I find it difficult to easily slice sweet potatoes because of the arthritis in my hands. But I do miss my homemade sweet potato chips. I wondered … could my favorite new kitchen appliance, the Presto Professional Salad Shooter, slice sweet potatoes?
I tried it and, yes, the Professional Salad Shooter can slice sweet potatoes. I attached the Ripple Slice Cone and used the Food Guide to push the sweet potato through the Pro Salad Shooter Food Chamber. In less than 10 seconds I had a plateful of ripple–sliced raw chips ready to season and bake.
I used the Ripple Slice Cone, but you could use the Thick Slice Cone if you prefer your slices without ripples. Either way, you avoid wrangling a knife and a hard sweet potato with achy, painful hands.
View the Professional Salad Shooter on Amazon.
How to Make Perfect Sweet Potato Slices
The trick is to buy thinner sweet potatoes that will fit through the Professional Salad Shooter’s generously large Food Chamber. This way, you won’t have to slice the sweet potato at all.
The interior of the Professional Salad Shooter’s Food Chamber measures 2.25” at its widest and tapers to 1.75” at its narrowest. If your sweet potato is a bit too wide, just slice enough off one side so that it will fit through the Food Chamber. (Add any of these irregular slices to your baking pan, too. They can be your personal snack!)
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Slice Sweet Potatoes with the Professional Salad Shooter
Slicing with the Professional Salad Shooter
Put the sweet potato into the Food Chamber and aim the Chute where you want your slices to land. You could shoot the slices right onto your baking pan and save washing an extra dish. (I lined the pan with parchment paper for easy clean up.)
With one hand, press the Food Guide downward onto the sweet potato to push it through the Food Chamber into the sharp blade of the Cone. (Always use the Food Guide to push food through!) With your other hand, hold the handle to guide the sweet potato slices where you want them to land, and press the On button at the top of the handle with your thumb.
The process is quick. The slices begin to fly out of the Food Chute and within 10 seconds the sweet potato is sliced and ready for seasoning.
Simple Sweet Potato Slices
There are countless Sweet Potato Chip recipes on the Internet, but I just lightly sprayed these with avocado oil and sprinkled with salt. I baked mine on a preheated pan at 425° F for 10 minutes and flipped them before baking another 9-10 minutes.
Of course, oven temperatures can vary and the slices are thin, so keep a close watch over them and check them often. You may want to adjust the heat down to 400°F.
Tip for Peeling the Sweet Potatoes
Peeling fruits and vegetables can be a challenge for my arthritic hands. But if you are like me and like your sweet potatoes peeled, you might like to try a palm-held peeler.
The palm-held peelers slide over your finger(s) and fit into your palm so you don’t have to grasp or grip a knife handle. I started with a one-finger palm-held peeler, and recently discovered the two-finger ones. I like the added support and stability of the two-finger peelers.
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The CocoKool Palmheld Peeler is comfortable to use, especially if you are having issues with grasping and gripping. They make the difference between peeling or not peeling. And that’s huge when you want to maintain a working kitchen and continue cooking the foods you enjoy.
It might take a few tries to get comfortable with the palm-held peeler, but be patient. It’s worth the practice.
View the CocoKool Palmheld Peeler on Amazon
Easy way to slice sweet potatoes, and more
I’m looking forward to making Sweet Potato Casserole now, too. And I’ll try slicing other potatoes for some of my other favorite dishes like Scalloped Potatoes and Potatoes Au Gratin.
I can make my favorite recipes without painfully gripping a knife handle or cutting myself with a mandolin. All thanks to the Professional Salad Shooter and my new easy way to slice sweet potatoes.