Japanese Yam Chips: Healthy Alternative to French Fries!

Recipe Classifications

Cuisine:

American

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Meal:

Lunch, Dinner

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Diet:

Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Mediterranean Diet, DASH, Kid-Friendly, Soy-Free

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Rainbow:

Orange / Yellow

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Freezes well:

Yes

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Prep Time  (total time):

Under 15 Minutes  (Under 1 Hour)

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Sometimes even the healthiest of eaters miss the things they used to eat before they cleaned up their diets. That’s true for us, anyway.

Both my husband and daughter react negatively to good old fashioned potatoes. You heard that right. No mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving; no French fries or potato chips.

So, we’ve cleaned up their diets and have committed to (usually) healthy alternatives. And I’m along for the ride, potato-wise.

For us, one part of healthy eating has been finding ways to replace what we used to enjoy.

Fortunately, not only are Japanese yams healthier than standard potatoes*, but they also taste better, in our opinion.

They’re white on the inside, and easy to mash and put on the table next to the turkey (or tofurkey). Next to regular potatoes, I’m not sure I’d be able to tell them apart by looks alone. Kind of like Gwenyth Paltrow and me. (Kidding. Sigh.)

As an added bonus, this healthy alternative to potatoes has just a single ingredient. If you’ve seen my homemade almond butter, you’ll know I like to use as few ingredients as possible.

They’re one of the easiest crowd pleasers I know how to make. Everyone who’s tried these at our house, loves them. And once again, I’m almost embarrassed to share the recipe because it’s so simple. Consider it a gift from me to you!

Japanese Yam Chips

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine Asian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 124kcal
Author Sarah Allen

Ingredients

  • 1 large Japanese Yam Depends on how much you want to make
  • 1/2 teaspoon unrefined salt adjust according to taste

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F
  • Wash a Japanese yam
  • Peel it if you want to, or keep the skin on for extra nutrition
  • Cut the potato into 1/8 – 1/4″ slices
  • Arrange the slices on a baking mat like this one (afflink) or on parchment paper
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until slightly browned (they’ll be more brown on the bottom, so check as often as you need to)
  • Immediately after taking yams out of the oven, toss in salt.

Notes

We also like using red garnet yams and prepare them the same way. Another delicious and healthy alternative!

Nutrition

Calories: 124kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 857mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

My husband and I like them baked like a regular baked potato, as well, but the little fiber strings they sometimes have deter our texture-sensitive daughter. She jumps for joy at the chips, though, so it’s a win for the whole family!

*Source: https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-benefits-eating-sweet-potatoes-yams-4562.html

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Sarah Allen

Sarah Allen

I’m Sarah, and I’m so glad you’re here! I’m an internationally published writer, positive parenting educator, and the founder of Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting. You can follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. I find my joy exploring the world with my family, reading stories with my daughter on my lap, and (as you might’ve guessed) writing. I’d love to hear where you find your joy--and what we can do to help you find more of it!