Roasted sweet potatoes are an incredibly versatile side dish for whatever you’re serving, but they’re also a great add-on for salads and grain bowls. If you’re into meal prep, you could even make a big batch of this streamlined recipe for sweet potatoes at the beginning of the week to dole out in as many ways as you can think of in the days ahead.
Cut the sweet potatoes into large pieces so they develop deeply caramelized edges but stay creamy on the inside. You can peel the potato skins first if you like—we prefer to leave them on as they get crispy in the oven. This recipe lists just salt and pepper for seasoning, but the method is a blank slate for adding other flavors. Try tossing 2 tsp. ground spices such as cumin, paprika, or coriander, or a blend such as za’atar, berbere, or chili powder with the potatoes (along with salt and pepper) before sliding them into the oven. Or drizzle them with maple syrup or honey and hot sauce after they come out.
For the best sweet potatoes, make sure to roast them in a single layer with some space around each sweet potato cube so that they get hit with heat from every angle. Don’t use parchment paper, which can mitigate browning, but do make sure to toss the potatoes occasionally so the sides against the sheet pan don’t burn.
Need more serving ideas? Tuck roasted sweet potatoes into tacos with refried black beans, drench them in lime juice and honey butter, or just eat them like sweet potato fries, dipped in spicy mayo.
Recipe information
Total Time
50 minutes
Yield
4 to 6 Servings
Ingredients
3
¼
2
½
Preparation
Preheat oven to 450°. Toss potatoes, oil, salt, and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast, tossing occasionally, until tender and browned, 35–45 minutes.
Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published as part of our ultimate guide to roasting veggies in November 2015. For more, check out our perfect roasted brussels sprouts, crisp-tender roasted broccoli, or head over to this collection of our best roasted vegetable recipes.
Leave a Review
Reviews (58)
Back to TopGood and creamy insides with a slightly leathery and slightly crispy outside. Followed some of the suggestions here when I've made this and added 1/2 teaspoon each of ground cumin, paprika, ground coriander, and chili powder. A long she of garlic powder completes a more interesting non-overwhelming flavor profile and seems to give a nicer texture to the outsides, without overpowering the sweet potato flavor. I have also improved the texture panorama by going for 3/4" chunks, instead of the 1-1/2" ones suggested here. I find either size takes about 50 minutes, as another has noted here
A cook from Buffalo
Buffalo, NY
5/15/2023
Worked great. Definitely keep them full thickness! 35 min did it. I also left the skins on and stood them up sideways. Maybe that helped. The inside was sweet and yummy as advertised. Good quick recipe. If you want less crispy, you need more time to bake or steam them longer at lower temps.
Kevin Kohrt
Minneapolis, MN
1/5/2022
This recipe is a winner! We've made this 3 times and is gonna be a staple in our house. The creamy texture inside with the browned outside is awesome! We added zaatar salt to it and was fantastic!
Anonymous
8/10/2021
Is this recipe a joke. who does not know this.
fr?
Santa Fe, NM
5/8/2021
I enjoyed this recipe. I just used one sweet potato and reduced the measurements accordingly. I also put a dash of garlic powder and curry powder for some extra flavour. Yum!
Miri
Halifax, NS
1/14/2021
Loved this. I doubted the high oven temperature at first, but the potatoes came out perfectly. This will become a standard in our house.
Kitty
Austin, TX
1/1/2021
I guess I didn't properly adjust the cooking time for the amount of sweet potatoes I had. I only had one potato--so I guess if I estimate that would be about 1 lb...? Vs. 3 lbs. And I must have also cut them into pieces smaller than 1.5 inches. I set the timer for 35 minutes. Totally burned. Would be so much more helpful if recipes frequently included a way to titrate down the portions and thus cooking times. All I know is I've roasted sweet potatoes before and I haven't burned them like this.
sortofokaycooker
Los Angeles
5/24/2020