The best way to make pan fried sweet potatoes is to cut them into rounds or medallions and cook them in a skillet. Then you can season or flavor them however you like.
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To ensure you've got evenly cooked skillet sweet potatoes you should cut them into rounds and pan fry in just a little oil. A heavy skillet like a cast iron one works best for this method.
You can then decide whether to add any additional flavoring like the cinnamon sugar you see in the photo above. You can also go with a more savory flavor profile.
We highly recommend the Flavor Bible for choosing complementing ingredients for sweet potatoes, or any dish!
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Ingredient notes
This list is short and sweet!
- Fresh sweet potatoes - If you can find ones that are evenly round you'll have medallions that are closer to each other in size. It's not necessary, but they'll fit in the skillet more easily.
- Vegetable oil - you can use any type you like. Our typical go-to is canola.
- Salt - Coarse ground is best and you can use sea salt or kosher salt.
That's it, y'all! Beyond that you can add a brush of butter and some brown sugar, cinnamon sugar, a splash of bourbon, or whatever you like.
How to fry sweet potatoes
- If you have time soak your sweet potato rounds in salt water for 1-2 hours. More on this below.
- Heat vegetable oil in a heavy skillet. We find the sweet spot for temperature to be between medium low and medium.
- Pat the medallions dry with a paper towel and lay them in the hot frying pan in a single layer.
- Cook for about 6-8 minutes per side keeping a close eye so that they don't get too brown. Remove when they are fork tender and sprinkle with salt.
- If desired you can add additional toppings or seasoning in the last 2-3 minutes of cooking.
Expert tips
- Soaking the potato rounds in a solution of salt water (1 teaspoon per every cup of cold water) will make the sweet potatoes crispier and help the cut edge from becoming too brown before they're done.
- Cutting to a thickness of ¼ to ⅓ inch is perfect.
- Sweet potatoes are quite firm when raw and having a very sharp knife is essential.
Storing and reheating
These fried sweet potatoes will keep refrigerated and tightly covered for 5 days.
To reheat first allow them to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to one hour. Then heat in a single layer in a 350 degrees oven for 8-10 minutes.
We haven't not tested freezing.
Skillet Sweet Potatoes FAQ's
No. As long as they have been thoroughly cleaned it is perfectly fine to leave them unpeeled. In fact, the peel adds additional nutritional value.
The easiest method is to slice with a very sharp knife. To keep the slices even you can go all the way around the potato cutting in about ¼ inch, and then slice the rest of the way.
They are! A sweet potato is full of nutrients, fiber and offers numerous health benefits. Frying them by this method adds very little oil and does not affect any of the health advantages. You'll find a list of other sweet potato recipes below.
Love sweet potatoes? More recipes here:
- Smoked Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Sweet Potato Cornbread
- Gullah Style Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Butter
- Sweet Potato Muffins
For a fun and quick look at this recipe check out the Google Web Story.
📖 Recipe
Pan Fried Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes medium size
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1½ teaspoons coarse salt
Instructions
- Slice clean sweet potatoes into rounds ¼-⅓ inch thick.
- If time allows soak sweet potato rounds in salt water for 1-2 hours.
- Heat oil in a heavy skillet at medium.
- Pat sweet potato rounds dry with paper towels and lay in single layer in skillet, reducing heat to between medium low and medium.
- Cook approximately 7-8 minutes per side, monitoring for browness. Remove when sweet potatoes are fork tender.
- Can be drained on paper towels and sprinkled with salt.
Notes
- The salt water soak produces pan fried sweet potatoes that are crispier and with less excessive browning.
- Time to cook can vary with the thickness of the slices, and with cooking temperature, but when a fork pierces the slice without resistance they are done.
- In the last two minutes of cooking additional ingredients can be added for flavor such as cinnamon sugar, butter and brown sugar or other spices and seasonings.
Nutrition
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Sara Welch says
Enjoyed these with dinner last night and they were a savory success! Quick, easy and delicious; the best way to enjoy sweet potatoes, indeed!
Pam says
Thanks Sara!
Anjali says
Slicing the potatoes into rounds helped them cook up so easily and get nice and crispy on the outside too! They were a great side dish for our dinner last night!
Andrea says
My family are going to really enjoy these pan-fried sweet potatoes. They are easy to make and are a perfect side dish.
Irena says
Super easy, and great for a quick side dish. We had barbecued chicken for dinner and these potatoes paired beautifully. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, just the way I like them.
Pam says
Thanks for letting us know Irena.
justine says
Worked great to get them tender and sweet with a bit of crisp on the outside.