Savory Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Savory roasted sweet potatoes are totally comforting and satisfy your savory cravings when weather turns cold. Easy and healthy side dish that you can make and pair with any meal.

You Need To Try Roasted Sweet Potato Recipe –

• Natural sweetness of sweet potatoes is balanced beautifully by the savory spices added to it making it the BEST SAVORY sweet potatoes you’ll ever make. Your taste buds will explode with natural sweet and savory flavor contrasts.

• By far one of the easiest and fastest side dish you’ll ever make. The hardest work and the only hands on work that you need to do is peel and dice potatoes.  Bear in mind peeling the skin off is completely optional. And skin does have so much nutrients, it’s totally convincing to leave those skin on. Skin on sweet potatoes turn very slightly crispy and has this beautiful texture when roasted in oven.

• Feel free to choose your favorite cut. Chop into big chunks like I have or dice them into smaller cubes. You can even choose to slice them up into round slices or cut it wedges. It’s completely upto you.

• Boiled potatoes are great. But let me tell you something truly magical happens to vegetables when you roast them. YOU NEED TO ROAST SWEET POTATOES TO SEE THE MAGIC THAT HAPPENS!

• Roasting caramelizes the vegetables making the outer slightly crisps and the inside is so creamy. Those caramelized edges crackle in your mouth when you bite into the crisp outer surface.  

• A simple blend of olive oil salt and pepper will do the magic. But we I prefer it on the savory side, with a good kick to it to balance the natural sweetness. A mix of garlic powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt and pepper with olive oil is what you will use in this recipe.

• Like I always say, feel free to adjust the seasoning as per taste preference. You can add in any other spices of your choice or skip the spice that does not suit your palate.

• It’s easy to enhance the sweetness of sweet potatoes with extra added brown sugar. You can add in 1 ½ teaspoon brown sugar to this recipe is you want to.

• Stores great. Any leftovers stays good for 4 days refrigerated in air tight container.

• These are great for make ahead.

Ingredients Needed

Below photo shows ingredients needed to make oven roasted sweet potatoes-

Sweet Potatoes – it’s optional to peel the skin off potatoes. Potato skin has lot of nutrients.

Spices – I love my spice mix to have amazing savory flavors. Ground cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder (or substitute it with cayenne pepper) salt and pepper together makes the best savory sweet potatoes.

How To Roast Sweet Potatoes?

Scrub potatoes and rinse it well under tap water. It’s completely up to you to decide if you want to peel the skin off or keep it. Potato skin has lot of nutrients and it turns slightly crisp after roasting. It’s very delicious in case you are skeptical. Leave it on if you don’t mind.

If you have fussy kids like me, who refuse to eat the skin peel the skin off. Trim the edges.

Cut potatoes into half lengthwise.

Cut each half into 3 to 4 long wedges.

Note:  if you plan to make roasted sweet potato wedges, you can cut into thin wedges length wise and then cut them in the middle so your wedges are finger length size.

Cut equal sized cubes. Make sure they are all even size for uniform cooking. Cut them as small as ½ inch cubes to as chunky as 2 inch cubes. You choose!

Transfer cut potatoes onto a baking sheet.

Drizzle generous amount of olive oil over the potatoes.

Add in all the spices along with salt and ground pepper.

Mix well to coat even.

Jo’s Tip: Use your finger to mix in the spices into the potatoes. It ensures each potato piece is evenly coated.

Arrange it in a single layer.

Roast in pre heated oven at 425 degree Fahrenheit for 45 – 55 minutes, tossing the sweet potatoes every 10 -15 minutes to prevent it from burning and to get even cook and caramelization on every piece.

Remove from oven. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Serve immediately with your favorite dish.

Do I Need To Peel Sweet Potatoes Before Roasting?

It’s personal choice to peel or not to peel. It’s completely up to you. Potato skin is edible and has lot of nutrients in it. Skin on the potatoes become crispy in the oven while roasting, it does taste good.

I recommend peeling skin for roasting as it ensures best texture and flavor.

I mostly prefer to leave skin on while making baked sweet potato fried or potato wedges.

Peel the skin while roasting it.

How To Cut Sweet Potato For Roasting?

There are many ways to cut sweet potatoes.

Slice PEELED or UNPEELED potatoes into half length-wise using sharp knife.

Pro-Tip: For crispy outer, do considered peeling potatoes. The texture is better.

