Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: These roasted sweet potatoes are healthy, super easy, and so versatile.
How long it takes: 10 minutes to prep, 35 minutes in the oven
Equipment you’ll need: bowl, large sheet pan, spatula, oven
Servings: 6
At least Once A Week
I’ve been making these like a crazy lady — seriously, at least once a week. And not just in November, either. Sweet potatoes are an all-year thing around here. They go with everything, work for any meal, and somehow manage to taste amazing while still being good for you. Easy, healthy, and golden brown? That’s a side dish win.
- This is a simple, how-to recipe. There are just four basic ingredients: sweet potatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Add seasonings you like. I’ve included lots of ways you can add variation to the basic recipe. Each one is so delicious — you’ll want to try them all!
Ways to eat roasted sweet potatoes
Side Dish for Dinner
What goes with roasted sweet potatoes? They go great with pretty much any meat: BBQ salmon, air fryer chicken breasts, breaded pork chops, meatballs, you name it. Lately we’ve been loving this quick and easy pork tenderloin with apples and onions.
Burrito Bowl
I love, love, love them in a burrito bowl. They add a rich sweet contrast to the usual components — rice or cauliflower rice, shredded chicken, greens, tomatoes, guacamole and restaurant style salsa or pico de gallo.
Vegetarian Tacos
They’re so good combined with black beans or pinto beans to make a healthy vegetarian taco. You could easily substitute oven roasted sweet potatoes for the squash in these vegetarian tacos with delicata squash. If that sounds like something you’d like, don’t miss crispy sweet potato tacos.
Salads
If a salad is more your thing, try this kale sweet potato salad with quinoa and creamy chili lime dressing.
Breakfast
I also love them at breakfast. I’ll choose a savory breakfast over a sweet one 99% of the time, so these roasted sweet potatoes with a couple of fried eggs or scrambled eggs and fresh fruit is all I really need at breakfast. And coffee. Coffee goes without saying though, am I right? Add candied bacon and you’re guaranteed to have a winning day.
A Kitchen Essential
One of the most used pans in my kitchen is my sheet pan. I actually have a few and use them nearly every day. These are great ones!
Ingredient Notes
- Sweet Potatoes: Choose sweet potatoes that are smooth skinned and firm, with no cuts or bruises. You’ll need three large sweet potatoes, or a comparable amount. It’s up to you if you want to peel them or just scrub them.
- Olive Oil: Other oils can be substituted if you prefer. Grapeseed, avocado, or melted coconut oil are good choices. Vegetable or canola oil is fine, too.
- Seasoning: Use kosher salt and coarse ground pepper if you can. The larger pieces add nice little bursts of flavor to the roasted potatoes. The potatoes can be seasoned in a variety of ways. It’s fun to experiment with different seasonings!
- Optional Sweeteners: If you like, add a tablespoon of pure maple syrup or honey to the potatoes. They’ll deepen the caramelization and add a lot of flavor. This is totally optional though!
How To Make This Recipe
It’s pretty simple. Get your oven preheating (425°F). A nice hot oven is essential for crispy roasted sweet potatoes. When I want them extra brown, I turn on the convection setting of my oven.
Prep the pan. Get out a large rimmed sheet pan. My sheet pan is well-seasoned (it’s used so often!) so it doesn’t need to be greased or lined with parchment paper. If you like, give the pan a very light coat of cooking spray or oil. If you want a quick cleanup, line it with parchment paper instead. I find that the potatoes don’t get quite as crispy when I use parchment paper but sometimes it’s worth it not to have a pan to wash.
Prep the potatoes. Okay, enough about pans! Scrub the potatoes, dry them, and cut off any bad spots, if there are any. Peel them, or don’t, that part is up to you. Make sure you don’t skip drying the potatoes. Dry equals crisp!
Cube the potatoes into evenly sized pieces and put them into a large bowl.
Add oil and seasonings. Pour oil over them along with any seasonings you want to add. Give them a good stir, making sure all the potato chunks are covered in oil. (If I’m in a hurry, sometimes I do this step right on the sheet pan.)
Scrape the potatoes and oil onto the sheet pan. Use a rubber scraper so you get as much oil in the pan as possible. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer.
Roast the potatoes. Now your oven is going to do all the work. Simply roast the potatoes for twenty minutes and then take the pan out of the oven and flip the potatoes over with a spatula or tongs (you don’t have to be perfect about this, just give them a stir and try to get them flipped if possible). They should release pretty easily and have a golden brown exterior on the bottoms. If not, put them back into the oven for another five minutes or so.
Roast the sweet potatoes for another ten to fifteen minutes, or until they are fork tender. That’s it! They are ready to eat. Aren’t they beautiful?
PS: If you love these, try maple mustard roasted sweet potatoes and shallots.
