I love using potato chips in that explanation because they really are a perfect example. Normally, they’re absolutely considered off-limits on the paleo diet, for obvious reasons. But when you swap out the white potatoes for sweet potatoes and make your own potato chips from scratch? The resulting chips are so good, you really won’t be missing out.
If you love sweet potato chips, you’ll also love these Sweet Potato Wedges with Avocado Aioli and Sweet Potato Nuggets.
Today I’m going to be sharing a recipe that will teach you exactly how to make super easy homemade sweet potato chips. They couldn’t be easier to make as well, requiring only four simple ingredients and about 30 minutes of your time.
A Great Savory Paleo Snack Idea
You’re going to especially love this recipe if all of your favorite snacks that you enjoy munching on are savory and salty. A winning combination of dried rosemary and pure sea salt ensures that these sweet potato chips are packing a ton of flavor, making them a perfect choice to serve for all manner of occasions, from watching the game on a lazy Sunday afternoon to hosting a neighborhood cookout.
The key thing that makes this recipe paleo friendly is using sweet potatoes as your main ingredient as opposed to white potatoes. And take it from me (I’ve been hooked on mashed potatoes for as long as I can remember), sweet potatoes do indeed make a spectacular substitute.
Are Sweet Potatoes Paleo?
I highly recommend checking out our ‘Are Sweet Potatoes Paleo?’ article. It goes into a detailed explanation as to why sweet potatoes are considered acceptable to eat on the paleo diet while white potatoes are not.
Not only do the sweet potatoes allow you to enjoy snacking on potato chips without having to feel guilty about it, but they also provide you with quite a few solid health benefits as well.
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of several essential vitamins and minerals, and they’re also jam packed full of antioxidants that help to keep disease at bay. (1)
However, it’s important to note that they are indeed still a starchy carbohydrate source, so it’s important to be mindful of your daily macros, especially for those of you who are trying to keep their carb intake to a minimum.
With that being said though, the type of starch that sweet potatoes contain actually raises blood sugar levels quite slowly, especially when compared to other types of carbs like fruits. This makes sweet potatoes a particularly good carb option for individuals who suffer from type 2 diabetes. (2)
When making this recipe, you’re going to want to peel the sweet potatoes and then slice them into thin strips using either a mandolin or a sharp knife. Afterwards, add them into a large bowl along with two tablespoons of melted coconut oil.
Anyone who knows me knows that coconut oil is one of my ‘go to’ ingredients for just about everything. I use it in recipes, I use it to moisturize my hair, and I even use it as a sort of mouthwash with oil pulling. The amount of different applications that coconut oil has is truly astounding.
It’s a particularly good ingredient to use for paleo dieters because it’s a great source of quality saturated fats. No, you didn’t read that sentence wrong; there is indeed such a thing as good saturated fats!
The type of saturated fats found in coconuts are known as medium chain triglycerides (MCT) fatty acids. MCT fats are incredibly beneficial for anyone following any type of low carb diet plan because they can help to boost your ability to burn fat while providing your body and brain with a quick source of fuel. On top of that, there’s even evidence that coconut oil may help to improve levels of the ‘good’ kind of HDL cholesterol in your bloodstream. (3)
Along with adding a solid amount of MCT fats to the recipe, the coconut oil serves another important purpose by helping to combine the remaining ingredients. In the same bowl that you added the sweet potatoes and melted coconut oil, you’re also going to have to add two teaspoons of dried rosemary and a single teaspoon of pure sea salt.
Flavor with Dried Rosemary and Sea Salt
It would be one thing to just throw a few slices of sweet potatoes into the oven and bake them into a healthy snack, but the real secret of this recipe is a combination of dried rosemary and sea salt. It’s that pairing that ends up turning this into a recipe that makes one amazing healthy snack.
Not only does the rosemary add quite a lot of potent flavor to your chips, but it should come as no surprise that it also offers up quite a few great health benefits for this recipe as well. Rosemary is known to possess both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, and there’s even evidence that it may help to protect against the development of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s. (4)
Adding in the pure sea salt helps to offset some of the bitterness of the rosemary while also giving your chips that classic salty taste that everyone loves to snack on.
Tip for Crispy Sweet Potato Chips Every Time
Don’t layer your chips on top of each other on the baking sheet. The key to crispy chips every time is to only place a single layer per baking sheet. Also, keep a close eye on them after the 15 minute mark. Depending on the moisture content of your potatoes, your chips could be done a minute or two less than the prescribed cooking time.
