Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potato chunks seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika oven roasted at high temperature for about 30 minutes are one of the most flavorful roasted veggies ever.

While oven roasting at high temperature, the starch in the sweet potatoes turns into tasty sugar, part of the moisture evaporates, the fiber softens, and the spuds turn into tender, naturally sweet, flavor-packed orange pieces of happiness.

And all that while retaining their beneficial properties thanks to the high fiber content (which slows down sugar absorption) and plenty of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Because they are so easy and nutritious, roasted sweet potatoes are the perfect side dish for an everyday dinner. And since they are so tasty, they are also ideal for a special holiday dinner.

And that's not all. You can use them to make other dishes, from a creamy roasted sweet potato soup to wholesome sweet potato salad. Or add them to your favorite beans, grain, chickpea, or pasta salad to make a quick, tasty, and nutritious lunch.

Sweet potatoes

We use orange sweet potatoes with a brown, reddish peel. They are the most common ones you can find in most supermarkets.

Please note that in some stores in the US, sweet potatoes are incorrectly labeled Yams, although Yams are a different vegetable that is not even distantly related to sweet potatoes.

For this recipe, we prefer to cook our sweet potatoes without the peel, but if you prefer, you can leave the peel on and eat that too (we do that in our sweet potatoes wedges recipe). If you do so, scrub the spuds well under cold water before cooking them.

Orange sweet potatoes are tasty, healthy, and rich in antioxidants, vitamin A, C, fiber, and minerals.

To pick good sweet potatoes, ensure they have no bruises, don't have brown moldy spots, and are hard to the touch. They should not yield to pressure when you squeeze them in the palm of your hand.

Olive oil

Heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil adds a subtle fruity taste to the potatoes and helps cook them faster and more evenly.

If you don't have extra virgin, go for regular olive oil.

Garlic powder

Garlic powder adds a pleasant aroma to the roasted chunks of sweet potatoes, and we recommend it. You can substitute a couple of freshly crushed garlic cloves for the powder.

Paprika

Paprika adds a mild earthiness with a naturally sweet and peppery taste. It fits the garlic and the potatoes well.

Salt and pepper

We think sweet potatoes need salt and black pepper before cooking them. However, if you are on a low sodium diet, you can reduce the salt based on your needs.

We recommend using sea salt or kosher salt for best taste and freshly ground black pepper for best aroma.

Other ingredients

Other spices and herbs that go very well with roasted sweet potatoes are fresh or dry rosemary, sage, thyme, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, parsley, and cilantro.

They also go well with black beans, in any grain bowl, salads, and most nuts.

If you are looking for a dipping sauce to serve them or a dressing to drizzle on them, we can recommend our tahini sauce, chipotle sauce, vegan mayo, avocado spread, and marinara sauce.

Note: we don't think it is necessary to add any sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, sugar) to this recipe because the starch in the potatoes gets converted into sugar as the potatoes roast. And so, roasted sweet potatoes have a pleasant natural sweet taste.

Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C and line a baking sheet (or a sheet pan) with parchment paper.

Rinse and dry the sweet potatoes, then peel them with a vegetable peeler.

If you want to make them with the peel on, scrub them well with a brush, wash, and pat them dry.

With a sharp knife, chop the potatoes into bite-size 1-inch cubes (2.5 cm).

Transfer the sweet potato cubes onto the baking sheet and season with extra virgin olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.

Toss well with your hands to distribute the seasoning, then spread out the cubes on the tray on a single layer without overlapping.

Tip: You can add other spices and herbs, such as chopped rosemary and sage, at this stage.

Bake in the oven at 400°F or 200°C for 30 to 45 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender and slightly browned on the edges.

Tip: browning is essential to add flavor. Your potatoes might be tender after 25 minutes but not brown yet. If this is the case, I'd recommend baking them a little longer until slightly brown on the edges.

Transfer onto a serving platter and serve as is, with a side dip, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh parsley.