Place the potato on the cut side so it’s sturdy and stable on cutting board. Hold it tight and cut again length-wise into 3 to 4 long wedges.

Holding all the wedges together, turn it around and cut horizontally into small cubes. Ensure all cubes are equal size for even cooking.

Jo’s Tip: your choice on the size of each cube. It can be ½ inch cubes, 1 inch, or 2 inch cubes. Make sure all of them are same size while you cut.

Repeat above steps for the other half too.

Alternately –

Peel potatoes if you choose to. Remove a thin strip length wise on potatoes to help it set in one place stable on cutting board.

Cut into ½ inch thick rounds.

Take each sweet potato round and cut into 2-3 lengthwise. Hold together, turn it over and cut into ½ or 1 inch cubes.

How Long To Roast Sweet Potatoes?

Depending on how big the potato cubes are, roasting time will vary. Keep an eye on them while roasting. Smaller sized potato cubes will need less time to roast.

• ½ inch cube sweet potatoes will need approximately 20 – 25 minutes to roast.
• 1 inch cube sweet potatoes requires approximately 32 – 35 minutes to roast
• 1 ½ inch cube sweet potatoes will take approximately 38 – 42 minutes to roast.
• 2 inch cube sweet potatoes will take approximately 45 – 55 minutes to roast.
• ½ inch thick round slices will need approximately 40 – 47 minutes. Note round slices do not get roasted as compared to the texture of smaller cubes. Round slices caramelize and turn super soft and tender.
• Sweet potato wedges needs to be roasted for 15 to 20 minutes or until just tender. Then flip them over and roast for 8 to 10 minutes more until tender-crisp.

Seasoned Roasted Sweet Potatoes Variations

When you roast sweet potatoes something truly magical happens to it. Roasting caramelizes the vegetables making the outer slightly crisps and the inside is so creamy. Those caramelized edges crackle in your mouth when you bite into the crisp outer surface.  

Choice is completely yours on how you want to roast sweet potatoes.

Plain Roasted Sweet Potatoes with little olive oil, salt and pepper. This highlights the natural sweet taste of the potatoes.

(OR) season it with spices to help balance the natural sweetness of the potatoes. It’s sweet with a good kick to it.

There are many variations to season sweet potatoes:

Savory variations –

• Olive oil + salt + ground pepper + garlic powder + onion powder + paprika
• Salt + ground pepper+ ground cumin + chili powder + olive oil
• Seasoned salt + old bay + cayenne pepper along with olive oil
• Olive oil + salt + garlic salt + ground pepper + fresh minced rosemary + fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Sweet variations-

• Olive oil + cinnamon powder + honey + pinch of salt
• Brown sugar + cinnamon powder + pinch of salt + pinch of ground pepper mixed in olive oil
• Olive oil + maple syrup + cinnamon powder

How To Store Roasted Sweet Potatoes?

Any leftovers can be stored in air tight container refrigerated for 4 to 5 days. Reheat stored potatoes in oven for few minutes before serving.

Tips For Best Savory Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• Pick good orange red skinned potatoes. Look for smooth skin on the sweet potatoes with no soft spots. Potatoes should be firm with no discoloration on the skin or any growth on it.
• To peel the skin off or not to peel is personal preference. Of course potato skin is edible and has lot of nutrients in it. But I recommend peeling skin for roasting as it ensures better texture and flavor.
• Make sure to cut potatoes into even size so it cooks and caramelizes evenly. The size you want to cut is personal choice. Cut smaller cubes of ½ inch or bigger chunks of 2 inch. Up to you.
• Use large baking tray to roast potatoes. Spread potatoes evenly and in single layer on baking sheet for even cooking. Don’t over crowd the baking sheet.

Note – if you overcrowd potatoes on baking sheet, potatoes will steam cook instead of roast. You won’t get caramelized crispy edges.

• Consider broil for 3 to 5 minutes for extra crispy golden brown potatoes. It’s optional step.
• Different potatoes cook at different time. Roasting time depends on the size of sweet potatoes. Smaller cubes will roast faster and bigger cubes will take longer. Keep constant check on sweet potatoes during roasting. Use mentioned time for general guidance.
• To have stronger flavor or to make sweet potatoes even spicier increase the amount of chili powder used by ¼ to ½ teaspoon more than the mentioned values.
• Don’t skip on smoked paprika for smoky flavor.

MORE SWEET POTATO RECIPES:

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Hash With Breakfast Sausages

Perfect Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes Cooked Whole

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

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