Other Paleo Chips to Try (Sweet and Savory Combos!)
Finally, if you’re craving a way to snack on chips in a paleo friendly way but you aren’t quite sold on mixing sweet potato and rosemary, we also have a few other tasty (and oh so healthy) homemade chip recipes that are 100% paleo friendly as well. Have a peek at the following list to see if anything excites you:
- Crunchy Low Carb Paleo Zucchini Chips
- Carrot Chips with Honey ‘Yogurt’ Dip
- How to Make the Best Baked Beet Chips
- Homemade Paleo Tortilla Chips
- Homemade Baked Cinnamon Apple Chips
- How to Make Quick & Easy Kale Chips
Before we wrap things up with this recipe, I thought it might be a good idea to spend a bit of time going over some of the most common questions that we get in regards to making this sweet potato chips recipe. So without further ado…
Can I Use a Different Vegetable to Make This Recipe?
While I find that the combination of sweet potatoes, rosemary, and pure sea salt delivers fantastic results, I also definitely realize by now that not everyone likes the same things when it comes to making homemade paleo recipes.
Not to worry though. Just taking one quick peek at the list above of other chip recipes that we’ve featured on the site will show you that it’s completely possible to use a different vegetable option for your homemade chips if you’d like.
Instead of using sweet potatoes, you can definitely feel free to use one of the following options:
- Kale
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- Beets
- Plantains
- Parsnip
- Bananas
My Sweet Potato Chips Didn’t Turn Out Very Crispy?
There are a couple of reasons why your chips might not turn out very crispy when you’re following this recipe.
Probably the most common one is simply that you’ve sliced your sweet potato into slices that are too thick. Try slicing them just a bit thinner for the next time and that usually solves the problem.
I also find that sometimes it works better to just brush the sweet potato slices with coconut oil instead of tossing everything together in a bowl all at once. I’ve tried just brushing them a couple of times now and it always ends up with slightly crispier chips. It could be worth a shot if you’re dealing with this issue.
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp pure sea salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Peel sweet potatoes and slice thinly, using either a mandolin or sharp knife. In a large bowl, toss sweet potatoes with coconut oil, rosemary, and salt.
- Place sweet potato chips in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then flip the chips over and bake for another 10 minutes. For the last ten minutes, watch the chips closely and pull off any chips that start to brown, until all of the chips are cooked.
Hello, I am baffled 🙁 Tried this otherwise simple recipe and they didnt crisp up. They started to brown so I had to take them out. They are currently cooling and I’ll see if they crisp up as they cool. Otherwise, have you got any other idea as to why they wouldnt have crisped up??
too thick?
I have just made these with a golden kumara and a red kumara. The red kumara worked better and if you brush your sweet potato with coconut oil rather than tossing they crisp up better. I think more is more with the coconut oil in this case. I dont know what types of kumara (sweet potato) there is where you are but in NZ we have a few different varieties
Possibly could try boiling the sweet potato first (just like making crunchy roast potatoes) than slice, brush with oil and bake? Or slice than boil, brush with oil and bake but being careful not to break the slices when removing from the boil.
They don’t get crispy because the recipe omits to mention the use of parchment paper, which is shown in the photos…
I was looking for a quick sweet potatoe chip recipe and found this I followed except I did not use rosemary (I do not like it) and did not use parchment paper just cooked them on a cookie sheet. They turned out perfect
It does say to use parchment paper in the directions. 🙂
You probably cut them to thick.
I made these several times, each time putting less oil on chips, also using parchment paper but I could not get them to crisp up. I went and bought a mandolin to get a fine cut, but to no avail. I have abandoned the idea now
Soak the cut chips in water for two hours prior to baking, this takes out some of the starch. Then pat dry. Bake them on parchment paper. I have had them
Come out real crispy this way.
I also had trouble getting them to crisp up after the 20 minutes, so I turned the broiler on HI for about 3 minutes per side. Solved the problem!
Thanks for the suggestion, broiling the chips is a great idea to get them crispy.
So, I too thought I would try this very simple recipe tonight and met with one disappointment after the next.
I have a mandolin and went with the advice of thinner equals crispier (not paper thin). Tossed them in some coconut oil, placed them in one layer on the cookie sheet and popped them in for ten minutes. Flipped them after that was complete and noted a couple I would have to keep my eye on. Popped them back in the oven for another ten minutes. Checked them every so often and discovered to my dismay that in my desire to get them crispy I had let them get quite brown. Not burned mind you, just brown.