Make It Your Own
- Hot and spicy: Add cayenne powder. A little goes a long way, so start with ¼ teaspoon and work your way up from there. Add a drizzle of hot honey for a sweet spicy finish.
- Smoky: Try adding a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Chipotle chili powder will give a smoky flavor, too.
- Southwest: If you plan to eat them on tacos or burritos, season them with my homemade taco seasoning (don’t use a store-bought package since it contains thickeners and preservatives).
- More seasoning ideas: Stir in my homemade all-purpose seasoning or add curry powder, cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice. Dried herbs are good, too. You can see that the possibilities are almost endless, from savory to sweet.
- Air fryer: Want to try making crispy sweet potatoes in your air fryer? Try air fryer sweet potato fries or air fryer sweet potato hash with candied bacon. So good!
- Instant Pot: Have you tried cooking whole sweet potatoes in your Instant Pot? They’re delicious! Try Instant Pot sweet potatoes.
- Casseroles: If you’re looking for a more typical sweet potato casserole, try my healthy sweet potato casserole. It’s gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free. I love vanilla bean mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar, butter, and vanilla bean paste.
Food prepping: These sweet potatoes are a food prepper’s dream. Make a big batch of them, maybe even a double batch, using 2 sheet pans. They can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Get a head start: Wash and dice the sweet potatoes up to 3 days in advance. Cover them completely with water to prevent discoloration. Make sure you drain and dry them thoroughly with paper towels or a lint-free cloth before roasting them.
Refrigerate/Freeze: Store roasted sweet potatoes in a covered bowl or resealable bag. They’ll keep in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for a month. They thaw very quickly.
Reheat: I like to reheat them in my toaster oven. It only takes about 5 minutes for them to get super crispy again; it’s like they’re fresh out of the oven. They can also be reheated in the microwave, oven, or with a brief stint in your air fryer.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3 large sweet potatoes (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt (more or less to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground pepper (more or less to taste)
- optional seasonings, if desired (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly spray or grease a rimmed sheet pan (about 18 x 13 inches), or line it with parchment paper for easy cleanup. (I prefer to grease the pan instead of using parchment paper because the potatoes brown and crisp up better.)
- Peel the sweet potatoes (see note 2) and rinse them. Cut the potatoes into ½ to ¾-inch cubes, as evenly as possible. If your sweet potatoes are still wet from washing them, pat the cubes dry with paper towels or lint-free cloth. Remember, dry equals crispy.3 large sweet potatoes
- Place the cubed potatoes in a large bowl; add olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and optional seasonings. Toss to coat using a spoon or rubber spatula until all potatoes are evenly coated with oil mixture.2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon coarse ground pepper
- Spread the seasoned potatoes on the sheet pan in a single layer.
- Bake for 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and stir/flip the potatoes. If potatoes don't release easily from the pan, put them back into the oven for five minutes or so. They should be browned and crisp on the bottom.
- Put the pan back into the oven and continue to bake the sweet potatoes for 10 to 15 minutes or until cubes are crisp on the outside and fork tender inside. If they aren't browning much, try baking longer or using the convection feature on your oven.
Notes
- Sweet potatoes: I usually buy 3 large sweet potatoes but if you only see small sweet potatoes, that’s fine, too. Simply buy the equivalent (i.e., 6 small potatoes, or 4 medium potatoes). The recipe isn’t fussy about the exact amount.
- Sweet potato prep: You can peel the potatoes or simply scrub them well and leave them unpeeled. The peels will get soft when the potatoes are roasted. If you want to prep the sweet potatoes ahead, completely submerge the cubed potatoes in a bowl of water, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Drain well and dry with paper towels or a clean dish towel before seasoning and roasting the potatoes.
- For extra caramelization: Add 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or honey to the oil mixture.
- Storage/make ahead: Store roasted sweet potatoes in a covered bowl or resealable bag. They’ll keep in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for a month. They thaw very quickly.
- Reheating: For best results, reheat roasted sweet potatoes in your toaster oven or air fryer. They’ll crisp up again and taste like they’re freshly made.
Variations (optional seasonings)
- Smoky: add 1 teaspoon smoked paprika or chipotle chili powder to oil mixture.
- Cinnamon: add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon cayenne (optional) to oil mixture.
- Southwestern: add 1 tablespoon chili powder and 1 teaspoon ground cumin to oil mixture. Another option is to add 1 tablespoon homemade taco seasoning (don’t use a store-bought package since it contains thickeners and preservatives).
- Curry: add 2 teaspoons curry powder (mild or hot) to oil mixture.
- Pumpkin Spice: add 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup to oil mixture.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Such a quick and delicious recipe! Will be adding this to our weeknight dinner side dish rotation
It’s such a great go-to base recipe! Glad you like it!