How long to cook sweet potato in the air fryer recipe is here! Whole and cubed sweet potatoes are the best healthy side dish for the holidays or year round. Crispy skin on the outside but tender and fluffy on the inside.
Last night we made a sweet potato in air fryer and it was a great side dish! One of the best potatoes recipe ideas out there. Are you obsessed with easy air fryer recipes too? I am! (affiliate links present)
Ninja Foodi Sweet Potatoes
These are a must for any holiday if you ask me. We love them so much though that they’re cooked year round. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar with some melted butter and OH MY they’re heavenly.
You can make them in a Cosori, Instant Pot air fryer, or Ninja Foodi. Any machine that has the air crisp function will work for these. The larger the basket the more you can make at once as you don’t want them to overlap at all.
Table of contents
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.
Sweet Potato in Ninja Foodi Air Fryer
I think this vegetable is totally overlooked. Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet, a yummy side dish, and healthy too! It’s one of our favorite Ninja Foodi air fryer recipes you’ve gotta’ try that takes 30-40 minutes with the lid that is attached. Air frying these babies create a crispy skin on the outside but tender and fluffy on the inside.
You just can’t get them like this when you’re baking sweet potatoes in the oven. Get ready to air fry everything this year y’all! Our easy air fryer recipes Facebook page (link above) will help get you going with new ideas for meals and snack ideas daily!
This is what ours looked like. Honestly we hadn’t really made sweet potatoes in a long time, and never in the air fryer. Before, the best way to make baked potatoes was in the oven. Not. Anymore!
How Long to Air Fry Sweet Potato Whole
It really is no different than if you want to make air fryer baked potatoes, depending on the size. Both have the same type of skin, this is a bit thicker but doesn’t make a huge difference in cook time. Typically you aren’t going to want to eat the outsides of these, that is the main difference. Set aside 35 minutes in general to get it done.
With that said I wouldn’t bother salting the skins like I do with russets to give it flavor. The inside is where it’s at with these, fluffy and tender ready for some butter, cinnamon and sugar.
- The outside of the potatoes are nice and crispy.
- They’re a healthy air fryer side dish that just needs some olive oil or cooking spray.
- If you add salt, the potato skins become amazingly flavorful. Almost better than the inside!
- The inside of your potatoes come out super tender and fluffy. You can serve them as is or add into our sweet potato muffin recipe.
Smoked baked potatoes are similar but making them in your Ninja Foodi means a quick cook time.
Here is a quick step by step but there is also a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for you.
How to Cook Sweet Potatoes in Air Fryer
- Rinse your potatoes in a large bowl with water getting debris off. Dry with paper towels. Poke the outside with a fork – maybe 6 times on the top & then on the bottom. Preheat air fryer to 390 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Rub the skins with olive oil – generously. If you want to add salt or garlic powder then rub on the skins now (we didn’t). Put into your air fryer basket – or rack in this case. Set to 390 degrees for 30 minutes (Timing will depend on the size of your sweet potatoes).
- When cooking multiple potatoes put similar sizes in at a time
- If making a lot you will need to cook in batches because they shouldn’t overlap while cooking.
They are super fluffy when they’re done as you can see here. We also love roasted potatoes quartered or potato cubes when we want a different side dish. All are great with just about any protein.
Air fryer Sweet Potatoes
Serve these as a sweet side dish alongside a steak, with chicken or any protein for dinner, you’ll love them in either case. You will need;
- Sweet potatoes
- Olive oil
- Coarse sea salt – if you want to add some to the skins to make them salty/sweet
We will be making sweet potato fries soon and will add instructions soon. We have regular air fryer french fries here and same timing should work. It’s one of our favorite potato recipes for sure.
They are good with just about anything I tell you. You can serve them with a juicy steak, shrimp, with a salad, or by itself with cinnamon and sugar inside.
Sweet potatoes are great with any kind of pork. A meal of pork chops and applesauce is great with a side of baked sweet potatoes. A bit like baked potatoes but with a hint of sweetness the kids will especially appreciate.
Of course if it is around the holidays you can use this as a starter to a batch of sweet potato casserole too. Load it up with butter, candied pecans and mini marshmallows melted on top for a tasty side dish.
What goes good with sweet potatoes?
- Butter
- Cinnamon and sugar mixture
- Maple syrup – real / pure is always better
- A bit of salt is good – I prefer it on the skin while being cooked personally, love salty sweet foods
We have a lot of easy potato recipe ideas on our site because it is a cheap way to add to any meal.
What is the Best Way to Cook Whole Sweet Potatoes Crispy?
This is it my friends!! You have got to air fry them to get the best results. The texture is like no other, very similar to what you would get at a restaurant. The only closest comparison is on the smoker which takes 5x as long. Just wash, dry, poke and throw those babies in!
You could try a batch of homemade air fryer sweet potato chips too! Here are a few questions you might have before you get started.
Now you could make these into air fryer breakfast potatoes instead if you wanted it to be bite sized with seasonings all around. Remove the skins first before dicing in this case. We have a lot of air fryer dinner recipes to try are below too below so give a few more a whirl this week and let us know what you think like;
- Air fryer vegetables are great
- Try our tasty air fryer fried shrimp
- You can make sweet potato mash too using this air fryer mashed potato recipe. We show you these above.
The skin of a yam looks kind of like tree bark, while a sweet potato is more of a red brown color. Real yams are entirely different root vegetables that are more like yucca.
They have a bumpy, tough, brown skin. They’re more starchy without a sweet flesh. Honestly, look at the labels in your produce department or you’ll just be confused!
They are quite nutritious, promoting gut health, high in fiber and may help healthy vision too.
Sweet Potato in the Air Fryer
Equipment
- 1 air fryer or ninja foodi with the lid attached
Ingredients
- 4 sweet potatoes
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt, if you want salt on the outside for a salty/sweet flavor
Instructions
- Wash your sweet potatoes. Use a fork to poke all around each one, top and bottom.
- Rub olive oil on the outside of each sweet potato. Using your hands works best.
- If you want to add salt to the outside to create a salty/sweet taste then sprinkle salt on the outside of each one at this time.
- Put on the air fryer rack inside your air fryer. If you have the Ninja Foodi turn the metal rack upside down and set your potatoes on top.
- Set temp to 390 degrees for 35 minutes. (timing will vary slightly depending on how big your potatoes are, it is suggested to put 4 of the same size in at a time)
- Remove immediately, slice, fluff the middle and add toppings such as butter and/or mixture of cinnamon and sugar.Can also use this recipe to make homemade sweet potato casserole. Scoop out middle if doing that.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use the air fryer plate or do I have to use the rack? I have both just curious
I havent seen a plate but would want it to sit on something that has holes on bottom so hot air can get skin all the way around crispy