer Chicken Sausages, Air Fryer S’mores, and Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Thighs!

Do I have to preheat the air fryer?

I recommend preheating the air fryer for this cubed sweet potato recipe! I find that adding the potatoes to an already hot basket just helps with the crisp factor.

Are sweet potatoes made in the air fryer super crispy?

They are not extremely crispy, but they definitely have a good crisp to them. Way better than the crisp you can achieve when oven baked.

Related Recipes

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Connect With Me!

If you make this delicious side dish recipe or any of my other recipes, I would absolutely love to know! Tag me @wellnessbykay on Instagram so I can see and share your recreations.

Love this recipe? Leave a comment and a rating! I love to see and it helps me continue to develop delicious recipes for this blog.