REVIEW: Burger King Sweet Potato Fries

NOTE: We also reviewed Burger King’s Seasoned Sweet Potato Curly Fries. Click here for our review.

I’m not a fan of Burger King’s French fries because of their unnatural starchy coating and weak potato flavor, so I had low expectations for their new Sweet Potato Fries.

These sweet potato fries are part of Burger King’s new limited time only summer BBQ menu, which includes Texas and Carolina BBQ Whoppers and chicken sandwiches, frozen lemonades, a Memphis BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich, and a bacon sundae.

As interesting as a bacon sundae sounds, which has already been done by other places, I really do think these sweet potato fries are the most compelling item on the new menu because with their release Burger King becomes the first of the major fast food burger chains to offer sweet potato fries.

These fries have a beautiful orange color, which make them look as if they enjoy spray-on tanning or eating lots of carrots. They’re not thick like Burger King’s regular fries, in fact they’re noticeably flatter. These sweet potato fries are also not as erect as regular potato Burger King fries, instead most of them are quite limp.

That limpness probably makes you wonder about crispiness. When I comes to French fries, I don’t like to put limp ones in my mouth. Crispiness is what I want to put into my mouth, and these sweet potato fries are somewhat crispy. Now when I say, “somewhat” I mean the tips are crispy, but the rest of the fry, not so much.

Also, these sweet potato fries don’t have a very long crispy life. If you’re dining in, you’ll experience their crispiness. However, if you’re ordering from the drive-thru and you’re not one of those people who eat fries along the way to your destination, by the time you do eat some, you will be disappointed by how soggy the fries got.

After my drive home from Burger King, which Google Maps says takes eight minutes, the fries I purchased ended up soggy. Fortunately, I did eat some crispy fries since I’m one of those people who eats fries while driving.

Even though they don’t have the crispiness staying power I would’ve liked, the Burger King Sweet Potato Fries are quite delectable. If you’ve had sweet potato fries before, you’ll know what these taste like. They have a wonderful sweet potato flavor that’s enhanced by the salt, although some fries were a bit too salty. When they’re fresh, they’re addictive. When they’ve been sitting in a car for eight minutes, they’re still good.

If you’re getting a combo meal, you can switch the regular fries with these sweet potato fries, but it will cost a little extra (I was told 30 cents). Also, while they were fine with ketchup, you really should ask for a container of BK’s Zesty sauce to dip your sweet potato fries into. You’ll thank me later.

Although they get limp quickly, I enjoyed BK’s new sweet potato fries significantly more than Burger King’s regular fries, and I hope they become a permanent addition to the menu.

(Nutrition Facts – Medium size – 390 calories, 190 calories from fat, 21 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 720 milligrams of sodium, 48 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.)

Item: Burger King Sweet Potato Fries
Price: $2.99
Size: Medium fries
Purchased at: Burger King
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Wonderful combination of sweet and salty. Much better than BK’s regular fries. Tips of the fries are crispy. Pretty orange color. Goes good with ketchup. Goes great with BK Zesty sauce.
Cons: They get soggy quickly. Flatter than BK’s regular fries. Available for a limited time. Getting oil on your steering wheel. Some fries were too salty. BK’s regular fries.