These Sweet Potato Fries with Walnuts, Brown Sugar, & Sweet Chili Sauce will have your taste buds going crazy for more. Just trust me on this one!
Okay, so before we go any further. Let me explain… This combo sounds a little strange, but just trust me on this one. And it is not my own crazy creation, but a take on a dish from one of my favorite restaurants: The Hershey Pantry. If you ever venture out to what is the chocolate capital of the world in PA, I cannot recommend this place enough. It may look like some tiny little diner on the outside (seriously, it’s tiny), but the food is BANGIN’. I remember when my husband and I saw this on their menu, we were certainly intrigued. I mean sweet potatoes with brown sugar and walnuts is one thing, but adding a sweet chili dipping sauce is a whole new ball game. Kind of like dipping your Wendy’s fries in your frosty… (Anyone else? Anyone??)
At The Hershey Pantry they used waffle fries and loaded up the brown sugar, walnuts, MAPLE SYRUP (?!), then served them a side of sweet chili sauce. For the sake of naming this recipe for the blog, and wanting to keep the title SEMI short, I went with Sweet Potato Fries with Brown Sugar, Walnuts, and Sweet Chili sauce… Okay so I got rid of a few words, but I couldn’t really leave too much out! Also, I actually didn’t include the maple syrup in this dish, but if that is something you can get on board with, I definitely suggest giving it a try. It was seriously amazing.
You’ll want to try and get roughly the same size sweet potatoes if you can, that way your fries can be relatively the same size and bake evenly. To make fries out of the sweet potato, I cut lengthwise first. Then I made about 1/4″ slices into the potato with the cut/flat side down, then if the pieces were still wide enough, I cut them once more.
Next you’ll want to coat your fries in oil (I used pure olive) and toss with seasonings. I used salt, and just a couple dashes of garlic and paprika, then placed the fries in a plastic bag and shook a few times. Of course you can also toss them in a bowl as well, but I thought it’d be easier to evenly coat by shaking the fries in a bag. Plus, less clean up. (AH the green person in me is saying “that’s wasteful!” So in case you’re shouting the same thing, I’m well aware. I actually often wash them and reuse for freezing fruit if that makes you feel any better?)
Next you layer the fries evenly on a lined baking sheet (make sure if you’re using parchment paper it is oven safe up to 450F) and bake for a total of 25 minutes, flipping once halfway. Once the fries are cooled you toss with THE GOODS:walnuts, brown sugar and sweet chili sauce.
Fun fact: the first time I had sweet chili sauce was when I was studying abroad in Australia. I feel like they had sweet chili flavored EVERYTHING there. More specifically, I remember the canned tuna… is that a thing here in the states? Canned sweet chili sauce tuna? Or did I just live under a rock? AKA being a picky eater… My how things have changed ?
Sweet Potato Fries with Walnuts, Brown Sugar, & Sweet Chili Sauce
These Sweet Potato Fries with Walnuts, Brown Sugar, & Sweet Chili Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: appetizer
Ingredients
- For the fries:
- 4–6 medium, uniform sweet potatoes
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- 1/8 tsp paprika (optional)
- For the topping:
- chopped walnuts, about 1/4 cup
- brown sugar, about 3-4 TBS
- sweet chili sauce, about 2 TBS
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F and line a large baking sheet with (high oven temp safe) parchment paper, or a silicone mat.
- Peel potatoes. Using a large sharp knife, first cut potatoes lengthwise. Then with the flat side of the potato down, cut into strips, about 1/4 wide. Then cut those pieces once more if size allows. The more uniform your fries are, the more even they will bake.
- Place fries in a large bowl or plastic storage bag, coat with olive oil and spices, and mix well. (I used a plastic bag and shook fries to get them evenly coated.)
- Spread the fries on prepared baking sheet, in one single even layer.
- Bake fries on one side for 12-15 minutes, then flip the fries and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until fries are lightly golden.
- Once fries have cooled, about 5 minutes, layer on walnuts, brown sugar, and drizzle with sweet chili sauce. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Fries best eaten fresh
-If serving a large crowd, I’d suggest doubling up on the potatoes and toppings to your liking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6th
- Calories: 225
- Sugar: 23
- Sodium: 305
- Fat: 8
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 7
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 38
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 0
I hope you guys love these sweet potato fries! They’re great for parties, family gatherings, game day ? …ya know ?
SO answer me this:
- Have you ever been to Hershey, PA?
- Do you dip your Wendy’s fries in your frosty?
Happy Hump Day party people! ? Hope everyone is having an awesome week and their back pain is subsiding from all of the snow shoveling ⛄
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jill conyers says
Sweet potato fries are one of the best foods ever!
Ashley says
I AGREE Jill! I love love love them.
Jess @hellotofit says
HOLAY MOLAY!!! I LOVE salty sweet sweet potato dishes!! And I can imagine making these for our Superbowl potluck next weekend 😉
Ashley says
Oh I hope you do! I’m not sure we’re doing anything… but I’m sure I’ll be making them again regardless 😉
Leah @ Grain Changer says
HOLY MOLEY these look INSANE. I can’t stop with the sweet potatoes right now (seriously: at least 2 meals a day) and these are certainly going to work their way into the rotation. That restaurant sounds delightful! I may have to convince my husband to make a pit stop there on one of our trips to Pittsburgh 🙂
Ashley says
I feel ya! If I have them in the morning with my eggs, I have NO problems having them again at dinner time. But yes, you MUST stop on your way it is so worth it. They’re desserts alone are worth the stop! 😉
Chrissa - Physical Kitchness says
Reading your take on The Hershey Pantry makes me think of Diners Drive Ins and Dives (my hubs and I LOVE that show). Sometimes the best restaurants are the ones you’d never think on the outside. I LOVE what you’ve done – anything making sweet potatoes a little sweeter is dear to my heart!!
Ashley says
My dad LOVES Diners Drive Ins and Dives too! Pretty sure I end up watching it every time I’m home (I don’t have cable 😉 ) I love finding those types of places though. Yelp and I are BFs 😉 Thanks Chrissa!
Annmarie says
The look Ah-MAZING! Need to make!!!
Sarah says
YES! You know I’m sweet for sweet potatoes! Can’t wait to try these, they look like the perfect balance of sweet and spicy!
Ashley says
Thank you Sarah! It’s a ridiculously good combo 🙂
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday says
YES to fries in my Frosty! Sweet and salty amazingness 🙂 Love this combo, too. Sweet and salty and spicy – you’re so creative!
Ashley says
Thank you Ellen!
Emilie @ Emilie Eats says
Holy ish. I want to shove this whole plate into my face.
Ashley says
Haha, I pretty much did right after shooting 😉
Doreen says
Yes I have been to this restaurant and it was fantastic, and I enjoyed the company of the person I was with.
★★★★