Note: Oven roasted sweet potatoes should be slightly browned outside and tender inside, naturally sweet, slightly charred on the edges, and have an intense earthy taste.

Tahini drizzled sweet potatoes

Our favorite way of serving roasted sweet potato cubes is with tahini sauce, fresh flat-leaf parsley, toasted shaved almonds, and a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.

Creamy and nutty tahini, fresh parsley, and toasted almonds are a perfect flavor combination with sweet potatoes; for us, there's no better way of eating them.

Also, the tahini adds healthy fats and minerals, which makes this sweet potato recipe even more nutritious and fulfilling.

Check out our recipe to make a quick and easy tahini sauce.

Sweet potato wedges

Roasted sweet potato wedges are another delicious way of serving sweet potatoes.

Process and cooking time is the same as for roasted sweet potato cubes, but in this recipe, we use fresh rosemary and crushed garlic as our main seasoning ingredients.

Rosemary and sweet potatoes together are incredible, and we hope you have a chance to try this yourself.

Check out our sweet potato wedges recipe.

Sweet potato fries

Sweet potato fries are tricky because everyone on the web calls their recipe "crispy sweet potato fries" when it's impossible to make crispy sweet potatoes in the oven.

That's because the starch that makes regular potatoes crispy turns into sugar in the sweet potatoes, so they won't crisp up.

Again, it is literally impossible to make crispy oven-baked sweet potato fries without going through a more complicated recipe where you need to boil the potatoes first, then coat them in a cornstarch slurry, bake them carefully in a scorching fan-assisted oven on a special rack, flipping them around, to get disappointingly crispy-ish fries.

In any case, if you want to give your sweet potatoes a different shape, you can cut them into fries. Just don't expect them to be crispy.

Roasted sweet potato and lentil salad

This Mediterranean-inspired lentil sweet potato salad with a delicious cumin dressing is divine! You can serve it as a main for a quick and healthy lunch or as a side dish for the holidays. Your guests will be enthused by the combination of flavors, textures, and aromas.

It's also very easy to make with canned lentils, a quick and easy cumin dressing, crumbled feta cheese (we used dairy-free feta), and some nuts (we used pistachio nuts).

Check out our roasted sweet potatoes and lentil salad recipe.

Air fryer sweet potatoes

Air fryer sweet potatoes are great because they are as delicious as oven-roasted sweet potatoes, but they are even easier to make.

We love air fryers because they warm up in seconds, cook the food faster, with little oil, and are easier to clean. And for this sweet potato recipe, the air fryer works perfectly, and in about 15 minutes, you'll have deliciously roasted sweet potato cubes.

Check out our air fryer sweet potatoes.

Side dish: serve this sweet potato recipe as a side dish for a memorable holiday dinner. We recommend pairing it with our green bean salad, Moroccan carrot salad, and roasted broccoli.

Grain bowl: roasted cubes of sweet potatoes are delicious in a grain bowl, such as our black bean quinoa and sweet potato salad or a tasty and chewy farro salad.

Filling: add a few cubes to fill your favorite tacos, wraps, and burritos.

Leafy salad: you can also make a nutritious salad with them, like our sweet potato salad with a creamy mustard dressing, arugula, cranberries, and mixed seeds.

Here are some of our favorite sweet potato recipes:

• Easiest and quickest microwave sweet potatoes with different toppings
• Deliciously creamy sweet potato salad with avocado
• Mediterranean-inspired lentil sweet potato salad with the best cumin dressing
• Easiest sweet potato and chickpea stew in the world in one pot and oven-baked

For other roasted vegetable recipes, check out our:

• Roasted bell peppers with Italian olive oil and basil marinade
• Mixed roasted vegetables in the oven
• Crispy oven-roasted potatoes with rosemary
• Roasted zucchini
• Oven roasted eggplants
• Delicious roasted cauliflower and broccoli
• Oven-roasted Brussels sprouts with maple syrup
• Easy tender-crisp baked asparagus