How To Get Crunchy Sweet Potato Chips In The Air Fryer

The air fryer can be a useful tool to make some crispy, crunchy chips. The kitchen appliance doesn't need any added oil to give foods a fried texture. Eliminating oil could remove some moisture from the mix, allowing your foods to come out extra crunchy. But if you're making sweet potato chips and you want to ensure you get the best texture, there are a few different things you'll want to pay attention to.

Before your sweet potato slices even hit the air fryer basket, you'll want to give them a good soak in ice water. This can help prevent the slices from sticking to each other. After they've been dried off, they can be air fried. If the timer goes off and the chips are still a little soggy, don't be afraid to add them back in for some extra time. Every air fryer is different, and some may take a little longer to cook up the crispiest slices of sweet potato.

Soaking the sweet potato chips in ice water is an essential part of preventing the snacks from coming out soggy. Sweet potatoes contain starch, which could cause the slices to stick together. After the sweet potatoes have been cleaned and cut, allow the slices to chill in ice water — it may draw some of that starch out.

Once the slices have soaked in ice water for around 15 minutes, that water should be changed out so the starch isn't reabsorbed. Then, when the chips are added into the air fryer basket, the lesser amounts of starch will help keep the chips from sticking together.

Additionally, you don't necessarily need to adhere to a strict time limit when air frying the sweet potato chips. Most recipes will have a range of recommended times. You can start at the lower end and check the crispiness of the chips as they cook. But once that timer goes off, don't be afraid to add a little extra time on to crisp them up even more.

The size of your chips may also be contributing to the difficulty in crisping them up. When you're slicing up your sweet potatoes, you'll want to make sure your slivers are nice and thin. While this can be achieved with a kitchen knife, a mandolin slicer can make the process a little faster. Simply slide the sweet potato over the blade to get thin, even slices. Just make sure not to add too many chips at once and overcrowd the air fryer, you want the air to circulate around each one.

Additionally, coating the chips in cornstarch could help to make them crisp up a little more. For every pound of sweet potato chips you plan to fry up, try tossing them in a tablespoon of cornstarch. The coating helps to absorb moisture, which could help prevent the sweet potato chips from getting soggy.

The next time you want to air fry up some ultra-crispy sweet potato chips, take the time to add in an ice water soak, and don't be afraid to fry the chips for a few extra minutes.