Crispy air fryer sweet potato cubes are the perfect bite size side dish or snack your whole family will love. Make sweet with cinnamon and sugar or savory with parmesan, salt and pepper.
Sway from the traditional and try air fryer sweet potato cubes for your holiday meal. I mean it is great year round but these are a must on our Easter table for sure. Easy air fryer recipe even my teens can make. (affiliate links present)
Yes I am sure you’ve made air fryer baked potatoes already. They’re good for sure but bite size anything is always a hit at my house. Always a huge hit with the kiddos for sure. Season them as a savory treat or sweet like you see here, either one is so yummy.
We started with making Instant Pot sweet potatoes cubed and those were delish. A great way to mash them for sure but served as is you get fork size pieces with sweetness on top. Those don’t get crispy at all though so we moved on to this method.
If you love extra crispy food and quick recipes, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite models are this Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more Ninja Foodi recipes here as well; bookmark them both!
- It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. this is how to preheat air fryer first.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Not only does this and our air fryer spaghetti squash cook in a shorter time frame, but they get a nice bit of crisp on the outside.
Ingredient Notes
- Sweet potatoes of course are the key ingredient. Leave the skins on to give it great texture and that is the best part for you too. Tons of fiber.
- Brown sugar keeps them nice and sweet of course. If you were serving these as a sweet potato casserole alternative you could sprinkle mini marshmallows on the top when done too.
- Honey is a wonderful addition. We prefer raw and unfiltered.
- Olive oil will keep these babies moist.
- Cinnamon will give you that classic holiday flavor you love.
If you want to air fry sweet potatoes with a bit of a salty and sweet flavor you could add a pinch of salt.
Ninja Foodi Option
If you want to make this in your Ninja Foodi it will work just the same as if you made this as a Cosori air fryer recipe except that you just use the lid that is attached and the air crisp button. Other than that I haven’t found a machine that really cooked any differently. The biggest difference is the basket size and shape.
Tips
The biggest tip when it comes to preparing these potatoes are as such: Make sure each cube is the same size. This will ensure that each one cooks evenly and they all get nice and tender on the inside. You could use red or even white sweet potatoes instead if you really wanted to. They may increase the cook time a bit though.
After cutting into wedges lay them in paper towels and roll around. You really want all the water to be absorbed off of the outsides. This way the olive oil and seasonings will really stick.
At the end of the cook time shared below use a fork to test the largest piece(s). If they aren’t soft all the way through put them in for another minute and test again. Do this until they are the right texture. Another must with this and any other type of Ninja air fryer recipe is to cook in a single layer. Overlapping pieces will not get crispy all the way around.
How do you get seasonings to stick to cut up potatoes?
See how nice and dry these pieces are, this is what they should look like so the oil and seasonings can still well. You can do this easily with a few paper towels. Slice and then roll them all up and press gently. Then they are ready to add to a bowl to coat.
Use a nice large bowl so you can mix all the ingredients together so each piece is coated well. OH and another thing, do not forget to spray non stick spray into your air fryer basket!! This is a kinda’ sticky dish so it will help the outsides stay on AND help with the cleanup later too.
Of course all the ingredients are suggestions. If you cannot have honey then just leave that out. A Kosher, gluten free, Vegan alternative to that is agave. That isn’t as thick but does add some liquidy sweetness to dishes.
This is where a large air fryer comes in handy. You can make a larger batch all at once with space to spread them out as much as possible. If you have a handful that is left over just throw them in.
When you shake the basket halfway through they will move around, it’s fine. When making a large batch, just put in half and then the rest when those are done. Once round 1 is done pour them into a glass bowl. Cover that with a towel and sit them in your microwave closed (not on). Then pour the 2nd batch on the top and toss together before serving.
How to Cook Sweet Potato Cubes in Air Fryer
- Preheat your air fryer
- Rinse, dry well and cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. We do not peel sweet potatoes but you could. Make sure they are all the same size so they cook evenly.
- Put them on paper towels and remove all of the liquid on outsides
- Toss in a mixing bowl with olive oil so they are nicely coated. Then add brown sugar and toss them with cinnamon and drizzle with honey.
- Spray inside of air fryer basket with non stick spray and pour in in a single layer
- Air fry tossing halfway
If you don’t want to cut sweet potatoes you can just make air fryer sweet potatoes whole! Add butter, cinnamon and sugar inside and enjoy that way too.
Of course time will depend on thickness, you want them fork tender. If you wanted them a bit larger and real crispy I’d follow our air fryer sweet potato wedges instructions instead. Both are great choices.
Should you shake the basket?
Yes, for best results you should toss them after 10 or 15 minutes. Test with a fork, add another minute if necessary, remove and eat immediately when they are tender using a fork. You can drizzle on a bit more honey or marshmallows when served. You can make air fryer sweet potato chips too for your kiddos.
Frozen Sweet Potato Cubes in Air Fryer
If you bought a bag of these at the store I would decrease the timing by 5 minutes. Those are already cooked and you’re just thawing and heating instead of starting out raw. Shake every 5 minutes and keep an eye on them at the end as some are larger pieces than others and will take longer.
Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes Cubes
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 2-3 sweet potatoes, washed, dried and cubed
- 1/2 c brown sugar
- 1/4 c honey
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees for 5 minutes while you're preparing.
- Rinse, dry and cut into 3/4" cubes. Make sure they are all the same size so they cook evenly. Then put them on paper towels and gently roll them around to remove liquid on outsides of potatoes after cubed.
- In a bowl toss with olive oil so they are nicely coated. Then add brown sugar and toss with cinnamon and drizzle with honey so each piece is nicely coated.
- Spray inside of air fryer basket with non stick spray and pour them in so they're in a single layer and not overlapping.
- Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes total (time will depend on thickness, you want them fork tender). Toss at minute 10. Test with a fork, remove and eat immediately when they are tender using a fork.
- You can drizzle on a bit more honey when served.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I eat skin of sweet potato?
Yep! It is safe to eat both raw and cooked. It is grown in the ground though so make sure you wash the outsides well to remove debris before consuming either way. They are full of antioxidants so don’t remove it!
What to make with leftovers
If you’re in love with these you should give our Instant Pot sweet potato casserole a whirl too. With similar ingredients it is an easy side but takes a bit more prep afterward. With any of the leftovers just mash them and add to these roasted sweet potato muffins. Jump to recipe below and let us know what you think friends!!
