I saw a picture of bacon-wrapped fries a few weeks back while browsing instagram, and I practically drooled all over my phone. I have been planning on making them ever since, and I finally had a weekend to myself with lots of time to cook! I made 2 variations – a sweeter fry and a spicy appetizer version. Recipes are below – try both and let me know what your favorite is!

Bacon-Wrapped Sweet Potato Fries

• 1 medium-large sweet potato (can be a white flesh sweet potato if you don’t want such a sweet fry)
• 1/2 package of bacon (thinner cut)
• bacon fat/olive oil/coconut oil
• cinnamon
• salt
• pepper
• vanilla extract (about 1-2 tsp)

Pre-heat oven to 425 F. Wash your sweet potato and cut the ends off. Cut potato in half, then cut into long, skinny pieces (almost like shoe-string fries). Place fries in a bowl and toss with bacon fat or oil of choice until all fries are coated. Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon, salt, and pepper and mix until all fries are covered. Set aside. Take 1 piece of bacon and cut in half. Take the half pieces and slice long-ways into thirds. Repeat for the rest of the bacon, or slice as many pieces as you have fries (I ended up having around 30-40 fries). Take a fry and wrap a piece of bacon around it, placing it on a foil-wrapped pan. Repeat until all fries are wrapped. Place fries in oven for 20-25 minutes – for the last few minutes, put the oven on broil to crisp the bacon up a bit. Serve immediately with a side of ketchup!

Spicy Bacon-Wrapped Sweet Potato Appetizers with South African Smoke Seasoning

• 1 medium-large sweet potato (can be a white flesh sweet potato if you don’t want such a sweet fry)
• 1/2 package of bacon (thinner cut)
• bacon fat/olive oil/coconut oil
• salt
• pepper
• hot sauce (I used franks red hot)
• Trader Joes South African Smoke Seasoning
• optional: paprika or cayenne pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425 F. Wash your sweet potato and cut the ends off. Cut potato in half, then cut each half into another half. Cut pieces into square or rectangles, making sure all are the same size and thickness. Place potatoes in a bowl and toss with bacon fat or oil of choice until all pieces are coated. Add the hot sauce, south african smoke seasoning, salt, and pepper (I just eyeballed the amount) and mix until all fries are covered. Set aside. Take 1 piece of bacon and cut in half. Take the half pieces and slice long-ways into thirds. Repeat for the rest of the bacon, or slice as many pieces as you have potatoes (I ended up having around 40+ pieces). Take a potato and wrap a piece of bacon around it, placing it on a foil-wrapped pan. Repeat until all fries are wrapped. Place potatoes in oven for 20-25 minutes – for the last few minutes, put the oven on broil to crisp the bacon up a bit. Remove from oven and let cool. If serving at a party, place toothpicks in each piece before plating.