I wasn’t discouraged, it’s my first time making these and ovens vary. I repeated the process and met with disaster much sooner in that during the second ten minutes they blackened after the first 3 minutes. I thought my oven my be running hot so I moved the third try down to the lower rack. 5 minutes in to the fist ten minutes. I smell smoke. Opening the oven I see charred sweet potato, brown parchment paper and seconds later my smoke detector goes off.
Now, I’m not an inexperienced cook/baker, but this “simple” process is throwing me for a loop. Any suggestions?
You could perhaps shallow fry in a suitable oil, drain on kitchen towel then season…can’t wait to try
Obviously, this recipe doesn’t work. Try slow cooking them for much longer in a 250 degree oven.
Do you think using a food dehydrator would work? Obviously it would take much longer, but you wouldn’t have to watch them as closely. I think you could also eliminate the oil. I’m just wondering if they would crisp up. My experience with fruit is that it stays fairly tacky, not sure about a sweet potato? Has anyone tried this?
Jamie,
I have used the dehydrator to make sweet potato snacks for my dogs and they didn’t get crispy .
Try tossing the chips in egg whites before seasoning, then bake. It should create a crispy coating.
Tried this today, had the same problem as everyone else, just will not crisp up. So I put them on a paper towel, to take some of the oil out. Got a new sheet of parchment paper put them back in the oven on broil as someone suggested. They did crisp on the edges but started turning brown. They are now crispy on the edges and a little soft in the middle, but edible. Next time I get a craving for sweet potato chips, I will just try frying them. Glad I decided to only use one sweet potato, to try this instead of two.
Thanks for the great recipes I have gotten on this site, this is the first one that has not worked out for me.
Did the food dryer work?
No, they are hard not crunchy. It took many hours also. I use plenty of oil and no parchment paper, they brown faster and get crisper. It usually takes about 40 minutes at 400 degrees in my oven. If you had a convection oven it would probably work great! Anyway, plenty of oil, 20 minutes on side one and then I flip and watch them like a hawk the last 20 minutes. I take them out as they cook and put them on paper towels. I’ve burned many batches so now I do nothing but watch the chips the last few minutes flipping and moving. The seldom make it to the table as everyone who comes around eats them as soon as they come out of the oven. IF you have leftovers–heat in the microwave.
I tried this today and my daughter and I loved them. I also used a mandolin to get them sliced thin. I noticed the thinner the better and I was very light with the oil. I also made kale chips just because. This was great…thanks!
Yeah, unfortunately, this didn’t work for me either. I used a mandolin. They curled up around the edges and some got crispy, but the majority were only crispy around the browned edges. I’ll try this again with hand-cut, thinker slices and go for a lower temp for a longer time.
One of my absolute favorites! Sweet potato chips never gets old.
Can you use a different type of oil in this recipe?
yes…and I wl try evoo and or peanut oil…lightly used..going to try today
Don’t use any oil, toss in salt and pepper AFTER cooking. Keep your oven HIGH, as 375 is far too low to crisp up. Try 425 and keep an eye on them.
This recipe was great! I too used a mandolin. sprayed cookie sheet with olive oil after 10 min removed and sea-salted .. wow thanks..
Yum! These were a huge hit with my family. The only problem was I didn’t make enough to feed our family of seven. I followed the recipe, except I used olive oil instead of coconut oil, and about half the quantity. After the second ten minutes were up, I broiled them for about three minutes to get that final crispness. Served them with homemade ranch dressing . . . looking forward to making them again tomorrow 🙂
Tried these tonight. They came out pretty good. I’m pretty sure unused too much coconut oil, but I mixed it with garlic, black pepper, sea salt and Rosemary. They tasted delisious. They did come out crispy enough again because unthinking used too much oil. The ones that were browned on the edges were the best ones. I will definitely try this again, but less oil.
I got them to work pretty well. First off I had a white sweet potatoe not sure if that had anything to do with it but the following did:
Make as thin as possible and as even thickness. Mine were thicker on one side so they were to get done without one side of the edges being browner. Also I had various thickness to try out with.
