I ‘ve been making so many “one pot” or “skillet” meals lately that I’ve barely made any traditional side dishes. I get a lot of questions about side dishes, though, so I’ve decided to challenge myself to come up with some more vegetable based sides. These Smoky Roasted Sweet Potatoes are just one idea that I’ve had up my sleeve…
I love the mix of sweet, spicy, and smoky, so I took the spice rub that was used for the famed Glazed Pork Chops and applied it to sweet potatoes. I altered the ratio of the ingredients just a bit to account for the cooking method and the fact that the sweet potatoes provide a good amount of sweetness on their own. I sliced the sweet potatoes thinly for a more interesting texture, but you could certainly cube them if you didn’t feel like exercising your knife skills. ;) (Or you could use a mandolin.)
The cooking time for these Smoky Roasted Sweet Potatoes will vary slightly depending on the size and thickness of your sweet potatoes, so use my recommendations as a guide. You’ll want to test the sweet potatoes with a fork for doneness, just to be sure.
Smoky Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Servings 6Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, about 2 lbs. ($2.50)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.03)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, optional ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked pepper, 10-15 cranks of a pepper mill ($0.03)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes, then cut them into 1/8-inch thick slices.
- In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper.
- Place the sweet potato slices in a large bowl and drizzle the olive oil over top. Sprinkle the spice mix over the sweet potatoes, then toss until the potatoes are evenly coated in oil and spices.
- Arrange the seasoned sweet potato slices in a casserole dish, stacked in a row like a deck of cards. They don’t have to be perfect.
- Cover the dish with foil and roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and let cook for an additional 15 minutes. Test the sweet potatoes with a fork for doneness. If they’re still firm, allow them to roast for an additional 10-15 minutes. If they become too brown during that time, simply cover the dish with foil to prevent further browning.
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How to Make Smoky Roasted Sweet Potatoes – Step by Step Photos
Start with two average sized sweet potatoes, or about two pounds. Oh, and start preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
Wash, peel, and slice the sweet potatoes. Slice them fairly thin, about 1/8 inch, to help them cook a little faster.
Prepare the smoky spice mix by stirring together 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional), 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill).
Drizzle 2 Tbsp of olive oil over the sweet potatoes, then sprinkle on the smoky spice mix. Toss the ingredients until they’re evenly coated in oil and spices (this takes a little bit of mixing… use your hands).
Arrange the slices in a casserole dish, standing face to face. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I didn’t even turn the pieces all the same way, I just grabbed a stack and sat them in the dish until it was all filled up (squeezed a few down the center, too).
Cover the dish with foil and let it roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for an additional 15 minutes. Test the sweet potatoes with a fork to make sure they’re tender (pick a larger piece to pierce). If they’re still a bit solid, let them roast another 10-15 minutes. The total time needed will depend on how thick or thin your slices are and maybe even the size or shape of your dish.
Yummmmm. What I love about this blog (for years!) is not just the recipes themselves but them giving me ideas and inspirations for way to dress up food. I made this almost as is, but subbed cumin for the brown sugar and used it as a base for vegan burrito bowls…. SO good. I know that defeats the purpose of the smokey/sweet idea you had, but I seriously never would have thought of this on my own!
Great idea! I love it when people share their spin offs. :)
I made these the other night and they were amazing! Love, love, love! Thanks Beth, for another great recipe and a fantastic site!
We made these with your honey mustard pork chops recipe, and all I can say is OMG YUM!
You saved the day/night with this recipe, and now my boyfriend knows it by heart…score!
Made these last night, my husband and I loved them. Thanks for the great recipe, we will be making these often.
This is being added to our Passover table this year! Thanks!
I never met a sweet potato I didn’t love–well, excluding those prepared with too much sugar and marshmallow goo–and these certainly don’t disappoint! I loved the taste of the savory spices, and they look beautiful on the plate. Curry powder would be a good sub for the paprika, too, although I’ve been dumping smoked paprika on tons of stuff lately and am glad for yet another place to use it!
Incredibly delicious. In fact, my wife has already developed an addiction and wants these again soon.
would this work well with butternut squash?
Hmm, probably! :)
will try it out and report back!
Going to make these for dinner now. Original side dish for tonight was going to be baked sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows– this sounds infinitely better.
Update: All of my yes are belong to this. Ate some of it as-is, and cut marshmallows into quarters over the rest of it and let them melt. Best of both worlds right there. This is SO getting made again.
These look lovely and colorful. Do you think, frying them in a cast iron pan would work for smaller batches? I am currently coping without an oven :(
Oooh, yes, that would probably be very delicious! :)
Thanks, Beth. I will give it a try soon. Keep up the great work and delicious recipes.
The combination of smoky and sweet sounds interesting. I’ll definitely have to try these.
Hi there…I have some regular baking potatoes on hand, do you think I could use those instead?
It will definitely have a totally different flavor. I’m not sure I’d like this brown sugar mixture with regular baking potatoes.
I use this combo of spices minus the brown sugar on regular potatoes all the time. I usually grill the potato slices, but I think baking them would be just as delicious.
so colorful and flavorful! sadly, sweet potatoes here are $2.49 to $2.89 per pound, making this a significantly pricier side dish. i roasted a batch of sweet potatoes last night, and served them as a side with greens and cornbread. tonight, i cut up some of the leftovers and added them at the end of a stir fry. tomorrow… maybe i’ll toss the rest with some smoked paprika!
That’s crazy expensive! Sweet potatoes around here are less than a dollar a pound and often as cheap as 50 cents!
the ‘price’ i pay for living in a rural corner of an outer island! we do grow the purple okinawan sweet potatoes, but their texture is quite dry, and the flavor is more starchy than sweet. not sure they’d work in this dish, but worth a try.
I had a plain steamed Okinawan sweet potato. They are so pretty. I wish I knew how to season them!
Oh YUM. Isn’t roasted veggie weather here in Australia right now but this is going in the oven the first cooler day we have!
Did you cook these together with the pork chops — and if so, at which temperature? Both look great!
I actually did these first, since I was taking photographs and everything. If you want to do them at the same time, I’d use a lower temp to accommodate the chops and just bake the sweet potatoes longer.