I used a convection oven that is the size of a toaster oven. Used the bottom rack. The thicker ones had to be at a much lower temp to dry the middle out. Time wise was about 10 on the first side then what ever on the second. It was trail and error till I got my heat and time down right. Temp fpr the convection oven was between 350 -325 F.
Can’t wait to try it with the red ones… Do not give up just keep trying different combinations of thickness, temp and time.
These were great. I only used 2t of oil with one large sweet potato and really tossed it. I cooked them on a stone for 15 minutes and then flipped. The first batch took around 8 minutes after the flip, and the second batch only five. I only had a few as my kiddos and hubby gobbled them up. Really yummy and they crisped up too!
We have been experimenting with these chips and have had mostly good results. Even the “mistakes” were ok. I have used a dehydrator on one batch which helped remove the moisture. The best were ones I sprayed lightly with olive oil and salted and baked at 375. Had to watch to prevent burning. We used an electric slicer to get a consistent thickness. They are tough to cut so I zapped them in the microwave a couple of minutes. For the ones that didn’t crisp up, I tried a few seconds in the microwave and that did a pretty good job. Can’t stop eating these. Haven’t tried the convection part of my oven. That will be next. We are out of chips.
If they are not browning, a tip is to make sure they are as dry as possible before baking. I also agree on the higher temperature. The amount of water in and on the sweet pototo slices is going to make a big difference in the final product. An old sweet potato (may be has been at the store for a while) may burn far before a more hydrated sweet potato.
These are delicious and at the same time, a bit of a challenge. Like the other reviewers, I also found that these little guys are resistant to crisping up. I used Jason’s idea (another commenter) of broiling them after baking according to directions. And it worked! But don’t even THINK about turning your back for a second.
I made these today amazing. I found the best way to make the crispy is to dehydrate them first. If you don’t have a dehydrator turn oven on 125 with the door open until only the center is moist. If you have a dehydrator then 140 for 20-30 minutes. The potatoes need to be super thin. Then crank the heat to 325-350 until the edges are brown then watch because they will brown up quickly.
I bought a chip maker and slicer that you use in the microwave to make the chips. It makes crispy chips and you don’t have to use oil. We use it to make sweet potato chips for our dog as well. We purchased it at Bath Bed and Beyond for under 20.00.
Served with a Mexican bean dip.. so much cheaper than buying them at the store.. I sliced then with a cheese slicer lengthwise
Thanks for the midnight snack.. delish
I found the perfect solution for making these SUPER crisp, just like a potato chip. (a very SMALL potato chip!) use a mandolin to slice uniformally at about 1/8 inch. Toss them with a tablespoon or so of your favorite oil (coconut, vegetable, peanut, butter). Make sure you massage the oil between all the slices with your fingers. It doesn’t take that much time if you do it quickly. Bake at 200 degrees in the oven for two hours. They shrink big-time, but they are so crunchy Without the risk of burning 🙂 best yet, you can just set it up, watch a movie and when 2 hours pass, you have yummy chips to eat!
I forgot to mention…..spread them out, single layer, on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. No need to flip each chip over. The low, long temp basically dries and toasts each slice at the same time 🙂
I made these today! OMG delicioussssssssssssss. But oh so dangerous…
because I think this might be a new addiction. I can eat this all day long, every day, so yummy and crisp.
I use food dryer it takes 24 hours to get them dry but they are crispy orange color and delicius and no oil
we season them with garlic pepper. Delicious!!
I like the garlic idea. I’ll have to try it. I was reading the comments while mine were in the oven and they ended up being in for about 12 or 13 mins. I turned them over and turned the oven down to 300, planning to leave them longer to crisp up. As they started to brown, I took them out and put them on a paper towel. They turned out nice and crispy. I think they have to stay in until they are brown in order to become crispy. I also wiped some of the excess oil off with paper towel after I turned them over. I just took some more out after being in the oven for 20 mins. or so and they are also crispy. The only problem with this recipe is that I’ll have to develop a taste for sweet potatoes since they’re not a favorite yet. I’m glad I found this recipe and will definitely make them again.
I have made these a couple of times using evoo, with no issues, they crisp up very nicely. I did soak them in water for a couple of hours the second time I made them and they crisped up even quicker. A family favourite!
a convection oven definitely helps to circulate the air around…
Yummy, crisped up well, I used thyme, grated the potato to get it thin, cooked in a large Pyrex no parchment. Delicious
Soooo good! I did add more rosemary than the recipe suggested but will for sure be making these again! Whole family loved them!